Restricted car-use and perceived accessibility

In order to plan for, and achieve, a sustainable and accessible transport system, research and policies alike recognize a need to implement and enhance alternative transport options in favor of the private car. Moreover, these sustainable alternatives need to offer sufficient levels of accessibility regardless of where people live or work. We present and discuss an approach for capturing and evaluating perceived accessibility, with the ability to differentiate between individuals. Levels of perceived accessibility are compared before and after a fictive car use restriction, and between residential areas, using data from 2711 residents of Malmö, Sweden. A main conclusion is that levels of perceived accessibility become significantly lower for car users when they are limited in their options for daily travel. The difference is more substantive for frequent car users, who already travel less by sustainable modes today. There are also significant differences in levels of perceived accessibility in the restricted scenario, depending on where individuals live. These novel findings may not come as a surprise, but they emphasize the importance of including and analyzing perceptions of car users when designing accessible and sustainable transport systems. The paper ends with a discussion on how to facilitate the transition from current transport systems to an inclusive and accessible system.     

机车车辆和列车检测系统兼容性标准制定历史及若干问题分析

机车车辆和列车检测系统的兼容性涉及行车安全,欧洲TSI中对其有明确的要求和配套标准,近年来中国国内也制定了类似标准,但以修改采用IEC或EN相关标准为主,总体上系统性研究较为缺乏。通过文献研究法,搜集整理了国内外机车车辆和列车检测系统兼容性标准和相关欧洲研究项目等资料,对标准的演进和完善过程进行了梳理和总结,并选取当前标准制定和运用中的若干问题进行分析。历经20年,欧洲包括EN 50238系列和EN 50617系列的兼容性标准体系已经基本建成,TSI中关于欧洲频率管理(FrM)的开口项也已初步关闭。IEC仅针对EN 50238第1部分制定了IEC 62427标准,而中国现行相关国家标准并不完善。建议立足中国铁路特点开展相关理论研究和系统测试,确定符合我国实际的干扰电流限值,完善相关标准体系。     

受限状态下的高速列车迭代学习控制方法研究

针对受限状态下的高速列车自动驾驶系统的跟踪控制问题,基于列车动力学模型,提出一种带饱和函数的迭代学习控制算法。根据Lyapunov稳定性原理,利用列车运行过程中的状态偏差,推导出基于迭代学习控制的列车自动运行控制律。建立类Lyapunov的复合能量函数,通过在迭代域的差分,证明了其差分负定性和有界性,所设计的算法能够控制列车在迭代域对期望运行轨迹达到渐近收敛。采用本文提出的迭代学习控制算法对列车的跟踪性能进行验证,并与PID控制和D型迭代学习控制算法进行比较,结果表明:相较于其他两种算法,本文提出的算法在第3次迭代中就能控制列车精确跟踪期望轨迹,说明算法具有较快的收敛速度和较高的跟踪精度,且能够将控制输入约束在允许范围内。     

考虑客流空间分布的地铁列车节能时刻表优化方法

客流变化引起的列车质量变化是影响地铁列车能耗与节能运行的重要因素之一. 本文考虑地铁线路客流空间分布差异，研究耗散型再生制动能利用方式下的列车节能时刻表优化方法. 结合各区间载荷差异和列车运动方程，建立以净能耗最小为目标的时刻表优化模型，通过适度优化计划停站时间、区间运行时间和折返时间协同多列车牵引、巡航、惰行和制动过程的时空分布，设计二分法和粒子群算法对模型求解. 以北京地铁某线路进行实例研究，结果表明，优化模型能有效协同多列车的节能运行，考虑客流空间分布差异比假定列车载荷为常数能进一步提升节能效果.     

Characterising group-cycling journeys using interactive graphics

The group-cycling behaviours of over 16,000 members of the London Cycle Hire Scheme (LCHS), a large public bikeshare system, are identified and analysed. Group journeys are defined as trips made by two or more cyclists together in space and time. Detailed insights into group-cycling behaviour are generated using specifically designed visualization software. We find that in many respects group-cycle journeys fit an expected pattern of discretionary activity: group journeys are more likely at weekends, late evenings and lunchtimes; they generally take place within more pleasant parts of the city; and between individuals apparently known to each other. A separate set of group activity is found, however, that coincides with commuting peaks and that appears to be imposed onto LCHS users by the scheme’s design. Studying the characteristics of individuals making group journeys, we identify a group of less experienced LCHS cyclists that appear to make more spatially extensive journeys than they would do normally while cycling with others; and that female cyclists are more likely to make late evening journeys when cycling in groups. For 20% of group cyclists, the first journey ever made through the LCHS was a group journey; this is particularly surprising since just 9% of all group cyclists’ journeys are group journeys. Moreover, we find that women are very significantly (p < 0.001) overrepresented amongst these ‘first time group cyclists’. Studying the bikeshare cyclists, or bike share ‘friends’, that individuals make ‘first time group journeys’ with, we find a significantly high incidence (p < 0.001) of group journeys being made with friends of the opposite gender, and for a very large proportion (55%) of members these first ever journeys are made with a friend that shares the same postcode. A substantial insight, then, is that group cycling appears to be a means through which early LCHS usage is initiated.     

Exploring the role of social capital influence variables on travel behaviour

This paper explores the potential role of individual trip characteristics and social capital network variables in the choice of transport mode. A sample of around 100 individuals living or working in one suburb of Madrid (i.e. Las Rosas district of Madrid) participated in a smartphone short panel survey, entering travel data for an entire working week. A Mixed Logit model was estimated with this data to analyze shifts to metro as a consequence of the opening of two new stations in the area. Apart from classical explanatory variables, such as travel time and cost, gender, license and car ownership, the model incorporated two “social capital network” variables: participation in voluntary activities and receiving help for various tasks (i.e. child care, housekeeping, etc.). Both variables improved the capacity of the model to explain transport mode shifts. Further, our results confirm that the shift towards metro was higher in the case of people “helped” and lower for those participating in some voluntary activities.     

地铁运行图质量指标评价研究

通过对地铁运行图质量指标体系的研究分析,以广州地铁为例,阐述了三大指标对列车运行图的评价意义,期望给同行提供借鉴.     

Factors influencing the purchasing decisions of low emission cars: A study of Slovenia

This paper presents a study of customer preferences and opinions about alternative fuel vehicles. Nowadays the studies of green technologies, especially in the area of green transport, are interesting for policy makers, vehicle producers, customers and energy suppliers. Many stakeholders from public and private sector are investing a lot of effort to identify consumer behaviour for future improvements in development of their green products and strategies. This study is a modification of previously conducted research on customer behaviour on the same topic in Scotland. The survey includes almost 700 participants to identify the most important parameters of consumer behaviour related to purchase of alternative fuel vehicle. Therefore the questionnaire includes different factors, combining financial and technical aspects, environmental performance and vehicle design. Results have revealed that the most relevant factor for purchasing low emission vehicle is total vehicle price, and that the segment of potential alternative fuel vehicles buyers is much larger than we initially anticipated. Such vehicles are, surprisingly, also more attractive for the older population, according to our results.     

Modelling and validation of coupled high-speed maglev train-and-viaduct systems considering support flexibility

This study presents a more realistic modelling of the maglev-based high-speed railway line in Shanghai, China. Focus is placed on an accurate simulation of the two subsystems: the train subsystem including the magnets and the viaduct subsystem including the modular function units of the rails. The electromagnet force–air gap model with a proportional-derivative (PD) controller is adopted to simulate the interaction between the maglev train via its electromagnets and the viaduct via its modular function units. The flexibilities of the rails, girders, piers and associated elastic bearings are all considered in the modelling of the viaduct subsystem to investigate their effects on an interaction between the two subsystems. By applying the proposed model to the Shanghai maglev line, the essential characteristics of the coupled system can be duly captured. The accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed approach are then validated by comparing the computed dynamic responses and frequencies with the measurement results. It is confirmed that the proposed modelling with a detailed simulation of the magnets and modular function units can duly account for the dynamic interaction between the train and viaduct systems. Moreover, the effects of the inclusion of the flexibilities of the rails, girders and elastic supports to the response of the coupled system are respectively investigated, the results of which prove that their involvements are essential to the accurate prediction of the response of the coupled maglev train–viaduct system.     

Train routing and timetabling problem for heterogeneous train traffic with switchable scheduling rules

This paper proposes a mathematical model for the train routing and timetabling problem that allows a train to occasionally switch to the opposite track when it is not occupied, which we define it as switchable scheduling rule. The layouts of stations are taken into account in the proposed mathematical model to avoid head-on and rear-end collisions in stations. In this paper, train timetable could be scheduled by three different scheduling rules, i.e., no switchable scheduling rule (No-SSR) which allows trains switching track neither at stations and segments, incomplete switchable scheduling rule (In-SSR) which allows trains switching track at stations but not at segments, and complete switchable scheduling rule (Co-SSR) which allows trains switching track both at stations and segments. Numerical experiments are carried out on a small-scale railway corridor and a large-scale railway corridor based on Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway (HSR) corridor respectively. The results of case studies indicate that Co-SSR outperforms the other two scheduling rules. It is also found that the proposed model can improve train operational efficiency.