Development of a simulation model of a Company X shunting yard

Thesis (M.Com. (Marketing Management and Information Systems))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Economic and Business Sciences, 2016.It was realised that there are inefficiencies at Company X’s plant K shunting yard; service time was long and the idling time of the locomotives was long. Locomotives can be utilised for other purposes in the plant. This has implication in resource planning and productivity in the company. The study deals with the simulation of the Company X rail network in plant K. The focus is on how shunting and product transportation takes place. A background on the study is given, taking into consideration elements which have been included in the study. These include the locomotives and the Block Train Rail Tanker Cars (RTCs). These containers transport different products from Town L to Town M. The study focuses on the transportation of five products. The study also includes the domestic and international Product E trains arriving at the Product E loading and offloading zone. Simulation model which represents the current-state situation was developed, using SIMIO software package. The study examined how service speed during the process of loading and offloading of products in the plant can be improved. The study also focused on locomotives travelling speed and idling time. Conclusions and recommendations have been made on the model developed. The results obtained were also discussed and analysed.DH201

Analysis of Rail Yard and Terminal Performances

One of the latest trends in the transport field is the increasing interest for the rejuvenation of the railway. It is considered to be a logical consequence of the gradual switch towards a more sustainable future in transports. Terminals and stations are considered to be the junction points between the various lines that constitute the railway network and can simply be described as points of arrival, departure and interchange of passengers or commodities. The most commonly used indicators that measure the level of their performance are time and cost. This study aims at exploring possible improvements that could be implemented to the infrastructure and the operation of terminals and stations in order to increase the efficiency level. Firstly, drawing upon grounded theory, a description is conducted, followed by a comparative analysis of the different types of existing terminals and stations. Secondly, the suggested improvements are presented in accordance with their time frame completion. The main contribution of the study is to illustrate the high significance of terminals, stations and yards, given the fact that they are considered to be crucial parts of the railway network. In addition to this, great emphasis is given to the need of improving and developing the existing terminal infrastructure and operations

Railway operations, time-tabling and control

This paper concentrates on organising, planning and managing the train movement in a network. The three classic management levels for rail planning, i.e., strategic, tactical and operational, are introduced followed by decision support systems for rail traffic control. In addition, included in this paper are discussions on train operating forms, railway traffic control and train dispatching problems, rail yard technical schemes and performance of terminals, as well as timetable design. A description of analytical methods, simulation techniques and specific computer packages for analysing and evaluating the behaviour of rail systems and networks is also provided

Modelling of transport-and-handling sites operation within metallurgical enterprises

In terms of existent regime of transport-and-handling sites operation, the necessity in enhancing the efficiency of production and transport interaction is justified. For this purpose simulation model of transport-and-handling site, which provides reception of raw materials, is developed

An Event-based Simulation Model for Analysing the Utilization Levels of a Railway Line in Urban Area

This paper offers a simulation model for analyzing the utilization levels of a railway line between Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Queen Street. Specifically, a segment of this line has been simulated using Simul8 to study the impacts of freight trains on passenger trains. The utilisation levels of this segment have been observed in three scenarios: utilisation existing state where all scheduled passenger trains and a few freight trains are observed; utilisation in future state where more freight trains are input in available time gaps running at their actual speed; and utilisation future state where freight trains are input in available time gaps running at speed equivalent to a passenger train. A decomposition approach is implemented. The results suggest that extra freight trains can be input into the current timetables without impeding the current scenario, allowing a reasonable increase in utilisation of the rail line

Software package applications for designing rail freight interchanges

Ph.D. ThesisRail freight transport has a crucial role to play in the economy, delivering significant reductions in logistics costs, pollution, and congestion. Typically, the conventional architecture and layout of the rail freight interchange constrain the capacity and performance of the whole railway system. A well-designed rail freight interchange can enhance the system performance by maximizing vehicle usage and minimizing last mile distribution cost. Therefore, the study of rail freight interchange operation is considered crucial to understand how to increase and improve the attractiveness for rail freight transport. This thesis uses game engines to develop software packages that are used for the design of new rail freight interchanges, considering multistakeholder decisions drivers. A novel and modular approach has been applied with the purpose of developing and deploying simulation tools that can be used by multiple stakeholders to: -Understand the impact of multiple-criteria decision analysis on rail freight interchange layouts; -Use a genetic algorithm to identify the most suitable components of the future interchange to be designed, considering the multi-stakeholders’ priorities; - Quickly enable the design of a wide variety of rail freight interchanges from the information selected by a decision maker in a computer-based userfriendly interface. This research has proposed a framework for software development. Three case studies are used to illustrate adaptability of a number of applications for different scenarios. The findings of the research contribute to a better understanding of the impacts of the multiple stakeholder’s decisions on rail freight interchange designs. Key words: Rail Freight Interchanges, Multi stakeholders decision, genetic algorith

A State of the Art on Railway Simulation Modelling Software Packages and Their Application to Designing Baggage Transfer Services

There is a new baggage transfer service suggested in Newcastle Central Station. In order to prove that this service is feasible, a simulation model can be developed to test the concept and operating pattern behind. For the purposes of this paper, we intend to organize a literature review on simulation modelling software packages employed to study service design. Specifically, this paper has compared five different simulation software packages used by the railway industry to study service-related challenges. As a result, it is suggested that SIMUL8, a macroscopic discrete event-based software package, should be used among the five compared ones because of its simplicity and the ability to give practical results for the design and performance of such a baggage transfer system

An Analysis of the Effects on Rail Operational Efficiency Due to a Merger between Brazilian Rail Companies: The Case of RUMO-ALL

Mergers between companies are motivated by synergy effects that can improve profitability. On February 11, 2015, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade) approved, the merger between America Latina Logística (ALL), the largest railroad transport company in Brazil and Rumo Logistics (RUMO), an operator with national impact with restrictions, and formed a new entity RUMO-ALL. The approval of this merger suggested that there could be an increase in operational efficiency without compromising the competition. In this work, the operational efficiency of RUMO-ALL is evaluated using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) models for the return of adequate scale. Statistical tests of structural break are performed in order to understand if there are an ex-post merger effects on the operational efficiency after the expansion of the service. The results indicate that the rail service after the merger is efficient, but with marginal reduction of production with an increase of input, which is expected according to neoclassical economic theory for monopolies

An Event Based Simulation Model to evaluate the Design of a Rail Interchange Yard, which provides Service to High Speed and Conventional Railways

Railway interchanges are key operational points on a railway. However, railways are changing due to rail networks being upgraded to include high speed lines. Therefore, to allow for the integration of high speed lines with current conventional railways there is a prevalent need for railway interchanges to be redesigned. The scope of this paper is to conduct a study to design a railway yard of the future, which will be able to facilitate an interchange between a high speed railway and a conventional railway. The design method implemented in this study is a progressive approach which is based upon a simulation with subsequent evaluations and revisions. The final designs given in this study have been proven through evaluation to be a promising stream of rail research. The designs have also allowed for a discussion to be carried out on the economic benefits which can be achieved for the United Kingdom’s High Speed Two (HS2) project by utilising the railway interchanges designed in this study between the new high speed line and the current conventional rail network