01156946

Component

The evaluation of the consumed railway line capacity by using UIC Code 406 is based on the route occupancy. It is analytically calculated by compressing the blocking time stairways of a timetable. In the description how to execute the UIC Code compression method many details are left open, or rather not mentioned. This means that different capacity calculations may vary in several details, not only causing different results, but also a decreasing significance. In the following, UIC Code 406 main contents are summarized. Although UIC Code 406 was especially developed for European railroads, capacity evaluations might also play a very important role in North America, e.g. for conforming the infrastructure characteristics considering the changes of traffic in the future. The difficulties that may arise from using the current issue of Code 406 are shown by several examples. After-wards, the disadvantages that are implicated by the compression method as a timetable-dependent examination to get significant and comparable results are discussed. It leads to the question, if these problems might be compensated by applying a method, which is independent of the original timetable. The further examination shows that this is possible, but compared with the problems caused by using the timetable-dependent method, the independent method also features a couple of other disadvantages. To achieve more significant examination results, some suggestions for UIC Code 406 further development and alternative evaluation methods are presented.

01147878

10-0149

English

14p

2010

Transportation Research Board 89th Annual Meeting

DVD

Figures (7) ; References (11) ; Tables (2)

Infrastructure; Line extensions (Rail transit); Railroad traffic; Railroad transportation; Time dependence; Timetables

UIC 406

Railroad capacity

Europe; North America

Planning and Forecasting; Railroads; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2010 Paper #10-0149

TRIS, TRB

Jan 25 2010 10:08AM