TIMETABLE MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUE IN RAILWAY CAPACITY ANALYSIS: DEVELOPMENT OF THE HYBRID OPTIMIZATION OF TRAIN SCHEDULES (HOTS) MODEL

There are two general approaches to improve the capacity in a rail corridor, either by applying new capital infrastructure investment or by improving the operation of the rail services. Techniques to evaluate the railway operation include modeling and optimization through the use of commercial timetable management and rail simulation tools. However, only a few of the existing tools include complete features of timetable management techniques (e.g. timetable compression) are equipped with an optimization model for rescheduling and timetable improvement and this is especially true when it comes to the U.S. rail environment that prevalently uses unstructured operation practices. This dissertation explores an application of timetable (TT) management techniques (e.g. rescheduling and timetable compression techniques) in the U.S. rail environment and their effect on capacity utilization and level of service (LOS) parameters. There are many tools and simulation packages used for capacity analysis, by both European and the U.S. rail industry, but due to the differences in the operating philosophy and network characteristics of these two rail systems, European studies tend to use timetable-based simulation tools (e.g. RailSys, OpenTrack) while the non-timetable based tools (e.g. RTC) are commonly used in the U.S. (Chapter 1). This research study investigated potential benefits of using a “Hybrid Simulation” approach that would combine the advantages of both the U.S. and European tools. Two case studies (a single track and a multiple-track case study) were developed to test the hybrid simulation approach, and it was concluded that applying timetable management techniques (e.g. timetable compression technique) is promising when implemented in a single track corridor (Chapter 2), but it is only applicable for the multiple track corridors under directional operation pattern (Chapter 3). To address this, a new heuristic rescheduling and rerouting technique was developed as part of the research to convert a multiple track case study from non-directional operation pattern to a fully directional operation pattern (Chapter 4). The knowledge and skills of existing software, obtained during the development and testing of “Hybrid Simulation”, was used to develop an analytical rescheduling/optimization model called “Hybrid Optimization of Train Schedules” (HOTS) (Chapter 5). While the results of the “Hybrid simulation approach” are promising, the method was also time consuming and challenging, as all respective details and database of the given corridors had to be replicated in both simulation tools. The “HOTS Model” could provide the same functions and features of train rescheduling, but with much less efforts and challenges as in the hybrid simulation. The HOTS model works in conjunction with any commercial rail simulation software and it can reschedule an initial timetable (with or without conflict) to provide a “Conflict-Free” timetable based on user-defined criteria. The model is applicable to various types of rail operations, including single, double and multiple-track corridors, under both directional and nondirectional operation patterns. The capabilities of the HOTS model were tested for the two case studies developed in the research, and its outcomes were compared to those obtained from the commercial software. It was concluded that the HOTS model performed satisfactorily in each of the test scenarios and the model results either improved or maintained the initial timetable characteristics. The results are promising for the future development of the model, but limitations in the current model structure, such as station capacity limits, should be addressed to improve the potential of applying the model for industrial applications

Conflict-driven Hybrid Observer-based Anomaly Detection

This paper presents an anomaly detection method using a hybrid observer -- which consists of a discrete state observer and a continuous state observer. We focus our attention on anomalies caused by intelligent attacks, which may bypass existing anomaly detection methods because neither the event sequence nor the observed residuals appear to be anomalous. Based on the relation between the continuous and discrete variables, we define three conflict types and give the conditions under which the detection of the anomalies is guaranteed. We call this method conflict-driven anomaly detection. The effectiveness of this method is demonstrated mathematically and illustrated on a Train-Gate (TG) system

Integer programming based solution approaches for the train dispatching problem

Railroads face the challenge of competing with the trucking industry in a fastpaced environment. In this respect, they are working toward running freight trains on schedule and reducing travel times. The planned train schedules consist of departure and arrival times at main stations on the rail network. A detailed timetable, on the other hand, consists of the departure and arrival times of each train in each track section of its route. The train dispatching problem aims to determine detailed timetables over a rail network in order to minimize deviations from the planned schedule. We provide a new integer programming formulation for this problem based on a spacetime network; we propose heuristic algorithms to solve it and present computational results of these algorithms. Our approach includes some realistic constraints that have not been previously considered as well as all the assumptions and practical issues considered by the earlier works

Improved Handover Through Dual Connectivity in 5G mmWave Mobile Networks

The millimeter wave (mmWave) bands offer the possibility of orders of magnitude greater throughput for fifth generation (5G) cellular systems. However, since mmWave signals are highly susceptible to blockage, channel quality on any one mmWave link can be extremely intermittent. This paper implements a novel dual connectivity protocol that enables mobile user equipment (UE) devices to maintain physical layer connections to 4G and 5G cells simultaneously. A novel uplink control signaling system combined with a local coordinator enables rapid path switching in the event of failures on any one link. This paper provides the first comprehensive end-to-end evaluation of handover mechanisms in mmWave cellular systems. The simulation framework includes detailed measurement-based channel models to realistically capture spatial dynamics of blocking events, as well as the full details of MAC, RLC and transport protocols. Compared to conventional handover mechanisms, the study reveals significant benefits of the proposed method under several metrics.Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures, to appear on the 2017 IEEE JSAC Special Issue on Millimeter Wave Communications for Future Mobile Network

Research on speed control of high-speed trains based on hybrid modeling

With the continuous improvement of train speed, the automatic driving of trains instead of driver driving has become the development direction of rail transit in order to realize traffic automation. The application of single modeling methods for speed control in the automatic operation of high-speed trains lacks exploration of the com-bination of train operation data information and physical model, resulting in low system modeling accuracy, which impacts the effectiveness of speed control and the operation of high-speed trains. To further increase the dynamic modeling accuracy of high-speed train operation and the high-speed train's speed control effect, a high-speed train speed control method based on hybrid modeling of mechanism and data drive is put forward. Firstly, a model of the high-speed train's mechanism was created by analyzing the train's dynamics. Secondly, the improved kernel-principal component regression algorithm was used to create a data-driven model using the actual opera-tion data of the CRH3 (China Railway High-speed 3) high-speed train from Huashan North Railway Station to Xi'an North Railway Station of "Zhengxi High-speed Railway," completing the mechanism model compensation and the error correction of the speed of the actual operation process of the high-speed train, and realizing the hybrid modeling of mechanism and data-driven. Finally, the prediction Fuzzy PID control algorithm was devel-oped based on the natural line and train characteristics to complete the train speed control simulation under the hybrid model and the mechanism model, respectively. In addition, analysis and comparison analysis were conduct-ed. The results indicate that, compared to the high-speed train speed control based on the mechanism model, the high-speed train speed control based on hybrid modeling is more accurate, with an average speed control error reduced by 69.42%. This can effectively reduce the speed control error, improve the speed control effect and oper-ation efficiency, and demonstrate the efficacy of the hybrid modeling and algorithm. The research results can provide a new ideal of multi-model fusion modeling for the dynamic modeling of high-speed train operation, further improve control objectives such as safety, comfort, and efficiency of high-speed train operation, and pro-vide a reference for automatic driving and intelligent driving of high-speed trains

A review of key planning and scheduling in the rail industry in Europe and UK

Planning and scheduling activities within the rail industry have benefited from developments in computer-based simulation and modelling techniques over the last 25 years. Increasingly, the use of computational intelligence in such tasks is featuring more heavily in research publications. This paper examines a number of common rail-based planning and scheduling activities and how they benefit from five broad technology approaches. Summary tables of papers are provided relating to rail planning and scheduling activities and to the use of expert and decision systems in the rail industry.EPSR