A multi-train movement simulator with moving blocking signalling

Abstract Being as a relatively new approach of signalling, moving-block scheme significantly increases line capacity, especially on congested railways. This paper describes a simulation system for multi-train operation under moving-block signalling scheme. The simulator can be used to calculate minimum headways and safety characteristics under pre-set timetables or headways and different geographic and traction conditions. Advanced software techniques are adopted to support the flexibility within the simulator so that it is a general-purpose computer-aided design tool to evaluate the performance of moving block signalling.

A general-purpose simulator for train operations

Computer simulation has been widely accepted as an essential tool for the analysis of many engineering systems. It is nowadays perceived to be the most readily available and feasible means of evaluating operations in real railway systems. Based on practical experience and theoretical models developed in various applications, this paper describes the design of a general-purpose simulation system for train operations. Its prime objective is to provide a single comprehensive computer-aided engineering tool for most studies on railway operations so that various aspects of the railway systems with different operation characteristics can be investigated and analysed in depth. This system consists of three levels of simulation. The first is a single-train simulator calculating the running time of a train between specific points under different track geometry and traction conditions. The second is a dual-train simulator which is to find the minimum headway between two trains under different movement constraints, such as signalling systems. The third is a whole-system multi-train simulator which carries out process simulation of the real operation of a railway system according to a practical or planned train schedule or headway; and produces an overall evaluation of system performance.

Analysis of rural activity spaces and transport disadvantage using a multi-method approach

Current knowledge about the relationship between transport disadvantage and activity space size is limited to urban areas, and as a result, very little is known about this link in a rural context. In addition, although research has identified transport disadvantaged groups based on their size of activity space, these studies have, however, not empirically explained such differences and the result is often a poor identification of the problems facing disadvantaged groups. Research has shown that transport disadvantage varies over time. The static nature of analysis using the activity space concept in previous research studies has lacked the ability to identify transport disadvantage in time. Activity space is a dynamic concept; and therefore possesses a great potential in capturing temporal variations in behaviour and access opportunities. This research derives measures of the size and fullness of activity spaces for 157 individuals for weekdays, weekends, and for a week using weekly activity-travel diary data from three case study areas located in rural Northern Ireland. Four focus groups were also conducted in order to triangulate quantitative findings and to explain the differences between different socio-spatial groups. The findings of this research show that despite having a smaller sized activity space, individuals were not disadvantaged because they were able to access their required activities locally. Car-ownership was found to be an important life line in rural areas. Temporal disaggregation of the data reveals that this is true only on weekends due to a lack of public transport services. In addition, despite activity spaces being at a similar size, the fullness of activity spaces of low-income individuals was found to be significantly lower compared to their high-income counterparts. Focus group data shows that financial constraint, poor connections both between public transport services and between transport routes and opportunities forced individuals to participate in activities located along the main transport corridors.

A Cyber-Physical System Simulator for risk-free transport studies

The article introduces a novel platform for conducting controlled and risk-free driving and traveling behavior studies, called Cyber-Physical System Simulator (CPSS). The key features of CPSS are: (1) simulation of multiuser immersive driving in a threedimensional (3D) virtual environment; (2) integration of traffic and communication simulators with human driving based on dedicated middleware; and (3) accessibility of multiuser driving simulator on popular software and hardware platforms. This combination of features allows us to easily collect large-scale data on interesting phenomena regarding the interaction between multiple user drivers, which is not possible with current single-user driving simulators. The core original contribution of this article is threefold: (1) we introduce a multiuser driving simulator based on DiVE, our original massively multiuser networked 3D virtual environment; (2) we introduce OpenV2X, a middleware for simulating vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle to infrastructure communication; and (3) we present two experiments based on our CPSS platform. The first experiment investigates the “rubbernecking” phenomenon, where a platoon of four user drivers experiences an accident in the oncoming direction of traffic. Second, we report on a pilot study about the effectiveness of a Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems advisory system.

Driver’s behavioural changes with new Intelligent Transport System interventions at railway level crossings: A driving simulator study

Improving safety at railway level crossings is an important issue for the Australian transport system. Governments, the rail industry and road organisations have tried a variety of countermeasures for many years to improve railway level crossing safety. New types of Intelligent Transport System (ITS) interventions are now emerging due to the availability and the affordability of technology. These interventions target both actively and passively protected railway level crossings and attempt to address drivers’ errors at railway crossings, which are mainly a failure to detect the crossing or the train and misjudgement of the train approach speed and distance. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of three emerging ITS that the rail industry considers implementing in Australia: a visual in-vehicle ITS, an audio in-vehicle ITS, as well as an on-road flashing beacons intervention. The evaluation was conducted on an advanced driving simulator with 20 participants per trialled technology, each participant driving once without any technology and once with one of the ITS interventions. Every participant drove through a range of active and passive crossings with and without trains approaching. Their speed approach of the crossing, head movements and stopping compliance were measured. Results showed that driver behaviour was changed with the three ITS interventions at passive crossings, while limited effects were found at active crossings, even with reduced visibility. The on-road intervention trialled was unsuccessful in improving driver behaviour; the audio and visual ITS improved driver behaviour when a train was approaching. A trend toward worsening driver behaviour with the visual ITS was observed when no trains were approaching. This trend was not observed for the audio ITS intervention, which appears to be the ITS intervention with the highest potential for improving safety at passive crossings.

A new multi-objective model to optimise rail transport scheduler

The sugarcane transport system plays a critical role in the overall performance of Australia’s sugarcane industry. An inefficient sugarcane transport system interrupts the raw sugarcane harvesting process, delays the delivery of sugarcane to the mill, deteriorates the sugar quality, increases the usage of empty bins, and leads to the additional sugarcane production costs. Due to these negative effects, there is an urgent need for an efficient sugarcane transport schedule that should be developed by the rail schedulers. In this study, a multi-objective model using mixed integer programming (MIP) is developed to produce an industry-oriented scheduling optimiser for sugarcane rail transport system. The exact MIP solver (IBM ILOG-CPLEX) is applied to minimise the makespan and the total operating time as multi-objective functions. Moreover, the so-called Siding neighbourhood search (SNS) algorithm is developed and integrated with Sidings Satisfaction Priorities (SSP) and Rail Conflict Elimination (RCE) algorithms to solve the problem in a more efficient way. In implementation, the sugarcane transport system of Kalamia Sugar Mill that is a coastal locality about 1050 km northwest of Brisbane city is investigated as a real case study. Computational experiments indicate that high-quality solutions are obtainable in industry-scale applications.

A study on matching and multi-objective fuzzy control strategy of heavy truck suspension system

Matching method of heavy truck-rear air suspensions is discussed, and a fuzzy control strategy which improves both ride comfort and road friendliness of truck by adjusting damping coefficients of the suspension system is found. In the first place, a Dongfeng EQ1141G7DJ heavy truck’s ten DOF whole vehicle-road model was set up based on Matlab/Simulink and vehicle dynamics. Then appropriate passive air suspensions were chosen to replace the original rear leaf springs of the truck according to truck-suspension matching criterions, consequently, the stiffness of front leaf springs were adjusted too. Then the semi-active fuzzy controllers were designed for further enhancement of the truck’s ride comfort and the road friendliness. After the application of semi-active fuzzy control strategy through simulation, is was indicated that both ride comfort and road friendliness could be enhanced effectively under various road conditions. The strategy proposed may provide theory basis for design and development of truck suspension system in China.

Binjiang urban centre and transport interchange

This project is the result of a collaborative design process involving QUT School of Design, and AREN Consulting and ZIAD (Zheijiang Provincial Institute of Architectural Design and Research). This major urban initiative explores new standards for multi-function urban centres. The sophisticated integration of transit interchange with retail, commercial and residential functions provides a dramatic mix of social activities. The large site is formed into a raised and terraced urban garden, with the transit centre and retail shopping precinct housed below this landscaped roof. Towering above this ‘hill’ are five building blocks housing the commercial and residential accommodations. These environmentally low-impact buildings are topped with a high-tech greenhouse roof or photovoltaic cells.

Predicting active material utilisation in LiFePO4 electrodes using a multi-scale mathematical model

A mathematical model is developed to simulate the discharge of a LiFePO4 cathode. This model contains 3 size scales, which match with experimental observations present in the literature on the multi-scale nature of LiFePO4 material. A shrinking-core is used on the smallest scale to represent the phase-transition of LiFePO4 during discharge. The model is then validated against existing experimental data and this validated model is then used to investigate parameters that influence active material utilisation. Specifically the size and composition of agglomerates of LiFePO4 crystals is discussed, and we investigate and quantify the relative effects that the ionic and electronic conductivities within the oxide have on oxide utilisation. We find that agglomerates of crystals can be tolerated under low discharge rates. The role of the electrolyte in limiting (cathodic) discharge is also discussed, and we show that electrolyte transport does limit performance at high discharge rates, confirming the conclusions of recent literature.

Development and implementation of the areawide Dynamic ROad traffic NoisE (DRONE) simulator

This paper discusses the areawide Dynamic ROad traffic NoisE (DRONE) simulator, and its implementation as a tool for noise abatement policy evaluation. DRONE involves integrating a road traffic noise estimation model with a traffic simulator to estimate road traffic noise in urban networks. An integrated traffic simulation-noise estimation model provides an interface for direct input of traffic flow properties from simulation model to noise estimation model that in turn estimates the noise on a spatial and temporal scale. The output from DRONE is linked with a geographical information system for visual representation of noise levels in the form of noise contour maps.

Conflict resolution through negotiation in a railway open access market : a multi-agent system approach

Open access reforms to railway regulations allow multiple train operators to provide rail services on a common infrastructure. As railway operations are now independently managed by different stakeholders, conflicts in operations may arise, and there have been attempts to derive an effective access charge regime so that these conflicts may be resolved. One approach is by direct negotiation between the infrastructure manager and the train service providers. Despite the substantial literature on the topic, few consider the benefits of employing computer simulation as an evaluation tool for railway operational activities such as access pricing. This article proposes a multi-agent system (MAS) framework for the railway open market and demonstrates its feasibility by modelling the negotiation between an infrastructure provider and a train service operator. Empirical results show that the model is capable of resolving operational conflicts according to market demand.

Computer simulation and modeling in railway applications

An electrified railway system includes complex interconnections and interactions of several subsystems. Computer simulation is the only viable means for system evaluation and analysis. This paper discusses the difficulties and requirements of effective simulation models for this specialized industrial application; and the development of a general-purpose multi-train simulator.

Modelling issues on the railway resource management process using multi-agent system

Many infrastructure and necessity systems such as electricity and telecommunication in Europe and the Northern America were used to be operated as monopolies, if not state-owned. However, they have now been disintegrated into a group of smaller companies managed by different stakeholders. Railways are no exceptions. Since the early 1980s, there have been reforms in the shape of restructuring of the national railways in different parts of the world. Continuous refinements are still conducted to allow better utilisation of railway resources and quality of service. There has been a growing interest for the industry to understand the impacts of these reforms on the operation efficiency and constraints. A number of post-evaluations have been conducted by analysing the performance of the stakeholders on their profits (Crompton and Jupe 2003), quality of train service (Shaw 2001) and engineering operations (Watson 2001). Results from these studies are valuable for future improvement in the system, followed by a new cycle of post-evaluations. However, direct implementation of these changes is often costly and the consequences take a long period of time (e.g. years) to surface. With the advance of fast computing technologies, computer simulation is a cost-effective means to evaluate a hypothetical change in a system prior to actual implementation. For example, simulation suites have been developed to study a variety of traffic control strategies according to sophisticated models of train dynamics, traction and power systems (Goodman, Siu and Ho 1998, Ho and Yeung 2001). Unfortunately, under the restructured railway environment, it is by no means easy to model the complex behaviour of the stakeholders and the interactions between them. Multi-agent system (MAS) is a recently developed modelling technique which may be useful in assisting the railway industry to conduct simulations on the restructured railway system. In MAS, a real-world entity is modelled as a software agent that is autonomous, reactive to changes, able to initiate proactive actions and social communicative acts. It has been applied in the areas of supply-chain management processes (García-Flores, Wang and Goltz 2000, Jennings et al. 2000a, b) and e-commerce activities (Au, Ngai and Parameswaran 2003, Liu and You 2003), in which the objectives and behaviour of the buyers and sellers are captured by software agents. It is therefore beneficial to investigate the suitability or feasibility of applying agent modelling in railways and the extent to which it might help in developing better resource management strategies. This paper sets out to examine the benefits of using MAS to model the resource management process in railways. Section 2 first describes the business environment after the railway 2 Modelling issues on the railway resource management process using MAS reforms. Then the problems emerge from the restructuring process are identified in section 3. Section 4 describes the realisation of a MAS for railway resource management under the restructured scheme and the feasible studies expected from the model.