01557509

Component

Railroad corridors with two or more continuous tracks can be operated in two approaches: directional or non-directional, and the selected approach affects the overall capacity of the corridor in terms of average speed, train delay and track occupancy. This research used a U.S. multiple-track corridor (Baltimore- Washington, D.C.) as a case study to investigate the effects of non-directional/directional approaches on train performance. Three scenarios were considered as “Initial” schedule that used a database obtained from the Amtrak on 2012 non-directional train operations, “Scenario 1” which allowed for rerouting of trains while maintaining the schedule, and “Scenario 2” which allowed both rerouting and rescheduling to provide a fully directional operation pattern. The results indicated that the number of trains with non-directional pattern was reduced in “Scenario 1”, while average train speeds increased and total train delay was maintained. Under “Scenario 2”, the average train speed was improved, but the total delay of trains and the average level of occupancy of Track #2 increased due to the fact that more traffic converged to a specific track. However all trains in “Scenario 2” operated in a directional pattern, leaving Tracks # 3 and 4 open for new operations. Overall, the research suggests that operational modifications, including a shift to directional train operations through rerouting, rescheduling, or combined rerouting/rescheduling efforts are worth exploring for improved corridor performance. The next steps in the research will examine a new rescheduling/rerouting optimization model for the U.S. environment to optimize single, double and multiple-track corridors under both directional and non-directional operation patterns.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AR030 Railroad Operating Technologies.

01550057

15-5960

English

17p

2015

Transportation Research Board 94th Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; References; Tables

Multiple track; Railroad traffic control; Routing; Schedule maintenance; Transportation corridors

Rail capacity

Baltimore-Washington Corridor

Operations and Traffic Management; Railroads; I73: Traffic Control

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2015 Paper #15-5960

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Dec 30 2014 1:59PM