Strong reduction in fuel consumption driving trains in bi-directional single line using crossing loops

Abstract

This paper presents an intelligent approach based on software agents capable of conducting and coordination trains in stretches of single railway track, aiming to reduce the utilization of railway and environment impacts. In the Brazilian rail modal, due to the low duplication of tracks, trains that journey on single railways should accomplish required halts, in order to wait for other trains to use the crossing loop safely. The technological evolution resulted on the appearance of new railway traffic system control. However, systems that rely on software agents are not well explored yet. Therefore, this paper elaborated a Multi-Agent System capable of simulating railway environment using agent drivers and agents with a highest level in managing the railway tracks. The behaviour of agents was based on specialized rules of conduction. The coordination between them occurs through message exchanges, always aiming to avoid halts during the journey. Results have shown an strong average reduction of 22.5% in journey time and 25.5% in fuel consumption when compared to journeys using the traditional method of conduction. The reduction, not only on the journey time, but also on the fuel consumption, entails on the decrease of CO 2 emission.