Rail track infrastructure ownership: investment and operational issues

As privatisation of railway systems reach the political agendas in a number of countries, the separation of track infrastructure from train operations is seen as providing the vehicle which will improve profitability within the rail industry. This paper deals with three main issues related to such separation within a freight railway focus, namely: investment appraisal; track standards and maintenance; and train operating performance. The conflicts of interest between the owners of track and their client operators are discussed in detail. Costs related to track capacity and congestion need to be taken into account, given that additional trains are likely to lead to increased risk of delays to existing services. The paper discusses the use of a travel time reliability model to estimate the additional costs imposed on the system through the introduction of specific train services.It is concluded that investment in individual elements of railway infrastructure must be integrated with the overall financial and customer service strategies of both operators and owners. As an alternative to current practices, a hybrid model of track ownership is put forward here. Under such a model, a joint-venture company with equity from the main ÒplayersÓ would be owner of track. This would allow some of the benefits of vertical integration to be retained, whilst providing fair access to new operators.     

Integrated modeling of high performance passenger and freight train planning on shared-use corridors in the US

This paper studies strategic level train planning for high performance passenger and freight train operations on shared-use corridors in the US. We develop a hypergraph-based, two-level approach to sequentially minimize passenger and freight costs while scheduling train services. Passenger schedule delay and freight lost demand are explicitly modeled. We explore different solution strategies and conclude that a problem-tailored linearized reformulation yields superior computational performance. Using realistic parameter values, our numerical experiments show that passenger cost due to schedule delay is comparable to in-vehicle travel time cost and rail fare. In most cases, marginal freight cost increase from scheduling more passenger trains is higher than marginal reduction in passenger schedule delay cost. The heterogeneity of train speed reduces the number of freight trains that can run on a corridor. Greater tolerance for delays could reduce lost demand and overall cost on the freight side. The approach developed in the paper could be applied to other scenarios with different parameter values.     

A hierarchical line planning approach for a large-scale high speed rail network: The China case

Planning a set of train lines in a large-scale high speed rail (HSR) network is typically influenced by issues of longer travel distance, high transport demand, track capacity constraints, and a non-periodic timetable. In this paper, we describe an integrated hierarchical approach to determine line plans by defining the stations and trains according to two classes. Based on a bi-level programming model, heuristics are developed for two consecutive stages corresponding to each classification. The approach determines day-period based train line frequencies as well as a combination of various stopping patterns for a mix of fast trunk line services between major stations and a variety of slower body lines that offer service to intermediate stations, so as to satisfy the predicted passenger transport demand. Efficiencies of the line plans described herein concern passenger travel times, train capacity occupancy, and the number of transfers. Moreover, our heuristics allow for combining many additional conflicting demand–supply factors to design a line plan with predominantly cost-oriented and/or customer-oriented objectives. A range of scenarios are developed to generate three line plans for a real-world example of the HSR network in China using a decision support system. The performance of potential train schedules is evaluated to further examine the feasibility of the obtained line plans through graphical timetables.     

The role of the passenger train in the United States: A cost comparison of the common carriers

The objective of this article is to establish whether the train has a role to play in the market for intercity passenger travel in the United States. To accomplish this objective, we compare the common carriers on the basis of thier cost effectiveness in moving a given flow of passengers between two points a specified distance apart. The comparisons are based on cost models which highlight the technological differences between the modes and eliminate distortions caused by public policy choices. By varying the size of the passenger flow and trip distance, we develop a notion of each common carrier's ideal operating environment. We find that the cost of the right-of-way is the major factor limiting the range of travel situations in which the train is cost competitive with the other common carriers. More specifically, our results indicate that Amtrak's service in the Northeast Corridor should be continued in the short run. In the long run, the possibility of upgrading Amtrak's service in the Northeast Corridor to high-speed service should be investigated. Outside the Northeast Corridor, we find that high-speed train service should be able to cover its operating costs but not its capital costs.     

Passenger rail in North America in the light of developments in Western Europe and Japan

Because of different geo‐demographic and economic conditions, the impact of the new passenger modes (road and air) on rail travel was much larger in North America than in Europe. In 1960s and 1970s, as the railway share of intercity traffic in North America shrunk to a negligible one or two percent, the passenger trains were abandoned by private railway companies and taken over by state organizations, which have continued to operate traditional trains and generate mounting losses. On the technology side, no attempts have been made to improve competitiveness of trains vis‐a‐vis automobiles and airplanes.

In Europe and Japan, the railways responded to the challenge by (i) upgrading the performance (speed) and comfort of traditional trains operating on existing tracks and (ii) developing trains which could, on short and intermediate range distances, compete successfully, in terms of speed and economy, with the road and air modes. The Japanese (Shinkansen trains) and French (TGV trains) experience clearly shows that trains operating on dedicated lines at average speeds of 150 to 200 km/hr provide a superior transportation service and economy on high‐traffic intercity routes of up to about 500 km length. In this paper the factors responsible for the present status of passenger rail in North America are analysed, the current policies in the U.S. and Canada are evaluated in the light of experience to date and developments abroad, and suggestions for a long‐term passenger rail policy are made. This includes examination of (i) the viability of continued subsidization of traditional train services, (ii) the viability of operation of faster trains on existing tracks, (iii) the scope for introduction of modern, fast trains on dedicated lines in high‐density, intercity corridors, (iv) the application of fast trains as access to major airports and integration of airports with fast intercity lines, and (v) the impact of energy (oil) consumption in transportation.

     

Designing an integrated distribution system for catering services for high-speed railways: A three-echelon location routing model with tight time windows and time deadlines

An emerging task in catering services for high-speed railways (CSHR) is to design a distribution system for the delivery of high-quality perishable food products to trains in need. This paper proposes a novel model for integrating location decision making with daily rail catering operations, which are affected by various aspects of rail planning, to meet time-sensitive passenger demands. A three-echelon location routing problem with time windows and time budget constraints (3E-LRPTWTBC) is thus proposed toward formulating this integrated distribution system design problem. This model attempts to determine the capacities/locations of distribution centers and to optimize the number of meals delivered to stations. The model also attempts to generate a schedule for refrigerated cars traveling from distribution centers to rail stations for train loading whereby meals can be catered to trains within tight time windows and sold before a specified time deadline. By relaxing the time-window constraints, a relaxation model that can be solved using an off-the-shelf mixed integer programming (MIP) solver is obtained to provide a lower bound on the 3E-LRPTWTBC. A hybrid cross entropy algorithm (HCEA) is proposed to solve the 3E-LRPTWTBC. A small-scale case study is implemented, which reveals a 9.3% gap between the solution obtained using the HCEA and that obtained using the relaxation model (RM). A comparative analysis of the HCEA and an exhaustive enumeration algorithm indicates that the HCEA shows good performance in terms of computation time. Finally, a case study considering 156 trains on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed corridor and a large-scale case study considering 1130 trains on the Chinese railway network are addressed in a comprehensive study to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed models and algorithm.     

长途跨线高速列车直达与中转选择问题

我国快速客运网基本形成,长途跨线列车直达与中转选择对于高速列车开行方案设计至关重要。为提升长途跨线高速列车开行效益和服务品质,按长途跨线列车直达与中转方式对比的思路,以旅客出行需求、基础设施能力、移动设备能力等多方面因素对长途跨线列车开行方式的影响为约束条件,研究长途跨线列车直达与中转选择模型及求解方法。选取2025年15个长途跨线起讫点为对象进行案例研究,提出D站—E站、F站—D站等9个起迄点之间开行长途跨线直达列车的建议方案,研究表明直达与中转换乘选择模型能够解决长途跨线列车开行方案编制问题。     

Probabilistic risk analysis of flying ballast hazard on high-speed rail lines

Flying ballast is a significant safety concern for high-speed train operations on ballasted tracks. It is the phenomenon of a ballast particle displaced from the track, due to the aerodynamic force induced by a passing train traveling above a certain speed. Flying ballast can potentially damage tracks and rolling stock, thereby posing a risk to high-speed rail operations. This paper develops a Probabilistic Risk Analysis (PRA) model based on the information available from the field and the literature. The model enables a quantitative assessment of the probability of ballast particle displacement at a particular position on the track, as well as the probabilistic distribution of the total number of ballast particles that are expected to move. The model accounts for various risk factors, such as train speed, ballast gradation, and track position. The model application is illustrated using a ballasted track on the Yellow River Bridge on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail line in China. The analysis finds that flying ballast probability increases when train speed increases, in particular, the problem of flying ballast becomes more pronounced when train speed exceeds 350 km per hour (217 miles per hour). Flying ballast probability might be reduced when the ballast profile is lower, given all else being equal. In addition, flying ballast probability is expected to be higher at the center of the track than in other positions. The proposed risk model can be further developed and ultimately be used to evaluate route-specific flying ballast risk, enabling the identification, assessment, and comparison of risk mitigation strategies in order to support emerging high-speed rail operations.     

基于客户满意度的货运动车组开行方案研究

高铁货运逐渐兴起,本文对货运动车组开行方案优化进行了研究。针对高铁运输安全、快捷、运输成本较低等特性,提出以货运动车组及客货混编动车组为主,客运动车组捎带运输为补充的开行模式,结合运输需求、线路通过能力等限条件,以运输成本最小和货主满意度最大为目标,建立多目标综合优化模型,运用线性加权组合法,以lingo软件为依托进行求解。通过算例给出具体开行方案,并对同一运输区间各种运输方式的单位成本及用时进行对比分析。结果表明,相对于传统运输方式,高铁货运综合运输成本较低,用时更短,能够兼顾运输企业与货主的双重要求;所建模型优化效果明显,可为未来货运动车组的开行提供参考。     

A bi-level model for single-line rail timetable design with consideration of demand and capacity

This paper proposes a bi-level model to solve the timetable design problem for an urban rail line. The upper level model aims at determining the headways between trains to minimize total passenger cost, which includes not only the usual perceived travel time cost, but also penalties during travel. With the headways given by the upper level model, passengers’ arrival times at their origin stops are determined by the lower level model, in which the cost-minimizing behavior of each passenger is taken into account. To make the model more realistic, explicit capacity constraints of individual trains are considered. With these constraints, passengers cannot board a full train, but wait in queues for the next coming train. A two-stage genetic algorithm incorporating the method of successive averages is introduced to solve the bi-level model. Two hypothetical examples and a real world case are employed to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed bi-level model and algorithm. Results show that the bi-level model performs well in reducing total passenger cost, especially in reducing waiting time cost and penalties. And the section loading-rates of trains in the optimized timetable are more balanced than the even-headway timetable. The sensitivity analyses show that passenger’s desired arrival time interval at destination and crowding penalty factor have a high influence on the optimal solution. And with the dispersing of passengers' desired arrival time intervals or the increase of crowding penalty factor, the section loading-rates of trains become more balanced.     

A multiobjective planning model for intercity train seat allocation

This paper presents a multiobjective planning model for generating optimal train seat allocation plans on an intercity rail line serving passengers with many‐to‐many origin‐destination pairs. Two planning objectives of the model are to maximise the operator's total passenger revenue and to minimise the passenger's total discomfort level. For a given set of travel demand, train capacity, and train stop‐schedules, the model is solved by fuzzy mathematical programming to generate a best‐compromise train seat allocation plan. The plan determines how many reserved and non‐reserved seats are to be allocated at each origin station for all subsequent destination stations on each train run operated within a specified operating period. An empirical study on the to‐be‐built Taiwan's high‐speed rail system is conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the model. The model can be used for any setting of travel demand and stop‐schedules with various train seating capacities.     

Impacts of highway congestion on freight operations: perceptions of trucking industry managers

To better understand how road congestion adversely affects trucking operations, we surveyed approximately 1200 managers of all types of trucking companies operating in California. More than 80% of these managers consider traffic congestion on freeways and surface streets to be either a “somewhat serious” or “critically serious” problem for their business. A structural equations model (SEM) is estimated on these data to determine how five aspects of the congestion problem differ across sectors of the trucking industry. The five aspects were slow average speeds, unreliable travel times, increased driver frustration and morale, higher fuel and maintenance costs, and higher costs of accidents and insurance. The model also simultaneously estimates how these five aspects combine to predict the perceived overall magnitude of the problem. Overall, congestion is perceived to be a more serious problem by managers of trucking companies engaged in intermodal operations, particularly private and for-hire trucking companies serving airports and private companies serving rail terminals. Companies specializing in refrigerated transport also perceive congestion to be a more serious overall problem, as do private companies engaged in LTL operations. The most problematic aspect of congestion is unreliable travel times, followed by driver frustration and morale, then by slow average speeds. Unreliable travel times are a significantly more serious problem for intermodal air operations. Driver frustration and morale attributable to congestion is perceived to be more of a problem by managers of long-haul carriers and tanker operations. Slow average speeds are also more of a concern for airport and refrigerated operations.     

The variation in the value of travel-time savings and the dilemma of high-speed rail in China

This paper examines the variation in the value of travel-time savings (VTTS), a fundamental element determining the market demand for high-speed rail. Following a review of time allocation theories, a time allocation model for general travel behavior is proposed as a further elaboration of Evans’ (1972) activities analysis. There are relationships among activities that can be expressed using a linear inequality to show the constraints on the arrangement of activities. This model indicates that two or more activities can be simultaneously rearranged to improve time management, which may be a source of variation in VTTS. This time allocation model can explain why large-scale high-speed rail construction in China faces significant market risks and a high likelihood of economic loss. Data from a new ticket sales and booking system for railway passengers indicate that passengers prefer conventional overnight sleeper trains, rather than high-speed trains, for long-distance travel, which supports the analysis of the time allocation model.     

Amtrak,the attempt to renew U.S. rail service

The decline of railway passenger train patronage and the deterioration of service in the United States have led the U.S. Government to assume control over the operation of trains via a quasi‐federal corporation called “Amtrak,” but some basic causes of the decline remain and new problems will arise as a result of this action.

Two results of the neglect to assess external costs against the various transport modes is an unbalance in favor of those with the higher external costs and the continued, seemingly fundamental, unprofitability of railway passenger service, which exists even for equipment that operates at capacity!

Some way of collecting external costs will have to be found, and the problems created by the new intrusion of the U.S. Government into transport will have to be faced.     

Forecasting demand for high speed rail

It is sometimes argued that standard state-of-practice logit-based models cannot forecast the demand for substantially reduced travel times, for instance due to High Speed Rail (HSR). The present paper investigates this issue by reviewing the literature on travel time elasticities for long distance rail travel and comparing these with elasticities observed when new HSR lines have opened. This paper also validates the Swedish long distance model, Sampers, and its forecast demand for a proposed new HSR, using aggregate data revealing how the air–rail modal split varies with the difference in generalized travel time between rail and air. The Sampers long distance model is also compared to a newly developed model applying Box–Cox transformations. The paper contributes to the empirical literature on long distance travel, long distance elasticities and HSR passenger demand forecasts. Results indicate that the Sampers model is indeed able to predict the demand for HSR reasonably well. The new non-linear model has even better model fit and also slightly higher elasticities.     

Exploring passenger anxiety associated with train travel

Although people are often encouraged to use public transportation, the riding experience is not always comfortable. This study uses service items to measure passenger anxieties by applying a conceptual model based on the railway passenger service chain perspective. Passenger anxieties associated with train travel are measured using a modern psychometric method, the Rasch model. This study surveys 412 train passengers. Analytical results indicate that the following service items cause passenger anxiety during trains travel: crowding, delays, accessibility to a railway station, searching for the right train on a platform, and transferring trains. Empirical results obtained using the Rasch approach can be used to derive an effective strategy to reduce train passenger anxiety. This empirical study also demonstrates that anxiety differs based on passenger sex, age, riding frequency, and trip type. This information will also prove useful for transportation planners and policy-makers when considering the special travel needs of certain groups to create a user-friendly railway travel environment that promotes public use.     

A simulation model of train travel on a rail transit line

A simplified simulation model for the operational analysis of a rail rapid transit train is presented. The model simulates the movement of a train along a route, and develops the relationships of time—distance, time—speed and distance—speed. The inputs to the model are the profile of speed limits and the dynamic characteristics of the train. Without the information on the track geometry and tractive effort, the model determines the speed of the train at a location based on the previous and future speed limits relative to the location. It was found that the model can fairly accurately simulate the relationship between travel time and distance. A comparison of the train travel times between the actual and simulated runs is presented. Because of the simplicity of input and calculation method, the model can be a useful tool for the “desk-top” analysis of frequently occurring planning problems of a commuter rail or rail rapid transit line, such as the impacts of changes in speed limits, station locations, station stopping policy, addition/elimination of stations, and types of rail cars.     

Train scheduling simulation that minimises operational conflicts due to service constraints

This paper presents an attempt made to facilitate re‐scheduling of trains to minimize operational delays and accommodate uniform headways for off peak sub urban services subject to resource constraints such as locomotive availability, poor track conditions and stations without siding facilities. The paper describes the computer simulation model designed to optimize train schedules on single‐track rail lines. Using this simulation program it is possible to plan and optimize timetables for railway networks with train runs within short time periods for both single track and double track conditions. The paper describes the capabilities of presenting the results of the simulation runs. These include the time‐distance graph, the network with train movements, dialog boxes with information about selected trains. The programme is capable of changing the starting point, departure time, train destinations and adding or deleting a stop etc. from the user interface. Four objects of array variables are used in the simulation process to keep train and station data. Two object arrays are used for the train movements in up and down directions. The stations' data are stored in the other two object arrays. One of these arrays of stations contains all the stations of the line while the other one contains only the stations with siding facilities. A case study that covers a 61 km long single‐track line with 14 stations is presented to highlight the model capabilities.     

Efficient dispatching rules on double tracks with heterogeneous train traffic

The most natural and popular dispatching rule for double-track segments is to dedicate one track for trains traveling in one direction. However, sometimes passenger trains have to share some portions of the railway with freight trains and passenger trains are traveling faster and faster nowadays. The major drawback of this dedicated rule is that a fast train can be caught behind a slow train and experience significant knock-on delay. In this paper, we propose a switchable dispatching policy for a double-track segment. The new dispatching rule enables the fast train to pass the slow train by using the track traveled by trains in the opposite direction if the track is empty. We use queueing theory techniques to derive the delay functions of this policy. The numerical experiments show that a switchable policy can reduce the fast train knock-on delay by as high as 30% compared to a dedicated policy. When there are crossovers at the middle of the double-track segment, our proposed switchable policy can reduce the delay of the fast trains by as high as 65%.     

Continuous approximation for skip-stop operation in rail transit

Operating speed of a transit corridor is a key characteristic and has many consequences on its performance. It is generally accepted that an increased operating speed for a given fleet leads to reduced operating costs (per kilometer), travel and waiting times (three changes that can be computed precisely), an improved comfort and level of service, which can attract new passengers who are diverted from automobile (items harder to estimate precisely). That is why several operation schemes which aim to increase the operating speed are studied in the literature, such as deadheading, express services, and stop skipping.A novel category of solutions to this problem for one-way single-track rail transit is to perform accelerated transit operations with fixed stopping schedules. The concept is quite simple: as the time required for stopping at each station is an important part of travel time, reducing it would be a great achievement. Particular operations that take advantage of this idea already exist. This paper focuses on one of them: the skip-stop operation for rail transit lines using a single one-way track. It consists in defining three types of stations: AB stations where all the trains stop, and A and B stations where only half of the trains stop (stations type A and B are allocated interchangeably). This mode of operation is already described in the literature (Vuchic, 1973, Vuchic, 1976, Vuchic, 2005) and has been successfully implemented in the Metro system of Santiago, Chile.This work tackles the problem with a continuous approximation approach. The problem is described with a set of geographically dependent continuous parameters like the density of stations for a given line. Cost functions are built for a traditional (all-stop) operation and for skip-stop operation as described above. A simple example is presented to support this discussion. Finally, a discussion about the type of scenarios in which skip-stop operations are more beneficial is presented.