Analysis of safe and effective next-generation rail signalling systems

Moving Block (MB) and Virtual Coupling (VC) rail signalling will change current train operation paradigm by migrating vital equipment from trackside to onboard to reduce train separation and maintenance costs. Their actual deployment is however constrained by the industry's need to identify configurations of MB and VC signalling equipment...

Impact Assessment of Train-Centric Rail Signalling Technologies

As the deployment of new railway technologies requires official approval from local authorities and governmental agencies, a well-specified strategy can foster investment decisions for technological developments and the overall system migration process. Therefore, it is crucial to guarantee that the proposed railway technologies can enhance...

An alternative graph formulation for train service planning under ETCS Level 2, Moving Block and Virtual Coupling signalling systems with dynamic speed supervision and continuous infrastructure representation

To help maximize utilization of its existing infrastructure, the railway industry requires train service optimization models with headway constraints for state-of-the-art distance-to-go signalling systems. To this end, this paper introduces an approach for assessing train path feasibility in ETCS Level 2, Moving Block, and Virtual Coupling, that...

A robust control strategy for virtual coupling train platoons

This paper presents a train robust control method to optimize train operation based on the concept virtual coupling on train platoon. This approach is inspired by the recent development of platoon control for autonomous vehicles, and it is hoped that this platoon control can be applied to railway transportation. We use a decentralized model...

Analysis of Safe and Effective Next-Generation Rail Signalling Systems using a FTA-SAN Approach

Moving Block (MB) and Virtual Coupling (VC) rail signalling will change current train operation paradigm by migrating vital equipment from trackside to onboard to reduce train separation and maintenance costs. Their actual deployment is however constrained by the industry’s need to identify configurations of MB and VC signalling equipment which...

Analysis of Safe and Effective Next-Generation Rail Signalling Systems using a FTA-SAN Approach

Moving Block (MB) and Virtual Coupling (VC) rail signalling will change current train operation paradigm by migrating vital equipment from trackside to onboard to reduce train separation and maintenance costs. Their actual deployment is however constrained by the industry’s need to identify confi gurations of MB and VC signalling equipment which...

Roadmap development for the deployment of virtual coupling in railway signalling

Developments in the railway industry are continuously evolving and long-term transition strategies can enable an efficient implementation of signalling technologies that provide a significant increase in network capacity and operation efficiency. Virtual Coupling (VC) advances moving block signalling by further reducing train separation to...

A capacity-effective scheduling approach for virtual coupling train operations

As the demand for the railways is expected to raise in the future, researchers are looking for ways to improve the railway capacity to increase the transport ability. Virtual coupling is a new solution based on the moving block technology, which further shortens train separation from absolute braking distance to relative braking distance. This...

Modelling and analysis of Virtual Coupling with dynamic safety margin considering risk factors in railway operations

To address the ever-growing rail transport demand, the concept of Virtual Coupling train operations is gradually gaining ground within the railway industry. Thanks to a Vehicle-to-Vehicle communication, trains could be separated by less than an absolute braking distance and even form connected platoons to increase capacity at bottlenecks....

Capacity benefits of Virtual Coupling over ETCS L3 Moving Block in a realistic operational environment

As the demand for transport of goods and passengers increases, the capacity of railway networks is becoming more and more saturated. Railway infrastructure managers aim to increase the rail network capacity with the minimum possible investments in infrastructure. Next generation signalling concepts such as Moving Block (MB) and Virtual Coupling ...

Assessing Hyperloop Transport Capacity under Moving-Block and Virtual Coupling Operations

The Hyperloop is a concept of a ground transportation system consisting of capsules (called pods) traveling at very high-speeds in near-vacuum tubes. The hyperloop aims to be a fast, cheap, and sustainable alternative to short-haul flights and high-speed rail. The small pod size requires very high frequencies to respond to future high levels of...

A hybrid Delphi-AHP multi-criteria analysis of Moving Block and Virtual Coupling railway signalling

The railway industry needs to investigate overall impacts of next generation signalling systems such as Moving Block (MB) and Virtual Coupling (VC) to identify development strategies to face the forecasted railway demand growth. To this aim an innovative multi-criteria analysis (MCA) framework is introduced to analyse and compare VC and MB in...

Assessing Hyperloop Transport Capacity Under Moving-Block and Virtual Coupling Operations

The Hyperloop is a concept of a ground transportation system consisting of capsules traveling at very high-speeds in near-vacuum tubes. The Hyperloop aims to be a fast, cheap, and sustainable alternative to short-haul flights and high-speed rail. The small pod size requires very high frequencies to respond to future high levels of passenger...

A multi-state train-following model for the analysis of virtual coupling railway operations

The increasing need for capacity has led the railway industry to explore next generation signalling concepts such as Virtual Coupling which takes moving-block operations further by separating trains by a relative braking distance, like cars on the road. By means of a Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication architecture trains can move in a...

A multi-state train-following model for the analysis of Virtual Coupling railway operations

The increasing need for capacity has led the railway industry to explore next generation signalling concepts such as Virtual Coupling which takes moving-block operations further by separating trains by a relative braking distance, like cars on the road. By means of a Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication architecture trains can move in a...