A Management System for Autonomous Shuttle Freight Train Service in Shared Railway Corridors
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Abstract
This study proposes a train dispatching management algorithm for autonomous shuttle freight train (AST) service in a shared railway corridor with regular train traffic. The method operates the ASTs without disturbing the regular train paths and involves consecutive overtaking and waiting decisions at the intermediate stations. The developed methodology and algorithm were used for developing a real-time dispatching control module integrated with a multimethod railway microsimulation model capable of simulating the timetable and non-timetable-based regular trains and ASTs. The model was implemented for a railway corridor with regular train traffic and the efficiency of the control module was confirmed. The AST freight transport capacity was evaluated using several key performance indicators based on train throughput, punctuality, and delays. The main conclusions of the study are as follows: the control logic decreased the number of AST trips by 5.6% in favor of protecting the regular train paths for (1 + 1) locomotive couple (LC) and decreased down to 14.8% for (6 + 6) LC. The AST yard delay increased by 238.2% for (6 + 6) LC. The average number of station stops and total trip times increased up to 51.2% and 14.2% for the (6 + 6) LC. The slower AST speeds also triggered more dramatic capacity decreases, increased station stops and total trip times. The model was also evaluated for random regular train failures, and daily average of AST trips made per year decreased by 8.6% for (6 + 6) LC for the mean failure interval time of 5 days and a randomly selected regular train.