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

Road safety analysis of urban roads. Case study of an Italian municipality

Attention to the most vulnerable road users has grown rapidly over recent decades. The experience gained reveals an important number of fatalities due to accidents in urban branch roads. In this study, an analytical methodology for the calculation of urban branch road safety is proposed. The proposal relies on data collected during road safety inspections; therefore, it can be implemented even when historical data about traffic volume or accidents are not available. It permits us to identify geometric, physical, functional, and transport-related defects, and elements which are causal factors of road accidents, in order to assess the risk of death or serious injuries for users. Traffic volume, average speed, and expected consequences on vulnerable road users in case of an accident allow us to calculate both the level of danger of each homogeneous section which composes the road, and the hazard index of the overall branch. A case study is presented to implement the proposed methodology. The strategy proposed by the authors could have a significant impact on the risk management of urban roads, and could be used in decision-making processes to design safer roads and improve the safety of existing roads

Modelling rail track deterioration and maintenance: current practices and future needs

As commercialisation and privatisation of railway systems reach the political agendas in a number of countries, including Australia, the separation of infrastructure from operating business dictates that track costs need to be shared on an equitable basis. There is also a world-wide trend towards increased pressures on rail track infrastructure through increases in axle loads and train speeds. Such productivity and customer service driven pressures inevitably lead to reductions in the life of track components and increases in track maintenance costs. This paper provides a state-of-the-art review of track degradation modeling, as well as an overview of track maintenance decision support systems currently in use in North America and Europe. The essential elements of a maintenance optimisation model currently under development are also highlighted

Better by design: Business preferences for environmental regulatory reform

We present the preferences for environmental regulatory reform expressed by 30 UK businesses and industry bodies from 5 sectors. While five strongly preferred voluntary regulation, seven expressed doubts about its effectiveness, and 18 expressed no general preference between instrument types. Voluntary approaches were valued for flexibility and lower burdens, but direct regulation offered stability and a level playing field. Respondents sought regulatory frameworks that: are coherent; balance clarity, prescription and flexibility; are enabled by positive regulatory relationships; administratively efficient; targeted according to risk magnitude and character; evidence-based and that deliver long-term market stability for regulatees. Anticipated differences in performance between types of instrument can be undermined by poor implementation. Results underline the need for policy makers and regulators to tailor an effective mix of instruments for a given sector, and to overcome analytical, institutional and political barriers to greater coherence, to better coordinate existing instruments and tackle new environmental challenges as they emerge

Condition monitoring benefit for offshore wind turbines

As more offshore wind parks are commissioned, the focus will inevitably shift from a planning, construction and warranty focus to an operation, maintenance and investment payback focus. In this latter case, both short-term risks associated with wind turbine component assemblies, and longterm risks related to structural integrity of the support structure, are highly important. This research focuses on the role of condition monitoring to lower costs associated with short-term reliability and long-term asset integrity. This enables comparative estimates of life cycle costs and reduction in uncertainty, both of which are of value to investors