Frank has kindly sent in this contribution:

If your layout is DCC operated, it has about 12 Volts AC on the rails all the time the power is on. If your layout is DC, there is only power to the rails when the controller is turned on and turned up, and carriage lights will be brighter at higher train speeds because higher voltage is being supplied to the rails. (I mention this because you may be operating DCC trains on a DC layout, as DCC locomotives will also run on DC layouts.)

If your lighting set has incandescent filament bulbs (plain old traditional light bulbs), the lights will be on whenever the power to the rails is on. If your lighting is LED, it must have a rectifier bridge (and a resistor) between the lights and the power pickup from the axle. (These may be included in the lighting units.)

Have you made sure your carriages have metal wheels ? Have you made sure that each wire of the lights is connected to a different rail? (On carriages designed to accept lighting, on each axle, the wheel on one side is insulated, either by a little plastic insert in the hub, or by a partly plastic axle.) If you have plastic wheels, it will be necessary to replace them with metal wheel sets.

If your lighting set itself is fully designed for DCC operation, it should be possible to switch the lights on and off from the controller. You may need to discover the DCC code for this if it is not part of the original equipment. If yo have a little electronic knowledge, it would be possible to run wires from the loco to the carriages to a circuit that switches the lights on and off.

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