Towards autonomous goal-oriented self-organisation in railways

Abstract

Self-organisation, a concept with wide-ranging applications across disciplines, offers significant potential for advancing railway traffic management. This review synthesises existing definitions, identifies critical gaps, and evaluates the applicability of self-organisation principles to railway traffic management. It also introduces a classification of self-organising systems and emphasises the importance of autonomy and goal orientation for enhancing scalability, robustness, and adaptability in railway operations. Building on insights from common-pool resource management, we propose the concept of autonomous goal-oriented self-organisation, a novel framework that combines decentralised decision-making with dynamic rule adaptation to address the complexities of modern railway systems. Key contributions include a critical synthesis of existing definitions, a novel classification of self-organising systems emphasising autonomy and goal orientation, and a discussion of its implications for railway traffic management. The review bridges disciplinary perspectives to provide a cohesive understanding of self-organisation and proposes a research agenda that prioritises simulation-based validation, interdisciplinary approaches, and adaptive mechanism development. By offering actionable insights and theoretical advancements, the framework has the potential to inspire innovative, equitable, and sustainable solutions for railway traffic management and beyond.