% IMPORTANT: The following is UTF-8 encoded. This means that in the presence
% of non-ASCII characters, it will not work with BibTeX 0.99 or older.
% Instead, you should use an up-to-date BibTeX implementation like “bibtex8” or
% “biber”.
@PHDTHESIS{Liebhold:998323,
author = {Liebhold, Alexandra Angelika},
othercontributors = {Nießen, Nils and Koseki, Takafumi},
title = {{E}valuation of dispatching algorithms in a railway lab
under realistic conditions},
school = {Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen},
type = {Dissertation},
address = {Aachen},
publisher = {RWTH Aachen University},
reportid = {RWTH-2024-11302},
pages = {1 Online-Ressource : Illustrationen},
year = {2024},
note = {Veröffentlicht auf dem Publikationsserver der RWTH Aachen
University 2025; Dissertation, Rheinisch-Westfälische
Technische Hochschule Aachen, 2024},
abstract = {As the traffic volume operated via rail constantly
increases, delayed trains can severely impact the
punctuality of other trains within the network. Train
dispatching aims at reducing or avoiding the extent of such
secondary delays while increasing the overall punctuality by
retiming, reordering or rerouting of trains in the network.
Today, dispatching is mostly performed manually by
experienced human dispatchers. Over the past years, several
decision support systems, which provide recommendations to
the human dispatchers, have been developed and successfully
implemented during real operation. Fully automated
dispatching systems are still rarely applied. Prior to the
commissioning of new dispatching systems, extensive testing
is required. Theoretical algorithms are first tested for
their general feasibility during computer-based case studies
and simulations, which are often based on real-world data.
After successful simulations, new dispatching systems are
normally assessed for their practical usability during field
tests on small segments of the real network. However, field
tests are extremely costly and long planning horizons are
involved. Railway labs can provide an intermediate level
testing environment for new dispatching systems under more
realistic conditions than pure computer simulations. Tests
performed in a railway lab are also more cost-effective than
tests performed directly on the real field, while not
impeding any real-world operations. However, only few
dispatching systems were tested in railway labs so far and
previous tests did not incorporate fully automatic operation
and thus dispatching decisions were not implemented
automatically. To enable automatic real-time train operation
under realistic conditions and incorporate dispatching
decisions from an external dispatching system during
operation, a railway lab control software was extended,
enabling automatic train control and train route setting
based on a given timetable. Train speed profiles and speed
curves were modeled and implemented to allow for realistic
driving characteristics and running times. Furthermore, a
communication interface to connect an external dispatching
system was developed. Via the interface, constant
information on the current operational situation are
provided to the dispatching system. Dispatching measures are
forwarded from the dispatching system to the railway lab
control software and implemented during operation
accordingly. Predefined disturbance scenarios can be
imported into the control software and incorporated during
operation. To further allow for energy-efficient train
driving, a novel method for the energy optimization of
single train runs, based on recommended time corridors for
the passing of block signals, was developed and included in
the railway lab control software. The developed software
systems provide a realistic testing environment for
dispatching algorithms and strategies. During a case study,
the validity of the developed testing environment was
confirmed. The railway lab control software was used to
control real-time train operations on the ELVA, the Railway
Signalling Lab of RWTH Aachen University, while the external
dispatching system OptDis, which is integrated in the
software LUKS®, was connected. As disturbance scenarios can
easily be reconstructed, the developed testing environment
enables the direct comparison of different dispatching
strategies. Several disturbance scenarios were constructed
and dispatching was performed both automatically by OptDis
and manually by an experienced human dispatcher for all test
cases.The evaluations show that the developed software
systems provide a realistic testing framework for different
dispatching strategies, which can serve as an intermediate
level testing environment between computer simulations and
real field tests. Moreover, the obtained results suggest
significant benefits of automated dispatching systems over
manual dispatching if operational situations are very
complex and decisions must be made quickly. The
energy-saving driving method was also tested in a case study
on the ELVA network and promising results were obtained.},
cin = {313110},
ddc = {624},
cid = {$I:(DE-82)313110_20140620$},
pnm = {DFG project G:(GEPRIS)403435275 - Integrierte Disposition
im Eisenbahnbetrieb (403435275)},
pid = {G:(GEPRIS)403435275},
typ = {PUB:(DE-HGF)11},
doi = {10.18154/RWTH-2024-11302},
url = {https://publications.rwth-aachen.de/record/998323},
}
guest ::