Techniques for inserting additional trains into existing timetables

In this paper techniques for scheduling additional train services (SATS) are considered as is train scheduling involving general time window constraints, fixed operations, maintenance activities and periods of section unavailability. The SATS problem is important because additional services must often be given access to the railway and subsequently integrated into current timetables. The SATS problem therefore considers the competition for railway infrastructure between new services and existing services belonging to the same or different operators. The SATS problem is characterised as a hybrid job shop scheduling problem with time window constraints. To solve this problem constructive algorithm and meta-heuristic scheduling techniques that operate upon a disjunctive graph model of train operations are utilised. From numerical investigations the proposed framework and associated techniques are tested and shown to be effective.     

Estimating daily vehicle usage distributions and the implications for limited-range vehicles

Understanding the potential market for limited-range vehicles is important to planning research and development programs for electric and hybrid vehicles and for gaseous-fueled vehicles as well. Studies of consumer preferences and perceptions have shown vehicle range to be a very important vehicle attribute. Studies of household vehicle use, on the other hand, have suggested that the range requirements most households place on vehicles are quite modest. The latter, however, have been severely limited by the absence of longitudinal data on the usage of individual vehicles. Instead, they have relied on single-day surveys on many vehicles, an inappropriate data source. This study develops a method for estimating daily travel distributions for individual vehicles and applies it to a recent longitudinal survey of miles and days between refuelings for over 2000 vehicles. Every vehicle in the sample has at least 30 consecutive refueling intervals. A variety of measures of “range requirement” are defined and calculated. The results confirm the existence of a substantial potential market (20–50% of all household vehicles) for vehicles with ranges on the order of 100 miles. Future research using these data and this method could describe the nature of vehicles with limited-range needs and the households which own them.     

Use of duration models for predicting vehicular delay at a US/Canadian border crossing

Delays caused by congestion at the US/Canadian border crossing between Washington state and British Columbia have underscored the need for some sort of intervention. One obvious congestion-mitigation measure would be to estimate delay times and then relay this information to motorists so that they could select among alternative border crossing sites, or delay their trips. This paper applies duration models to estimate vehicular delay and demonstrates the usefulness of such models as a basis for a fully automated motorist information system. The paper also explores the flexibility of duration models, in providing estimates of vehicle delay, by using alternate parametric forms and assessing prediction accuracy.     

The effectiveness of differential pricing on route choice

The use of differential pricing as a means of traffic management has been advocated by specialists in the field of transport for quite some time. Because of technical and political reasons, a full-scale pricing scheme for the use of road space has yet to be introduced. Applying the principle to a highly automatic rail system, however, is technologically much more feasible. The Mass Transit Railway Corporation of Hong Kong has implemented a so-called revenue neutral peal pricing policy after the completion of a second cross-harbour route- the East Harbour Crossing — in May, 1990. Passengers travelling from Kowloon to the central business district (including Jordon and Tsim Sha Tsui on the Kowloon side and stations from Sheung Wan to Causeway Bay on the Island side) during the morning peak hour are confronted with the following choice: either (i) make use of the Nathan Road Corridor and pay 80 cents on top of normal face; or (ii) take the less congested but in general longer route via the East Harbour Crossing and get a 80 cents discount. The present paper attempts to analyse the effectiveness of this differential pricing policy in diverting passengers from the overcrowded section to the less heavily utilized route. A personal interview survey comprising a total of 1094 successful cases was conducted for this purpose. The logit regression model was employed to analyse the route choice. It is found that income, habit and journey time are the most important variables determining the route choice. The effect of cost or fare difference, although large in terms of magnitude, is only marginally significant in the statistical sense. It is suggested that efforts to change the passengers' habit and measures to shorten the train transfer time at the Quarry Bay Station for the East harbour Crossing users would be more effective in achieving this end. This is especially the case given the current political development in Hong King which renders further enlargement of the price difference a highly difficult proposition.     

Locating refuelling stations for alternative fuel vehicles: a review on models and applications

The recent concerns on environmental issues have expedited the technological development of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs), but the deployment of AFVs still remains at the initial stage mainly because of the lack of refuelling facilities. Recognising this, researchers have conducted various studies, proposing a variety of approaches to strategically locating refuelling stations. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the approaches, focusing more on applications than computational issues. The review identifies two main elements of the approaches: location modelling and refuelling demand estimation. Examining how the elements were handled in refuelling location studies, this paper suggests that future refuelling location models should properly reflect the intricate and various perspectives of three major AFV stakeholders: drivers, government agencies and refuelling service providers. This study is expected to help researchers efficiently set up their refuelling location problems and identify critical factors for seeking the solutions.     

Link-level vulnerability indicators for real-world networks

It is computationally expensive to find out where vulnerable parts in a network are. In literature a variety of methods were introduced that use simple indicators (measured in real-life or calculated in a traffic simulator) to pre-determine the seriousness of the delays caused by the blocking of that link and thereafter perform a more detailed analysis. This article reviews the indicators proposed in the literature and assesses the quality of these indicators. Furthermore, a multi-linear fit of the indicators is made to find a better, combined, indicator to rank the links according to their vulnerability. The article shows that different indicators assess different links to be vulnerable. Also combined they cannot predict the vulnerability of a link. Therefore, it is concluded that to find vulnerable links, one has to look further than link-based indicators.     

Evaluation of urban accessibility indicators based on internal and external environmental costs

This paper estimates urban accessibility considering types of transport and destinations, taking into account the internal travel time costs, and the ensuing external environmental impacts. Based on online and local surveys, an accessibility function is developed to allow for the construction of an accessibility curve for each transport mode that decreases with distance to represent decaying accessibility. An external environmental impact is associated with the accessibility indicators, taking into account the influence of the cold-start emissions that are particularly relevant for short-distance trips. The methodology is applied to neighborhoods in Lisbon, Portugal, with significant differences in their urban planning, mobility patterns, concentration of services and availability of public transportation.     

高速道岔尖轨点云的复合拼接及数据处理优化

为实现高速铁路尖轨磨耗的高效检测,结合高速尖轨的检测需求及其几何特征,提出了基于距离编码器的复合拼接方法.该方法将距离信息融合到点云拼接中,提高了检测系统的自动化程度.在计算点特征直方图（point feature histograms,PFH）的过程中,引入OpenCL（open computing language）异构加速模型调整点云的数据结构,发挥GPU的并行处理优势获得了更快的数据处理速度.利用实际尖轨开展磨耗检测实验,证明了针对高速尖轨的结构光检测系统有效可行.经过点云拼接和点云扫描数据处理的优化,系统的整体检测效率获得了70%左右的提升.      

板边离缝对CRTS III型轨道-路基动力特性的影响

为了研究板边离缝对高速铁路基础结构动力特性的影响,利用CRTS III型板式轨道-路基全尺寸试验模型开展了落轴试验,实测了轨道板与自密实充填层一侧界面处离缝的几何分布,并利用ANSYS/LS-DYNA有限元软件建立了相应的动力有限元分析模型,分析了板边离缝对轨道和路基结构冲击动力特性的影响规律,并利用相应的试验结果对数值结果进行了对比验证. 研究结果表明:轨道板和自密实层界面处单侧离缝的平均宽度和平均高度分别为28.18 cm和2.15 mm;板边离缝宽度对基础结构动力特性的影响要大于离缝高度;在0～800 mm的范围内,随着离缝宽度的增加,轨道和路基位移以及钢轨加速度、轨道板加速度和基床底层加速度都持续增加,其中轨道板的位移和加速度的增幅均为最大,分别为56.8%和143.3%,充填层、支承层和基床表层的垂向加速度随离缝宽度的增加先增大后减小,当离缝尖端扩展至钢轨正下方附近时达到最大值;在0～3 mm的范围内,轨道和路基垂向位移与加速度均随离缝高度的增大而略微增加,最大增幅分别为8%和12%;越靠近离缝界面层面,离缝高度对其冲击动力特性的影响也越显著.