Improving train service reliability by applying an effective timetable robustness strategy

ABSTRACT

To avoid propagation of delays in dense railway timetables, it is important to ensure robustness. One strategy to improve robustness is to provide adequate amount of buffer times between trains. This study concerns how “scheduled minimum headways” should be determined in order to improve robustness in timetables. Scheduled minimum headways include technical minimum headway plus some buffer time. We propose a strategy to be implemented in timetables at the final stages of planning and prior to the operations. The main contributions of this study are 1) to propose a strategy where the size of the scheduled minimum headways is dependent on trains' travel times instead of a fixed-sized time slot and it is called “travel time dependent scheduled minimum headways” or TTDSMH, 2) to evaluate the effects of the new strategy on heterogeneity, speed, and the number of trains in timetables, 3) to show that a simple strategy can improve robustness without imposing major changes in timetables. The strategy is implemented in an Mixed Integer Linear Programming framework for timetabling and tested for some problem instances from Sweden. Results show that TTDSMH can improve robustness. The proposed strategy can be applied in intelligent transportation tools for railway timetabling.     

Effectiveness of travel time reliability indicators in the light of the assessment of dynamic managed lane strategy

ABSTRACT

The aim of traffic management is to ensure a high quality of service for a maximum number of users by decreasing congestion and increasing safety. Uncertainty of travel times decreases the quality of service and leads end users to modify their plans regardless of the average travel time. Indicators describing travel time reliability are being developed and should be used in the future both for the optimization and for the assessment of active traffic management operations. This article discusses the efficiency of certain reliability indicators in an ex-post assessment of a traffic management strategy. Ex-post assessment is based on an observational before–after study. As some factors other than the studied management strategy may intervene between the two periods, and as most reliability indicators require knowledge of the full travel time distribution and not only its average, a methodology is developed for the identification of the impact of these exogenous factors on the whole distribution. Many reliability indicators are split into different parts allowing the identification of the part due to the management strategy impact. The methodology is tested numerically on a managed lane operation consisting of Hard Shoulder Running (HSR) at rush hour on a section of a French motorway. The variation of some reliability indicators appears misleading, whereas the splitting of the indicators increases our understanding of the strategy and highlights its impact. The paper gives the reliability assessment of the HSR field test and discusses different reliability indicators to identify their potential performances and shortcomings.     

Robust traffic assignment model: Formulation,solution algorithms and empirical application

ABSTRACT

The deterministic traffic assignment problem based on Wardrop's first criterion of traffic network utilization has been widely studied in the literature. However, the assumption of deterministic travel times in these models is restrictive, given the large degree of uncertainty prevalent in urban transportation networks. In this context, this paper proposes a robust traffic assignment model that generalizes Wardrop's principle of traffic network equilibrium to networks with stochastic and correlated link travel times and incorporates the aversion of commuters to unreliable routes.

The user response to travel time uncertainty is modeled using the robust cost (RC) measure (defined as a weighted combination of the mean and standard deviation of path travel time) and the corresponding robust user equilibrium (UE) conditions are defined. The robust traffic assignment problem (RTAP) is subsequently formulated as a Variational Inequality problem. To solve the RTAP, a Gradient Projection algorithm is proposed, which involves solving a series of minimum RC path sub-problems that are theoretically and practically harder than deterministic shortest path problems. In addition, an origin-based heuristic is proposed to enhance computational performance on large networks. Numerical experiments examine the computational performance and convergence characteristics of the exact algorithm and establish the accuracy and efficiency of the origin-based heuristic on various real-world networks. Finally, the proposed RTA model is applied to the Chennai road network using empirical data, and its benefits as a normative benchmark are quantified through comparisons against the standard UE and System Optimum (SO) models.     

基于SHEL和三角模糊数理论的地铁钻爆法施工安全评价方法研究

为合理应用决策数据中不同专家的背景知识,找出地铁施工过程中安全测评体系的关注重点,根据地铁施工的特点和SHEL安全模型理论,建立以人-软件(L-S)、人-硬件(L-H)、人-环境(L-E)和人-人(L-L)4个环节为基础的钻爆法地铁施工安全指标体系。请专家给出指标语义评价等级和指标权重语义评价等级,并根据其与三角模糊数的对应关系分别得出三角模糊数评价值。针对不同专家的重要性程度差异,提出基于三角模糊数的群一致性评价方法,得出专家综合权重,集结评价数据,最终得到安全评价结果。最后,对青岛地铁1号线过海段进行实例分析。结果表明,该方法可以解决群评价过程中专家个体权威与群体共识难以兼顾的问题,能够充分利用群决策中的原始评价信息,提高地铁施工安全水平评价的准确性。     

乌鲁木齐市中心城区常规公交乘客满意度研究

乌鲁木齐市中心城区交通日趋拥堵,优先发展公共交通是缓解城市交通拥堵,改善城市交通环境的主要措施。乌鲁木齐市的公共交通主要包括公共汽车和出租汽车,通过实地发放调查问卷、数据处理分析及结合乌鲁木齐市目前的实际情况,运用专家咨询法确定32个指标权重,构建基于综合模糊评价法的常规公交车乘客满意度总评价。获得不同评价结果,并提出改善对策,对乌鲁木齐市的未来常规公交发展起到参考作用。     

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城市道路网络中,各等级道路之间衔接的合理与否直接关系到相关道路乃至整个道路网络期望功能的实现。本文以不同等级道路功能分析为基础,提出城市综合交通规划的道路网规划,以交通功能为主要目标的城市道路网络系统专项规划,以服务功能为主要目标的道路网络衔接规划的总体思路。结合以概率统计为基础的蒙特卡罗算法,分别计算交通功能和服务功能的系统可靠度,以作为不同阶段道路网络衔接的主要评价指标,并探讨道路网络衔接中的越级交叉问题。最后以郑州市某区域道路网络为例,验证了本文方法的可行性与适用性。     

城市轨道交通网络可靠性分析

为预防突发事件对城市轨道交通网络的影响,提高应变能力、增强运营稳定性,有必要对其网络可靠性进行分析。以上海市轨道交通网络为实证对象,基于L空间和P空间方法建立两种网络拓扑结构,分析其复杂网络的静态特性。提出针对车站删除方法的4种攻击策略,并对各种攻击策略下网络可靠性的变化进行比较分析。结果表明,轨道交通车站网络和换乘网络对随机攻击具有鲁棒性,对蓄意攻击具有脆弱性;动态攻击策略对网络可靠性的影响比静态攻击策略更大。     

基于T-S模糊模型的船舶推进系统故障诊断研究

基于船舶推进系统基准(SPSB)测试平台,建立了船舶推进控制系统的T-S模糊模型,结合满意控制理论,通过模糊化与反模糊化将船舶推进系统分成多个局部子系统,给出了各局部子系统在执行器恒偏差故障下,满足多个性能指标约束的故障诊断观测器设计方法。利用Simulink工具箱建立了仿真模型,验证了船舶推进控制系统多性能指标约束下故障诊断观测器的正确性与有效性,为船舶推进系统的故障诊断提供了新的思路。     

基于有限元及试验对舵系无键连接的可靠性分析

以舵系的实际工况和参数为依据,采用无键连接的方式来优化舵系的连接,并利用有限元分析舵系新型无键连接的可靠性,通过有限元计算在不同工况下无键连接方式的应变及应力的分布初步验证了该连接方式的可靠性;同时以舵系实际工况的弯矩、扭矩和过载为依据建立了舵系无键连接的实验平台来验证有限元分析的结果。实验数据和分析结果表明:通过液压螺母在舵系上形成的预加载荷使舵柄和舵杆之间产生适当的静摩擦力,该静摩擦力可以提供舵系所需要的弯矩、扭矩并能够保证超载条件下舵系工作状态的稳定性及可靠性。     

基于模糊层次评价法的动力定位系统综合评价

通过对动力定位系统体系结构的分析,确立动力定位系统RAM评估指标的层次结构,即系统可靠性、系统可用性、系统可维护性。文章针对动力定位系统RAM的评估工作,采用AHP法确定评估指标体系各指标权重,建立了模糊综合评判模型,对系统的RAM进行量化,并对最终可能出现的不同评估结论进行分析与选择。最后以某耙吸式挖泥船为研究对象,验证了该方法的可行性和有效性。