Chapter Four

Operation Based Railway

Planning

By Biniyam A
Contents
• Definition and essence of capacity
• Parameters of capacities
• Railway capacity planning issues
 Railway inputs, constraints and outputs
Rules and
Law regulation Standards

Transport Units achieved

Demand for Transport

by Railway
Transport Quality
Transport People or Goods by Rail Achieved

Transport Value
Achieved

People Resource & Funds

equipment
 Operators Objectives
• Long term stability in a changing market
• Maintaining or increasing market share
• Minimal use of essential resources
• Staff qualifications and staff time
• Operational funds
• Land , structures, track
• Access and delay charges (where applicable)
• Energy and other raw materials
• Minimization of regulation by government
• Stakeholder influence are very significant
• Minimal complexity to achieve robust operation
 Background
• Good Railway planning should be a balance
between:
• That which is demand-driven and

• That which is easy/cost-effective to operate.

• Cost efficiency requirements the full use of

capacity:
• But operational flexibility requires some slack;

• And how we manage affects our ability to use capacity

effectively (or not)

• Railway capacity has different meanings

 What is “capacity”?
• Rail capacity is a loosely defined term that has
numerous meanings
• General definition: Capacity is a measure of the
ability to move a specific amount of traffic over a
defined rail line with a given set of resources under
a specific service plan. (e.g. number of tons moved,
average train speed, on-time-performance,
maximum number of trains per day, etc.)
• Track capacity: The highest volume (trains per day)
that can be moved over a subdivision under a
specified schedule and operating plan (traffic and
operations) while not exceeding a defined threshold.
 Cont’d
• Theoretical (Physical) Capacity:
Maximum number of trains physically
possible to squeeze through plan
• Practical Capacity: The practical limit of
“representative traffic” volume that can be
moved on a line while achieving a defined
performance threshold.
• “representative traffic” reflects effects of
train mix, priorities, fleeting, HP/ton.
• “Performance threshold” can be maximum
train crew on duty time, or minimum run
time plus 10%, etc.
 Why is capacity important?
• Railroads’ largest asset is their trackage and
related infrastructure.
• Maximize the use of this asset to generate the
largest revenue.
• Overcapacity may be as bad as insufficient
capacity
• “You can’t manage what you can’t measure”
• Measurement and monitoring capacity enables
more efficient utilization of this asset
• Objectives
– Improve track asset utilization
– Increase service reliability
– Reduce capital and operating costs
• Optimal balance among competing objectives
 More about railway capacity
• Capacity on railways is more difficult to
determine since the capacity depends
on both the infrastructure and the
timetable.
• Over the years railway capacity has
been defined in different ways, e.g :
– The capacity of an infrastructure facility is
the ability to operate the trains with an
acceptable punctuality
– Capacity can be defined as the capability of
the infrastructure to handle one or several
timetables
 More about railway…
– Capacity as such does not exist. Railway
infrastructure capacity depends on the way
it is utilized
• The reason that it is difficult to define
railway capacity is that there are
several parameters that can be
measured, see the figure shown in the
next slide.
• The parameters seen in the figure
(Number of trains, stability,
heterogeneity and average speed) are
dependent of each other.
The Balance of the railway capacity
 1. Number of trains
• If the capacity is measured as the number
of trains per hour, the capacity in a cross
section can be calculated as:
• K=qmax⋅n
Where: K is the capacity
qmax is the maximum traffic intensity
[trains/h]
n is the number of train paths
• In the operation of fast trains catch up
with slower trains all trains will have the
same stopping pattern when close to the
maximum capacity – the timetable will be
homogeneous.
 2. Heterogeneity
• A timetable is heterogeneous (or not
homogeneous) when a train catches up another
train.
• The result of a heterogeneous timetable is that it
is not possible to run as many trains as if the
timetable was homogeneous – all trains running
at the same speed and having the same stopping
pattern.
Heterogeneous

Homogeneous
 Evaluating heterogeneity
•

• Where:
SSHR – Sum of Shortest Headway time Reciprocals
ht,i- is the shortest headway time observed between two trains
N is the number of trains in the cycle observed

• Where:
SAHR – Sum of Arrival Headway time Reciprocals
ht,iA is the headway time observed between two trains at the
end of the line section
N is the number of trains in the cycle observed

• The homogeneity is then equal to 1 when the timetable is completely

homogeneous and opposes 0 when the heterogeneity increases
 3. Average speed
• A train consumes a different amount of capacity at
different speeds.
• When a train stands still, the train consumes all the
capacity since it occupies the block section for an
infinite amount of time.
• When the train speeds up the train occupies the
block section for shorter time whereas more trains
can pass the same block section – more capacity is
gained.
• However, when increasing the speed also the braking
distance is increased which means that the headway
distance – and headway time – is increased whereas
capacity is lost,
 4. Stability
• The stability of the railway system is difficult to work
out as such.
• The punctuality of the trains is, however, derived
from the stability.
• It is difficult to evaluate the stability or punctuality
of a planned timetable not yet put in operation.
• It is only possible to estimate the punctuality of
smaller changes in the timetable or infrastructure
using the experience.
• If the punctuality of larger changes in the
infrastructure and/or timetable have to be estimated
it is necessary to use simulation tools such as
RailSys.
 Cont’d
• Even though it is difficult to predict the future
punctuality a general rule of thumb is that the
punctuality will drop when the capacity utilization
increase
 Capacity factors
 Units – trains per hour? Passenger per hour

 Affected by
 number of tracks

 Signaling ( aspects, overlaps, sighting distance)

 Junctions

 Variability between train services

 Train length (vehicle length X no. of vehicles)

 Train performance acceleration/ decelerations/ braking, manual vs auto

 Capacity of individual vehicles:

 Seat vs standing space

 Stop times at stations

 Different operators use different measures

 Different operators manage differently

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 Planning: Infrastructure Issues
 Fast and slow services

 Impact on capacity

 Segregating traffic

 Number of tracks available

 Passing loops

 Junction working

 Station layouts

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 Planning: Train Graph

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 Planning: Train Graph
-4125 -3300 -2475 -1650 -825 0 825 1650 2475 3300 4125 4950 5775
00:00:00

00:02:30

Front

Tail

00:05:00

00:07:30
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 Planning: Multiple Tracks and Operation

North South Slow fast

Track Pairing

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 Planning: Passing Loops

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 Planning: (Line) Capacity Calculation
 Determine section carrying the most passengers:
 This is described in nn thousands of passenger per hour direction (pphd).

 Calculate capacity of train= (No. of seats + number of standing

spaces) x numbers of cars in train:
 Standing area is calculated by floor area, less space in front of seats for
passenger feet (300 mm)

 Standing passenger numbers are calculated by using passengers/ m2 X

standing area. It can range from 4/m2 to 10/ m2.

 Calculate the number of trains required per hour to carry the peak
hour load

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 Planning: (Line) capacity …
 The FICHE method assesses the capacity according to
the following formula:

Where: L= capacity of the line

T = period
tfm = occupation time of a train compared to next
train
tr = recovery margin
tzu = additional time

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 Planning: (Line) capacity …
 The assessment of the capacity can be based only on the
number of trains of each type, with a random approach for
scheduling, using:

 where tfij is the minimum headway between a train of type

j following a train of type i
 The running time margin tr is a breathing space added to train
headways to reduce knock-on delays and to achieve an acceptable
quality of service.
 The UIC proposed two expressions for this extra time margin:
 tr = 0.67 × tfm, when the desired utilization is 0.6;
 tr = 0.33 × tfm, when the desired utilization is 0.75.
 The additional time tzu is added to take into account the fact that the
capacity decreases when the number of sections increases:
 tzu = 0.25 × a, where a is the number of section
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 Planning: Headway and Capacity
 Issues affecting headway:
 Signal spacing:
 Site-specific

 Includes overlap requirements

 Sighting distances

 Train performance
 Acceleration and braking

 Auto manual driving

 Length and passenger capacity

 Dwell related activities and thus dwell time

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 Planning: Station Stop Times
 Passenger movements are typically 1/meter second so one needs
to:
 Maximize the number and width of doors per train, and run as many trains as
possible, unchecked by signals

 Ensure that passengers use all the doors

 Design rolling stock so that passengers can move around inside, and hold on
to grab-rails

 Minimize door closure and traction start times

 Maximize platform width and the number of entrance/exits

 Minimize platform steps and gaps

 Ensure good signage and separate passenger flows

 Passenger flows can be modeled reasonable well

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 Planning: Timetabling Issues
 Train frequency

 Number of trains/ hour to carry the peak hour load

 Regular intervals

 Short-turning

 Cross-forming/inter-working

 Through running

 Fixed Train formations

 Interaction between different types of capacity

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 Planning: Terminus Layover times
 Minimum time for driver to change ends
 Stepping-back

 Luggage, cleaning/ watering and catering trolleys

 Recovery time – a function of:

 Journey distance

 Train service and infrastructure reliability

 Importance to passengers on that route

 Impact on train-set requirements and hence costs

 Train waiting in platform reduces waiting/ hassle associated

with waiting
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 Planning: Timetable Generation
Technique
 Train Graphs

 Planning for reliability

 Operational simulations:
 Vision, Opentrack, railSyst, etc.

 Timetabling for metro services:

 Simplicity

 Marketing

 Appraisal techniques

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 Planning: Rolling Stock Issues
 Performance:
 Management of stops (inc. door opening and closing) determines metro service, as
much as accelerating/ braking

 Stabling points:
 Preferably one at each end of line (minimize empty running)

 Ideally with more than one exit (reduces chance of trains getting stuck)

 Maintenance requirements:
 Balanced exams or hierarchy of work?

 To be done at night/ between the peaks or over several days?

 Modular equipping swaps or work carried out on-site

 Building up to service:
 Train service levels ideally need to follow the variation in demand through the day,
being ramped up and down accordingly

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 Planning: Passenger Rolling Stocks
 Multiple/units train
 Special express train
 Direct and Ordinary
 Fast train
 Direct and Local
 Ordinary train.
 Fast and Slow
 Temporary train
 Tourist train
 Commuter/suburban train

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 Planning: Staffing Issues
 Route knowledge:

 British practice is for drivers to learn the details of the route

 But we need to avoid them getting bored through repetitive work,

especially if operators are underground

 Crew Scheduling:
 Maximum number of driver hours/ shift

 Meal-break requirements;

 Ensure that they finish where they started

 Stepping back;
 At very busy termini, use extra driver to board the rear of an incoming
train to avoid waiting for the arriving driver to change cabs
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 Workflow of the UIC 406 method

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 Options to increase line capacity
I. Operations options:
– Increase average speed
– Reduce traffic peaking
– Reduce the variability in speed
– Reduce number of meets & passes

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 Options to …
II. Infrastructure options:
• Line (links):
• Reduce traffic control block length

• Add or lengthen passing sidings

• Additional tracks

• Junctions (nodes):
• Improve junction design

• Grade separation

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 Capacity Evaluation Tools
1. Theoretical models are the simplest among the three, and
can often be computed manually:
• Quick evaluation of relative effects

2. Simulation models: mimic train dispatcher logic, and is the

most sophisticated and computationally intensive method:
• Closest representation of the actual operations

3. Parametric models are developed from simulation and

focus on the key elements of line capacity:
• Fill the gap between simple theoretical model and detailed simulation

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 Key points
 Good organization –need to get the right asset in the place at the right time

 Planning-need to ensure capacity is provided cost effectively

 System capacity can be enhanced in many ways

 There are many trade-offs,

 Number of trains

 Stability

 Heterogeneity

 Average speed

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 Fin!

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