Estimation of train dwell time at short stops based on track occupation event data: A study at a Dutch railway station

Train dwell time is one of the most unpredictable components of railway operations, mainly because of the varying volumes of alighting and boarding passengers. However, for reliable estimations of train running times and route conflicts on main lines, it is necessary to obtain accurate estimations of dwell times at the intermediate stops on the main line, the so‐called short stops. This is a great challenge for a more reliable, efficient and robust train operation. Previous research has shown that the dwell time is highly dependent on the number of boarding and alighting passengers. However, these numbers are usually not available in real time. This paper discusses the possibility of a dwell time estimation model at short stops without passenger demand information by means of a statistical analysis of track occupation data from the Netherlands. The analysis showed that the dwell times are best estimated for peak and off‐peak hours separately. The peak‐hour dwell times are estimated using a linear regression model of train length, dwell times at previous stops and dwell times of the preceding trains. The off‐peak‐hour dwell times are estimated using a non‐parametric regression model, in particular, the k‐nearest neighbor model. There are two major advantages of the proposed estimation models. First, the models do not need passenger flow data, which is usually impossible to obtain in real time in practice. Second, detailed parameters of rolling stock configuration and platform layout are not required, which makes the model more generic and eases implementation. A case study at Dutch railway stations shows that the estimation accuracy is 85.8%–88.5% during peak hours and 80.1% during off‐peak hours, which is relatively high. We conclude that the estimation of dwell times at short stop stations without passenger data is possible. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Short‐term traffic forecasting: Overview of objectives and methods

In the last two decades, the growing need for short‐term prediction of traffic parameters embedded in a real‐time intelligent transportation systems environment has led to the development of a vast number of forecasting algorithms. Despite this, there is still not a clear view about the various requirements involved in modelling. This field of research was examined by disaggregating the process of developing short‐term traffic forecasting algorithms into three essential clusters: the determination of the scope, the conceptual process of specifying the output and the process of modelling, which includes several decisions concerning the selection of the proper methodological approach, the type of input and output data used, and the quality of the data. A critical discussion clarifies several interactions between the above and results in a logical flow that can be used as a framework for developing short‐term traffic forecasting models.     

Use of sequential learning for short-term traffic flow forecasting

Accurate short-term traffic flow forecasting has become a crucial step in the overall goal of better road network management. Previous research [H. Kirby, M. Dougherty, S. Watson, Should we use neural networks or statistical models for short term motorway traffic forecasting, International Journal of Forecasting 13 (1997) 43–50.] has demonstrated that a straightforward application of neural networks can be used to forecast traffic flows along a motorway link. The objective of this paper is to report on the application and performance of an alternative neural computing algorithm which involves ‘sequential or dynamic learning’ of the traffic flow process. Our initial work [H. Chen, S. Clark, M.S. Dougherty, S.M. Grant-Muller, Investigation of network performance prediction, Report on Dynamic Neural Network and Performance Indicator development, Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds Technical Note 418, 1998 (unpublished)] was based on simulated data (generated using a Hermite polynomial with random noise) that had a profile similar to that of traffic flows in real data. This indicated the potential suitability of dynamic neural networks with traffic flow data. Using the Kalman filter type network an initial application with M25 motorway flow data suggested that a percentage absolute error (PAE) of approximately 9.5% could be achieved for a network with five hidden units (compared with 11% for the static neural network model). Three different neural networks were trained with all the data (containing an unknown number of incidents) and secondly using data wholly obtained around incidents. Results showed that from the three different models, the ‘simple dynamic model’ with the first five units fixed (and subsequent hidden units distributed amongst these) had the best forecasting performance. Comparisons were also made of the networks’ performance on data obtained around incidents. More detailed analysis of how the performance of the three networks changed through a single day (including an incident) showed that the simple dynamic model again outperformed the other two networks in all time periods. The use of ‘piecewise’ models (i.e. where a different model is selected according to traffic flow conditions) for data obtained around incidents highlighted good performance again by the simple dynamic network. This outperformed the standard Kalman filter neural network for a medium-sized network and is our overall recommendation for any future application.     

Short‐term travel time forecasts for transport information system in hong kong

In this paper, a case study is carried out in Hong Kong for demonstration of the Transport Information System (TIS) prototype. A traffic flow simulator (TFS) is presented to forecast the short‐term travel times that can be served as a predicted travel time database for the TIS in Hong Kong. In the TFS, a stochastic deviation coefficient is incorporated to simulate the minute‐by‐minute fluctuation of traffic flows within the peak hour period. The purposes of the case study are: 1) to show the applicability of the TFS for larger‐scale road network; and 2) to illustrate the short‐term forecasting of path travel times in practice. The results of the case study show that the TFS can be applied to real network effectively. The predicted travel times are compared with the observed travel times on the selected paths for an OD pair. The results show that the observed path travel times fall in the 90% confidence interval of the predicted path travel times.     

Optimal subwork zone operational strategy for short‐term work zone projects in four‐lane two‐way freeways

Roadside trees in Singapore are regularly trimmed for the purpose of traffic safety and roadside tree‐trimming project is one typical type of short‐term work zone projects. To implement such a short‐term work zone project, contractors usually divide an entire work zone into multiple subwork zones with the uniform length. This paper aims to determine an optimal subwork zone strategy for the short‐term work zone projects in four‐lane two‐way freeways with time window and uniform subwork zone length constraints. The deterministic queuing model is employed to estimate total user delay caused by the work zone project by taking into account variable traffic speeds. Based on the user delay estimations, this paper proceeds to build a minimization model subject to time window and uniform length constraints for the optimal subwork zone strategy problem. This paper also presents a variation of the minimization model to examine the impact of unequal subwork zone length constraint. Since these minimization models belong to the mixed‐integer non‐differentiable optimization problems, an iterative algorithm embedding with the genetic simulated annealing method is thus proposed to solve these models. Finally, a numerical example is carried out to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed models. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Short-Term Prediction of Travel Time using Neural Networks on an Interurban Highway

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the predictability of travel time with a model based on travel time data measured in the field on an interurban highway. Another purpose was to determine whether the forecasts would be accurate enough to implement the model in an actual online travel time information service. The study was carried out on a 28-kilometre-long rural two-lane road section where traffic congestion was a problem during weekend peak hours. The section was equipped with an automatic travel time monitoring and information system. The prediction models were made as feedforward multilayer perceptron neural networks. The main results showed that the majority of the forecasts were close to the actual measured values. Consequently, use of the prediction model would improve the quality of travel time information based directly on the sum of the latest measured travel times.     

A traffic flow simulator for short‐term travel time forecasting

This paper presents an off‐line forecasting system for short‐term travel time forecasting. These forecasts are based on the historical traffic count data provided by detectors installed on Annual Traffic Census (ATC) stations in Hong Kong. A traffic flow simulator (TFS) is developed for short‐term travel time forecasting (in terms of offline forecasting), in which the variation of perceived travel time error and the fluctuations of origin‐destination (O‐D) demand are considered explicitly. On the basis of prior O‐D demand and partial updated detector data, the TFS can estimate the link travel times and flows for the whole network together with their variances and covariances. The short‐term travel time forecasting by O‐D pair can also be assessed and the O‐D matrix can be updated simultaneously. The application of the proposed off‐line forecasting system is illustrated by a numerical example in Hong Kong.     

Survey and empirical evaluation of nonhomogeneous arrival process models with taxi data

Arrival processes are important inputs to many transportation system functions, such as vehicle prepositioning, taxi dispatch, bus holding strategies, and dynamic pricing. We conduct a comprehensive survey of the literature which shows that many transport systems employ basic homogeneous arrival process models or static nonhomogeneous processes. We conduct an empirical experiment to compare five state of the art arrival process short term prediction models using a common transportation system data set: New York taxi passenger pickups in 2013. Pickup data is split between 672 observations for model estimation and 96 observations for validation. From our experiment, we obtain evidence to support a recent model called FM‐IntGARCH, which is able to combine the benefits of both time series models and discrete count processes. Using a set of seven performance metrics from the literature, FM‐IntGARCH is shown to outperform the offline models—seasonal factor method, piecewise linear model—as well as the online models—ARIMA, Gaussian Cox process. Implications for operating data‐driven “smart” transit systems and urban informatics are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Use of the box and Jenkins time series technique in traffic forecasting

This paper explores the use of recently developed time series techniques for short term traffic volume forecasts. A data set containing monthly volumes on a freeway segment for the years 1968 through 1976 is used to fit a time series model. The resulting model is used to forecast volumes for the year 1977. The forecast volumes are then compared to actual volumes in 1977. The results of this study indicate that time series techniques can be used to develop highly accurate and inexpensive short term forecasts. A discussion of the ways in which such models can be used to evaluate the effects of policy changes or other outside impacts is included.     

Analysis of peak and non‐peak traffic forecasts using combined models

Accurate and timely traffic forecasting is crucial to effective management of intelligent transportation systems (ITS). To predict travel time index (TTI) data, we select six baseline individual predictors as basic combination components. Applying the one‐step‐ahead out‐of‐sample forecasts, the paper proposes several linear combined forecasting techniques. States of traffic situations are classified into peak and non‐peak periods. Based on detailed data analyses, some practical guidance and comments are given in what situation a combined model is better than an individual model or other types of combined models. Indicating which model is more appropriate in each state, persuasive comparisons demonstrate that the combined procedures can significantly reduce forecast error rates. It reveals that the approaches are practically promising in the field. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time to systematically investigate these approaches in peak and non‐peak traffic forecasts. The studies can provide a reference for optimal forecasting model selection in each period. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modeling the effects of traveler information on freeway origin–destination demand prediction

The primary focus of this research is to develop an approach to capture the effect of travel time information on travelers’ route switching behavior in real-time, based on on-line traffic surveillance data. It also presents a freeway Origin–Destination demand prediction algorithm using an adaptive Kalman Filtering technique, where the effect of travel time information on users’ route diversion behavior has been explicitly modeled using a dynamic, aggregate, route diversion model. The inherent dynamic nature of the traffic flow characteristics is captured using a Kalman Filter modeling framework. Changes in drivers’ perceptions, as well as other randomness in the route diversion behavior, have been modeled using an adaptive, aggregate, dynamic linear model where the model parameters are updated on-line using a Bayesian updating approach. The impact of route diversion on freeway Origin–Destination demands has been integrated in the estimation framework. The proposed methodology is evaluated using data obtained from a microscopic traffic simulator, INTEGRATION. Experimental results on a freeway corridor in northwest Indiana establish that significant improvement in Origin–Destination demand prediction can be achieved by explicitly accounting for route diversion behavior.     

Modeling delay at signalized intersections with channelized right‐turn lanes considering the impact of blockage

This paper presents a probabilistic delay model for signalized intersections with right‐turn channelization lanes considering the possibility of blockage. Right‐turn channelization is used to improve the capacity and to reduce delay at busy intersections with a lot of right‐turns. However, under heavy traffic conditions the through vehicles will likely block the channelization entrance that accrues delay to right‐turn vehicles. If the right‐turn channelization gets blocked frequently, its advantage in reducing the intersection delay is neglected and as a result the channelization lane becomes inefficient and redundant. The Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) neglects the blockage effect, which may be a reason for low efficiency during peak hours. More importantly, using HCM or other standard traffic control methods without considering the blockage effects would lead to underestimation of the delay. To overcome this issue, the authors proposed delay models by taking into account both deterministic and random aspects of vehicles arrival patterns at signalized intersections. The proposed delay model was validated through VISSIM, a microscopic simulation model. The results showed that the proposed model is very precise and accurately estimates the delay. In addition, it was found that the length of short‐lane section and proportion of right‐turn and through traffic significantly influence the approach delay. For operational purposes, the authors provided a step‐by‐step delay calculation process and presented approach delay estimates for different sets of traffic volumes, signal settings, and short‐lane section lengths. The delay estimates would be useful in evaluating adequacy of the current lengths, identifying the options of extending the short‐lane section length, or changing signal timing to reduce the likelihood of blockage. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comparison between PARAMICS and VISSIM in estimating automated field‐measured traffic conflicts at signalized intersections

The main objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between field‐measured conflicts and simulated conflicts estimated from microsimulation model (PARAMICS) using the surrogate safety assessment model. An urban signalized intersection was selected for analysis. Automated video‐based computer vision techniques were used to identify field conflicts. The applicability of a two‐step model calibration procedure applied to VISSIM in a recent study was investigated using PARAMICS. In the first calibration step, the PARAMICS model was calibrated to ensure that the simulation gives reasonable results of average delay times. The second calibration step used a genetic algorithm procedure to calibrate PARAMICS parameters to enhance the correlation between simulated and field‐measured conflicts. Finally, the results obtained from PARAMICS were compared with results obtained from VISSIM. The comparison included three aspects: (i) the car‐following model and safety‐related parameters; (ii) the correlation between simulated and field‐measured conflicts; and (iii) the conflict spatial distributions. The results show that the default simulation model parameters give poor correlation with the field‐measured data, and therefore, using simulation models without a proper calibration should be avoided. Overall, good correlation between field‐measured and simulated conflicts was obtained after calibration for both models, especially at higher time‐to‐collision (TTC) values. At TTC threshold of 1.5 s, PARAMICS overestimates the number of conflicts and VISSIM underestimates it. Both models overestimated the number of conflicts at TTC threshold of 3.00 s. There were major differences between field‐measured and simulated conflicts spatial distributions for both simulation models. This indicates that despite the good correlation obtained from the calibration process, both PARAMICS and VISSIM do not capture the actual conflict occurrence mechanism. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A dynamic shortest path algorithm using multi‐step ahead link travel time prediction

In this paper, a multi‐step ahead prediction algorithm of link travel speeds has been developed using a Kalman filtering technique in order to calculate a dynamic shortest path. The one‐step and the multi‐step ahead link travel time prediction models for the calculation of the dynamic shortest path have been applied to the directed test network that is composed of 16 nodes: 3 entrance nodes, 2 exit nodes and 11 internal nodes. Time‐varying traffic conditions such as flows and travel time data for the test network have been generated using the CORSIM model. The results show that the multi‐step ahead algorithm is compared more favorably for searching the dynamic shortest time path than the other algorithm.     

Field implementation feasibility study of cumulative travel‐time responsive (CTR) traffic signal control algorithm

The cumulative travel‐time responsive (CTR) algorithm determines optimal green split for the next time interval by identifying the maximum cumulative travel time (CTT) estimated under the connected vehicle environment. This paper enhanced the CTR algorithm and evaluated its performance to verify a feasibility of field implementation in a near future. Standard Kalman filter (SKF) and adaptive Kalman filter (AKF) were applied to estimate CTT for each phase in the CTR algorithm. In addition, traffic demand, market penetration rate (MPR), and data availability were considered to evaluate the CTR algorithm's performance. An intersection in the Northern Virginia connected vehicle test bed is selected for a case study and evaluated within vissim and hardware in the loop simulations. As expected, the CTR algorithm's performance depends on MPR because the information collected from connected vehicle is a key enabling factor of the CTR algorithm. However, this paper found that the MPR requirement of the CTR algorithm could be addressed (i) when the data are collected from both connected vehicle and the infrastructure sensors and (ii) when the AKF is adopted. The minimum required MPRs to outperform the actuated traffic signal control were empirically found for each prediction technique (i.e., 30% for the SKF and 20% for the AKF) and data availability. Even without the infrastructure sensors, the CTR algorithm could be implemented at an intersection with high traffic demand and 50–60% MPR. The findings of this study are expected to contribute to the field implementation of the CTR algorithm to improve the traffic network performance. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparative performance analysis of European airports by means of extended data envelopment analysis

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) has become an established approach for analyzing and comparing efficiency results of corporate organizations or economic agents. It has also found wide application in comparative studies on airport efficiency. The standard DEA approach to comparative airport efficiency analysis has two feeble elements, viz. a methodological weakness and a substantive weakness. The methodological weakness originates from the choice of uniform efficiency improvement assessment, whereas the substantive weakness in airport efficiency analysis concerns the insufficient attention for short‐term and long‐term adjustment possibilities in the production inputs determining airport efficiency. The present paper aims to address both flaws by doing the following: (i) designing a data‐instigated distance friction minimization (DFM) model as a generalization of the standard Banker–Charnes–Cooper model with a view to the development of a more appropriate efficiency improvement projection model in the Banker–Charnes–Cooper version of DEA and (ii) including as factor inputs also lumpy or rigid factors that are characterized by short‐term indivisibility or inertia (and hence not suitable for short‐run flexible adjustment in new efficiency stages), as is the case for runways of airports. This so‐called fixed factor case will be included in the DFM submodel of the DEA. This extended DEA—with a DFM and a fixed factor component—will be applied to a comparative performance analysis of several major airports in Europe. Finally, our comparative study on airport efficiency analysis will be extended by incorporating also the added value of the presence of shopping facilities at airports for their relative economic performance. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A network‐based dynamic air traffic flow model for short‐term en route traffic prediction

This paper presents a dynamic network‐based approach for short‐term air traffic flow prediction in en route airspace. A dynamic network characterizing both the topological structure of airspace and the dynamics of air traffic flow is developed, based on which the continuity equation in fluid mechanics is adopted to describe the continuous behaviour of the en route traffic. Building on the network‐based continuity equation, the space division concept in cell transmission model is introduced to discretize the proposed model both in space and time. The model parameters are sequentially updated based on the statistical properties of the recent radar data and the new predicting results. The proposed method is applied to a real data set from Shanghai Area Control Center for the short‐term air traffic flow prediction both at flight path and en route sector level. The analysis of the case study shows that the developed method can characterize well the dynamics of the en route traffic flow, thereby providing satisfactory prediction results with appropriate uncertainty limits. The mean relative prediction errors are less than 0.10 and 0.14, and the absolute errors fall in the range of 0 to 1 and 0 to 3 in more than 95% time intervals respectively, for the flight path and en route sector level. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Time‐of‐day transit pricing: comparative US and international experiences

Experiences with time‐of‐day transit pricing in the U.S. are reviewed in this article and compared to those in other countries. Emphasis is placed on examining ridership, financial and efficiency impacts associated with time‐of‐day pricing, along with highlighting innovative approaches to implementing fare differentials. American time‐of‐day fare structures have been about evenly split between off‐peak discounts, peak‐period surcharges, and programmes involving differential rates of fare increases between peak and off‐peak hours. Although most American operators introduced time‐of‐day differentials to encourage ridership shifts to the off‐peak period, available evidence suggests that they have been only marginally successful in doing so. Off‐peak users were generally found to be far more fare‐sensitive to discounts than peak passengers were to surcharges. Only in a handful of American cities were significant efficiency and financial benefits from time‐of‐day pricing recorded, though in those few places, they tended to be substantial. The most successful American programmes have been those which collect fares on the basis of bus runs and direction of trips (rather than the exact time) and which aggressively market their programmes under the aegis of ‘bargain fares’. It is concluded that useful lessons can be gained by sharing policy insights from experiments with differential transit pricing in both the US and elsewhere.     

Classification modeling approach for vehicle dynamics model‐integrated traffic simulation assessing surrogate safety

To assess safety impacts of untried traffic control strategies, an earlier study developed a vehicle dynamics model‐integrated (i.e., VISSIM‐CarSim‐SSAM) simulation approach and evaluated its performance using surrogate safety measures. Although the study found that the integrated simulation approach was a superior alternative to existing approaches in assessing surrogate safety, the computation time required for the implementation of the integrated simulation approach prevents it from using it in practice. Thus, this study developed and evaluated two types of models that could replace the integrated simulation approach with much faster computation time, feasible for real‐time implementation. The two models are as follows: (i) a statistical model (i.e., logit model) and (ii) a nonparametric approach (i.e., artificial neural network). The logit model and the neural network model were developed and trained on the basis of three simulation data sets obtained from the VISSIM‐CarSim‐SSAM integrated simulation approach, and their performances were compared in terms of the prediction accuracy. These two models were evaluated using six new simulation data sets. The results indicated that the neural network approach showing 97.7% prediction accuracy was superior to the logit model with 85.9% prediction accuracy. In addition, the correlation analysis results between the traffic conflicts obtained from the neural network approach and the actual traffic crash data collected in the field indicated a statistically significant relationship (i.e., 0.68 correlation coefficient) between them. This correlation strength is higher than that of the VISSIM only (i.e., the state of practice) simulation approach. The study results indicated that the neural network approach is not only a time‐efficient way to implementing the VISSIM‐CarSim‐SSAM integrated simulation but also a superior alternative in assessing surrogate safety. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Flexible long range planning using low cost information

Contemporary transport planning requires a flexible modelling approach which can be used to monitor the implementation of a long term plan checking regularly its short term performance with easily available data; the original model is periodically updated using low cost information and this allows the evaluation of the changes to the plan which may be required. Such an approach requires models suited to regular updating and to the use of data from different sources. Models to update trip matrices from traffic counts have been available for some time; however, the estimation and/or updating of other model stages with low cost data has escaped analytical treatment. The paper discusses this idea and formulates the updating problem for an example involving a joint destination/mode choice model under various assumptions about the nature of the available data. Analytical solutions are proposed as well as some general conclusions.requests for offprints