Microscopic and macroscopic simulation of early freight train departures

Ingrid Johansson; Carl William Palmqvist; Hans Sipilä; Jennifer Warg; Markus Bohlin

doi:10.1016/j.jrtpm.2022.100295

Microscopic and macroscopic simulation of early freight train departures

Ingrid Johansson, Carl William Palmqvist, Hans Sipilä, Jennifer Warg, Markus Bohlin

KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

In Sweden and other countries it is not an uncommon practice that freight trains depart more or less on-demand instead of strictly following a pre-planned timetable. However, the systematic effects of freight trains departing late or (in particular) early has long been a contested issue. Although some microscopic simulation tools currently have the capability to evaluate the effect of freight trains departing before schedule, it has yet not been established how macroscopic simulation tools, capable of fast simulation of nation-wide networks, can manage such tasks. This paper uses a case study on a line between two large freight yards in Sweden to investigate how the results of microscopic and macroscopic simulation, represented by two modern simulation tools, differ when it comes to this particular problem. The main findings are that both the microscopic and the macroscopic tools replicated the empirical punctuality fairly well. Furthermore, allowing early departures of freight trains increased overall freight train punctuality while the passenger train punctuality decreased slightly, as determined by both tools. The results are encouraging, but further studies are needed to determine if macroscopic simulation is on-par with microscopic simulation.

Original language	English
Article number	100295
Number of pages	14
Journal	Journal of Rail Transport Planning and Management
Volume	21
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrtpm.2022.100295
Publication status	Published - 2022 Mar

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This project has received funding from the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme with grant agreement no 826151. The authors would like to thank P?r Johansson, Emma Solinen, Emma Dyrssen and Magnus Wahlborg at the Swedish Transport Administration for discussions and input during the design and implementation of the study, and for providing access to PROTON as well as empirical delay data. We also thank Markus Zinser for explaining PROTON functionality and Oskar Fr?idh for general discussions and expert knowledge of the Swedish railway system.

Funding Information:
This project has received funding from the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme with grant agreement no . The authors would like to thank Pär Johansson, Emma Solinen, Emma Dyrssen and Magnus Wahlborg at the Swedish Transport Administration for discussions and input during the design and implementation of the study, and for providing access to PROTON as well as empirical delay data. We also thank Markus Zinser for explaining PROTON functionality and Oskar Fröidh for general discussions and expert knowledge of the Swedish railway system.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s)

Subject classification (UKÄ)

Transport Systems and Logistics

Keywords

Early departures
Freight trains
Macroscopic
Microscopic
Railway
Simulation

Access to Document

10.1016/j.jrtpm.2022.100295

MiST2: Mindre Störningar i Tågtrafiken, del 2
Palmqvist, C., Winslott Hiselius, L. & Olsson, N.
2019/03/01 → 2022/03/31
Project: Commissioned research

Cite this

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title = "Microscopic and macroscopic simulation of early freight train departures",

abstract = "In Sweden and other countries it is not an uncommon practice that freight trains depart more or less on-demand instead of strictly following a pre-planned timetable. However, the systematic effects of freight trains departing late or (in particular) early has long been a contested issue. Although some microscopic simulation tools currently have the capability to evaluate the effect of freight trains departing before schedule, it has yet not been established how macroscopic simulation tools, capable of fast simulation of nation-wide networks, can manage such tasks. This paper uses a case study on a line between two large freight yards in Sweden to investigate how the results of microscopic and macroscopic simulation, represented by two modern simulation tools, differ when it comes to this particular problem. The main findings are that both the microscopic and the macroscopic tools replicated the empirical punctuality fairly well. Furthermore, allowing early departures of freight trains increased overall freight train punctuality while the passenger train punctuality decreased slightly, as determined by both tools. The results are encouraging, but further studies are needed to determine if macroscopic simulation is on-par with microscopic simulation.",

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note = "Funding Information: This project has received funding from the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme with grant agreement no 826151. The authors would like to thank P?r Johansson, Emma Solinen, Emma Dyrssen and Magnus Wahlborg at the Swedish Transport Administration for discussions and input during the design and implementation of the study, and for providing access to PROTON as well as empirical delay data. We also thank Markus Zinser for explaining PROTON functionality and Oskar Fr?idh for general discussions and expert knowledge of the Swedish railway system. Funding Information: This project has received funding from the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking under the European Union{\textquoteright}s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme with grant agreement no . The authors would like to thank P{\"a}r Johansson, Emma Solinen, Emma Dyrssen and Magnus Wahlborg at the Swedish Transport Administration for discussions and input during the design and implementation of the study, and for providing access to PROTON as well as empirical delay data. We also thank Markus Zinser for explaining PROTON functionality and Oskar Fr{\"o}idh for general discussions and expert knowledge of the Swedish railway system. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 The Author(s)",

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AU - Palmqvist, Carl William

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AU - Warg, Jennifer

AU - Bohlin, Markus

N1 - Funding Information: This project has received funding from the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme with grant agreement no 826151. The authors would like to thank P?r Johansson, Emma Solinen, Emma Dyrssen and Magnus Wahlborg at the Swedish Transport Administration for discussions and input during the design and implementation of the study, and for providing access to PROTON as well as empirical delay data. We also thank Markus Zinser for explaining PROTON functionality and Oskar Fr?idh for general discussions and expert knowledge of the Swedish railway system. Funding Information: This project has received funding from the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme with grant agreement no . The authors would like to thank Pär Johansson, Emma Solinen, Emma Dyrssen and Magnus Wahlborg at the Swedish Transport Administration for discussions and input during the design and implementation of the study, and for providing access to PROTON as well as empirical delay data. We also thank Markus Zinser for explaining PROTON functionality and Oskar Fröidh for general discussions and expert knowledge of the Swedish railway system. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s)

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N2 - In Sweden and other countries it is not an uncommon practice that freight trains depart more or less on-demand instead of strictly following a pre-planned timetable. However, the systematic effects of freight trains departing late or (in particular) early has long been a contested issue. Although some microscopic simulation tools currently have the capability to evaluate the effect of freight trains departing before schedule, it has yet not been established how macroscopic simulation tools, capable of fast simulation of nation-wide networks, can manage such tasks. This paper uses a case study on a line between two large freight yards in Sweden to investigate how the results of microscopic and macroscopic simulation, represented by two modern simulation tools, differ when it comes to this particular problem. The main findings are that both the microscopic and the macroscopic tools replicated the empirical punctuality fairly well. Furthermore, allowing early departures of freight trains increased overall freight train punctuality while the passenger train punctuality decreased slightly, as determined by both tools. The results are encouraging, but further studies are needed to determine if macroscopic simulation is on-par with microscopic simulation.

AB - In Sweden and other countries it is not an uncommon practice that freight trains depart more or less on-demand instead of strictly following a pre-planned timetable. However, the systematic effects of freight trains departing late or (in particular) early has long been a contested issue. Although some microscopic simulation tools currently have the capability to evaluate the effect of freight trains departing before schedule, it has yet not been established how macroscopic simulation tools, capable of fast simulation of nation-wide networks, can manage such tasks. This paper uses a case study on a line between two large freight yards in Sweden to investigate how the results of microscopic and macroscopic simulation, represented by two modern simulation tools, differ when it comes to this particular problem. The main findings are that both the microscopic and the macroscopic tools replicated the empirical punctuality fairly well. Furthermore, allowing early departures of freight trains increased overall freight train punctuality while the passenger train punctuality decreased slightly, as determined by both tools. The results are encouraging, but further studies are needed to determine if macroscopic simulation is on-par with microscopic simulation.

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KW - Microscopic

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DO - 10.1016/j.jrtpm.2022.100295

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ER -

Microscopic and macroscopic simulation of early freight train departures

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Subject classification (UKÄ)

Keywords

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Projects

MiST2: Mindre Störningar i Tågtrafiken, del 2

Cite this