Project: Quantification of the Benefits to be Realized from the Installation of an
Advanced Train Control System
Client: Major Freight Railroad
Several types of "advanced train control" are being developed by railway industry suppliers. ZETA-TECH was asked to estimate the benefits of one such system in two areas: fuel savings from the use of an "energy management system" (EMS) to optimize train velocity profiles subject to schedule requirements, and time savings resulting from the implementation of computer-aided dispatching coupled with an optimization algorithm that minimizes a weighted combination of fuel and time for all trains on a route segment.
Actual train consists and train movement data were obtained from the railroad. A train simulation model was used to quantify fuel savings produced by optimization of train velocity profiles. A non-linear, mixed integer optimization program was used to produce "best" meet- pass plans, and the total improvement in running time was quantified.
Results of the analysis indicated no significant savings from the EMS. A reduction of nearly one third in running times was produced by applying computerized dispatching optimization.