A New Approach to Shortest Route Finding in a Railway Network with Two Track Gauges and Gauge Changeovers

Alberto Almech,Antonio Hernando,Carmen Solano-Macías,Eugenio Roanes-Lozano

doi:10.1155/2019/8146150

Abstract

The Spanish railway network is a complex one, due to the existence of standard gauge (1,435 mm), Iberian gauge (1,668 mm), and dual gauge (with three rails) subnetworks, as well as connections between the two first subnetworks (at the so-called gauge changeovers), usable by dual gauge trains. Two of the authors developed a package for shortest route finding, and consumes, costs, and emissions calculations in the Spanish railway network (within the frame of two research projects funded by the Fundación de los Ferrocarriles Españoles–Spanish Railways Foundation). Nevertheless, the approach required from a curious specific algorithm to be developed ad hoc. In this paper, a much simpler approach to shortest route finding in such a network, which merges the three subnetworks into two and considers the gauge changeovers as connections between the two new subnetworks, is detailed. This approach allows to use any standard shortest route algorithm. It has been implemented in the computer algebra system Maple and is applied in this paper both to small specific cases and to the whole Spanish railway network.

Highlights

E first version can find shortest routes and evaluate with high precision timings for the different pieces of rolling stock of Renfe Operadora (Spanish Railways operator) running on Adif (ADministrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias, that is, Spanish Railway Infrastructure Administrator) railway network [1]. e second version adds to this the possibility to detail the electric and Diesel consumes, CO2 emissions, and costs [2]
(ii) Gs (Vs, Es): graph corresponding to the standard gauge railway network (iii) Gd (Vd, Ed): graph corresponding to the dual gauge railway network
As the problem is shortest route finding in a dual gauge railway network, we consider that the trains can run along tracks of both gauges and can pass through gauge changeovers

Summary

Research Article

Alberto Almech ,1 Eugenio Roanes-Lozano ,2 Carmen Solano-Macıas ,3 and Antonio Hernando 4. E Spanish railway network is a complex one, due to the existence of standard gauge (1,435 mm), Iberian gauge (1,668 mm), and dual gauge (with three rails) subnetworks, as well as connections between the two first subnetworks (at the so-called gauge changeovers), usable by dual gauge trains. Is approach allows to use any standard shortest route algorithm. A much simpler approach to shortest route finding in such a network, which merges the three subnetworks into two and considers the gauge changeovers as connections between the two new subnetworks, is detailed. It has been implemented in the computer algebra system Maple and is applied in this paper both to small specific cases and to the whole Spanish railway network

Introduction

Vía doble electrificada Vía única electrificada

Tardienta Huesca Canfranc

Key Idea

Standard gauge

Conclusions