Abstract
The new concept of virtual coupling (VC) envisages autonomous trains running in radio-connected platoons to significantly improve railway capacity and address the forecasted increase in railway demand. Such a concept will introduce radical changes to current train services, technologies, and procedures, which calls for a deeper understanding of the possible modes of operation and the impacts on the entire railway business. This paper investigates market potentials and operational scenarios of VC for different segments of the railway market: high-speed, main-line, regional, urban, and freight trains. The research builds on the Delphi method, with an extensive survey to collect expert opinions about benefits and challenges of VC as well as stated travel preferences in futuristic VC applications. Survey outcomes show that VC train operations can be very attractive to customers of the high-speed, main-line, and regional market segments, with benefits that are especially relevant for freight railways. In particular, customers of regional and freight railways are observed to be unsatisfied with current train services and willing to pay higher fares to avail of a more frequent and flexible service enabled by VC. Operational scenarios for VC are then defined by setting market-attractive service headways and by characteristics of the rolling stock, infrastructure, and traffic management. An analysis of strengths and weaknesses of such a concept together with business opportunities and threats is carried out. The defined VC future scenario is set to induce a sustainable shift of customers from other travel modes to the railways.
Highlights
IntroductionThis paper contributes to widen such an understanding by investigating market potentials and preliminary operational scenarios for virtual coupling (VC) train operations
The new concept of virtual coupling (VC) envisages autonomous trains running in radio-connected platoons to significantly improve railway capacity and address the forecasted increase in railway demand
Virtual coupling (VC) is a recently introduced concept envisaging a railway with no more block segregation and track-side safety equipment, in which train integrity and safe-braking supervision is entirely controlled on board the trains and in which the trains move synchronously in platoons at a relative braking distance from each other
Summary
This paper contributes to widen such an understanding by investigating market potentials and preliminary operational scenarios for VC train operations To this aim, the Delphi method has been applied in which a survey was used to collect opinions of a significant population of European railway subject-matter experts (SMEs) about VC benefits/challenges from operational, technological, and business perspectives. The survey was extended to representatives of other socioprofessional categories to gather general opinions and stated travel preferences of potential railway customers in futuristic scenarios of VC-enabled train operations Outcomes from this survey supported a preliminary analysis of possible changes in modal choices of travelers and potential shifts from other transport modes because of a more frequent and flexible VC train service. Advantages and challenges of VC can differ depending on the type of railway market segment, given that speeds and operational characteristics vary substantially
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