High-speed Passenger Research Articles

EEG-TransMTL: A transformer-based multi-task learning network for thermal comfort evaluation of railway passenger from EEG

The evaluation of thermal comfort for railway passengers holds considerable importance, not only in reducing energy consumption but also in enhancing the passengers' experience. This paper presents a Transformer-based multi-task learning network (TransMTL) designed for railway passenger thermal comfort evaluation using EEG. We utilized manual features to extract temporal and frequency information, while a Transformer encoder distilled spatial information. The multi-task learning structure enhances model robustness by leveraging thermal comfort task correlations. We conducted experiments during winter and summer with high-speed railway passengers, establishing a comprehensive EEG dataset. The results demonstrated that our proposed EEG-TransMTL model outperformed classical machine learning and deep learning models in all four thermal comfort evaluation tasks, achieving accuracy rates of 65.00%, 66.70%, 80.38%, and 71.01%, respectively. We enhanced model interpretability by visualizing attention weights from the Transformer encoder, identifying key EEG channels. A simplified model utilizing only eight crucial channels also delivered notable performance. This research provides a practical and neuro-mechanism interpretable solution for thermal comfort evaluation.

Typification of Projects for Development of High-Speed Rail

The emerging demand for improving consumer parameters of rail passenger transport leads to the need to build a dedicated railway infrastructure for passenger trains with speeds exceeding in some sections 250 km/h. The high capital intensity of dedicated infrastructure development projects imposes significant restrictions on their scope and financial feasibility. The geographically determined location of urban agglomerations in European and Asian countries has led to formation of many approaches to the routing of lines for high-speed passenger transportation.The projects for development of dedicated high-speed railways being developed in various countries differ in their technical, technological, and operational characteristics. The use of different approaches has led to different efficiency of the passenger traffic, expressed in the demand of passengers for transportation.A structural analysis of existing high-speed transportation projects allowed revealing general patterns of their development. By the number of operational tasks arising with regard to movement of trains, the phases of traffic development were divided into linear, tree­like and network stages. Thus, when moving from the linear structure of a high-speed rail, an additional problem arises of trains passing from the main track to the secondary one. The transition to the network stage can result in emergence of parallel passages rail tracks between urban agglomerations.To generalise the experience of operating high-speed systems in the world, the article describes the developed method that allows comparing different projects for organising high-speed rail with each other. The comparison is made according to the main characteristics of traffic: travel time between separation points, the traffic speed, the total length of the railway line. Identification of the patterns inherent in various projects for development of high-speed rail will make it possible to compare their technological parameters, to identify the scope of rational use of high-speed lines and areas of competition with other core types of transport.

Network design with route planning for battery electric high-speed passenger vessel services

This paper studies the Zero Emission passenger Vessel Service Network Design Problem (ZEVSNDP) in order to investigate how technical and economic challenges related to diffusion of battery electric vessels can be alleviated by appropriate planning of services. The ZEVSNDP considers decisions that are strategic (i.e., vessel fleet and charging locations), tactical (i.e., routes, whether to omit servicing ports, fleet deployment, and operating frequencies), as well as operational (i.e., passenger flow, sailing speeds, and scheduling decisions). A novel Mixed Integer Programming (MIP) model considering operator and passenger costs is proposed for the ZEVSNDP. Since the MIP model cannot be solved to optimality by a commercial solver except for tiny instances, we implement a heuristic Decomposition Based (DB) solution method. The DB solution method is applied to a real complex passenger vessel service in Florø, Norway, as well as two other test instances focusing on short-range transport and dense markets, respectively. Except for the short-range test instance, abatement costs (i.e., the costs of removing CO2 emissions by introducing battery electric vessels) are found to be significant. This is attributed to limited reach and time used for charging of battery electric vessels. Routes should consequently accommodate range limitations: omitting ports from the current route can be a cost-effective strategy when the cost of alternative transport for the passengers is moderate.

Multi-Objective Optimization for High-Speed Railway Network Based on “Demand–Supply–Management” Model

This paper develops a multi-objective optimization model for national high-speed railway network planning. Three objectives are proposed from the macro, meso, and micro perspectives, and these three objectives are considered simultaneously. Using real data, case studies are conducted to optimize China’s “four east–west and four north–south railway lines” network, which includes Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Guangzhou, and Zhengzhou as main hubs. The results show that, on the one hand, the optimization model reduces the overlap between long-distance passengers and short-distance passengers on the high-speed railway line, facilitates the travel of passengers, and improves the line service capability; on the other hand, optimization of the network shortens the travel time of the passengers, reduces the cost of the railway, and improves the operation efficiency of the high-speed railway line network. The results show that the total travel time of all high-speed railway passengers in the optimization model is reduced by 18.4%, while the benefit rate of the operator increased by 21.99%.

Service Quality in Rail Systems: Listen to the Voice of Social Media

Service quality is essential to increase and maintain user loyalty to the railway system. In the literature, surveys have been used to measure user satisfaction, and mathematical methods have been applied to quantify the survey results. In recent years, user-generated content, including comments and complaints shared via social media, has been used to measure the quality of rail services. This content may provide important insights into the quality of the service provided with its dynamic structure. In this study, a SERVQUAL-based social-media analytics approach is used to measure railway service quality, placing special emphasis on the temporal variations in a national rail system. Topic modeling was used to assign each content item to the relevant service dimension and sentiment analysis was applied to measure the level of satisfaction. Importance–performance analysis was employed at the final stage to generate policy suggestions. Gathering more than 2.3 million social-media messages posted from 2011 to 2021, we examined the temporal evolution of service quality of the Turkish rail system. The results reveal the most and least important services and the satisfaction level of each dimension. The differences between the priorities of conventional and high-speed rail passengers are defined, and policy recommendations are presented.

Coupling development of high-speed rail network and innovative cooperation based on travel behavior of depressed passengers

Background Depression is a common mental illness. Patients with depression show somatization symptoms such as loss of appetite, insomnia and low mood. The etiology and pathogenesis of depression are still unclear, and the pathogenesis is related to biochemical, neuroendocrine, sleep and brain electrophysiological abnormalities. This study takes depressed passengers as the research object to explore the intervention and influence of innovative high-speed rail services on patients with depressive episodes when they travel, so as to provide ideas for the coupling development of high-speed rail network and innovative cooperation.Subjects and Methods38 cases of high-speed rail passengers with depression were randomly divided into the experimental group and the control group. The experimental group was treated with innovative psychological services of high-speed rail. Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) was used to evaluate the degree of depression before and after treatment, and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) was used to evaluate the degree of anxiety.ResultsThe scores of HAMD and HAMA in the experimental group after innovative psychological intervention services were lower than those before participation (P<0.05), and the difference was statistically significant.ConclusionsThe innovative high-speed rail depression psychological intervention service has a positive impact on depressed passengers. After the intervention, depressed passengers’ depressed mood and pessimistic thoughts are improved, they no longer resist others, and their discomfort symptoms are significantly reduced. At the same time, this intervention mode opens new ideas for the coupling development of high-speed rail network and innovative cooperationAcknowledgementFoundation: National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41301104); Foundation: National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41871108).

Ranking methodology to prioritize high-speed railway corridors

Abstract The purpose of this article is to create and calibrate a high-speed rail passenger traffic-based ranking model using historical high-speed rail ridership data from Spain. The existing literature is scarce, and the models used have several main issues, such as arbitrariness, and not representing the real relations of variables. These models are analysed using real-world high-speed rail data; and improved by calibration with the data. Based on the results, I demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of these models and propose a new model by combining the strong aspects of these models. I also show the importance of intermediate cities for the estimated ridership of an HSR corridor. The study develops our understanding of the ranking models and provides a more promising ranking solution as a contribution to high-speed rail planning.

Research on Choice Preference of Parallel Trains for High-Speed Rail Heterogeneous Passengers

The passenger capacity utilization of parallel trains on China’s high-speed railway (HSR) varies greatly, which seriously affects the revenue and passenger service quality of railroad companies. One of the key factors contributing to this issue is the uniformity of fares. To address this, China’s railway enterprises are implementing differential pricing reforms for parallel trains. This paper presents a two-step method that combines latent class analysis (LCA) and random parameter logit (RPL) models to estimate the preferences of diverse passengers for parallel trains and quantify them using willingness to pay. To illustrate this, we conducted revealed preference and stated preference questionnaire surveys at Nanning East Railway Station, China, focusing on the Nanning-Guangzhou HSR route. These surveys gathered data on passengers’ personal and travel attributes. LCA was carried out according to passenger attributes, and passengers were divided into three categories according to the goodness-of-fit measures. Through the questionnaire data, the travel time and departure time period of each category of the passenger were converted into costs, and the absolute value of each influencing factor of passengers for parallel trains was obtained. Considering the limited rational choice behavior of passengers, the perceived value of each influencing factor of passengers on parallel trains was calculated through prospect theory. Finally, an RPL model for parallel train choice of heterogeneous passengers was constructed, and the parameters of each category of the passenger were estimated based on the absolute value and perceived value of the influencing factors.

Suspension parameter optimal design to enhance stability and wheel wear in high-speed trains

Ensuring running stability and minimising wheel tread wear are critical factors for enhancing the dynamic performance of high-speed trains. As an efficient method for improving vehicle performances, previous studies on suspension parameter optimisation have not fully considered these two factors. It is essential to pay attention to stability at extreme wheel-rail contact states, and the wheel wear evolution needs to be revealed instead of investigating the wear performance only through an index like wear number. This research aims to investigate the stability/wear Pareto optimisation of bogie suspension parameters for a high-speed passenger train. Stability-related indices are defined as the lateral ride comfort index at low equivalent conicity and the bogie frame acceleration at high conicity. To represent the long-term wheel wear performance, a contact spreading index is proposed and combined with the wear number index. The key suspension parameters are optimised through the genetic algorithm NSGA-II. The obtained Pareto front clearly reveals the relationship between the objective functions. To meet different performance requirements, four distinct matching rules of the suspension parameters are summarised by employing clustering analysis. Finally, the applicability of the parameter matching rules is examined by analysing stability at different equivalent conicities and wheel wear evolution.

A Meta-Heuristic Optimization Procedure for the Identification of the Nonlinear Model Parameters of Hydraulic Dampers Based on Experimental Dataset of Real Working Conditions

Abstract Hydralic dampers are widely implemented in railway vehicle suspension stages, especially in high-speed passenger trains. They are designed to be mounted in different positions to improve comfort, stability, and safety performances. Numerical simulations are often used to assist the design and optimization of these components. Unfortunately, hydraulic dampers are highly nonlinear due to the complex fluid dynamic phenomena taking place inside the chambers and through the by-pass orifices. This requires accurate damper models to be developed to estimate the influence of the nonlinearities of such components during the dynamic performances of the whole vehicle. This work aims at presenting a new parametric damper model based on a nonlinear lumped element approach. Moreover, a new model tuning procedure will be introduced. Differently from the typical sinusoidal characterization cycles, this routine is based on experimental tests of real working conditions. The set of optimal model parameters will be found through a metaheuristic iterative approach able to minimize the differences between numerical and experimental damper forces. The performances of the optimal model will be compared with the ones of the most common Maxwell model generally implemented in railway multibody software programs.

Investigation of the Policy Effect of High-Speed Metropolitan Rail Service in Seoul Through Latent Class Modeling Analysis of Stated Preference Survey

The sprawl of megacities is increasing the need to improve public transit services to cover longer distances in shorter times than current services. High-speed metropolitan rail services have been introduced to satisfy the needs of passengers and are expected to alleviate the transportation problems caused by urban sprawl. However, the effectiveness of public transit demand inducement policies, which have been employed in various ways in South Korea, has been questioned. Thus, agencies responsible for high-speed metropolitan rail services should also evaluate whether such policies will work properly. The achievement of the policy can be evaluated as sufficiently inducing the demand of the target group, and investigated through the residence information and the current travel behavior. This study investigates the current travel behavior of users to be replaced when a new high-speed metropolitan rail service is introduced and directly analyzes the travel mode shifting effect. While previous studies focused on increasing the applicability to general services by classifying groups based on personal attributes, this study focuses on evaluating detailed policy achievements for specific services. We apply a latent class modeling approach using stated preference survey data for group classification. In particular, by employing the user’s current travel behavior as a class membership attribute, the characteristics of potential passengers of the high-speed metropolitan rail service are analyzed. The estimation results suggest that current travel behavior significantly classifies high-speed rail passengers. In addition, the policy achievement was investigated in detail by region and operation time, and several additional policy directions are presented to satisfy the policy goals.

Statistical learning for train delays and influence of winter climate and atmospheric icing

This study investigated the climate effect under consecutive winters on the arrival delay of high-speed passenger trains. Inhomogeneous Markov chain model and stratified Cox model were adopted to account for the time-varying risks of train delays. The inhomogeneous Markov chain modelling used covariates weather variables, train operational direction, and findings from the primary delay analysis through stratified Cox model. The results showed that temperature, snow depth, ice/snow precipitation, and train operational direction, significantly impacted the arrival delay. Further, by partitioning the train line into three segments as per transition intensity, the model identified that the middle segment had the highest chance of a transfer from punctuality to delay, and the last segment had the lowest probability of recovering from delayed state. The performance of the fitted inhomogeneous Markov chain model was evaluated by the walk-forward validation method, which indicated that approximately 9% of trains may be misclassified as having arrival delays by the fitted model at a measuring point on the train line. With the model performance, the fitted model could be beneficial for both travellers to plan their trips reasonably and railway operators to design more efficient and wiser train schedules as per weather condition.

Study on the restraint control of an isolation pile on an existing high-speed railway during the close passing of a shield machine

The impact of shield construction on the close lateral passing of high-speed railways can threaten the safety of operating high-speed railways. To study the deformation characteristics of the shield structure after the application of isolation piles from the ground surface and the deformation characteristics of the bridge piers of an overpassing high-speed railway, we analyze the mechanism of isolation pile restraint control and establish a three-dimensional numerical model of a shield structure to study the situation of a high-speed railway with a metro interval under passing a high-speed railway passenger line project. Combined with the measured data and numerical simulation data of the same construction stage, we study the impact of shield structure lateral passing on high-speed railway piers and surrounding ground surface in terms of the disturbance changes and the effect of isolation, as well as the effect of the lateral passing of the shield tunnel on the surface of the bridge piers and the surrounding area and the control effect of the isolation piles on the deformation. The results show that the isolation pile can block the development of the soil layer rupture surface and the stress path. The isolation pile has a good control effect on the vertical displacement of the bridge pier. The vertical displacement of the bridge pier decreases from 0.6 mm to 1.1 mm after the single- and double-track tunneling, and the displacement changes along the depth direction from non-uniform to relatively uniform. The vertical displacement of the ground surface includes both uplift and settlement, which occur at the same time. When the shield tunneling advances, the form of the ground settlement trough is changed from a “V” shape formed by the right single-track tunneling to a “W” shape after the double-track tunneling. The isolation pile can effectively control the influence range of tunnel excavation; its lateral displacement form changes regularly, and the lateral uplift is always in a “double-C outward expansion” shape. The initial excavation greatly disturbs the initial stress field, so it is necessary to pay attention to the control and management of measures to destroy the initial stress field.

A simplified pneumatic model for air brake of passenger trains

Braking system performance is relevant for both railway safety and network optimization. Most trains employ air brake systems; air brake systems of freight trains mostly cannot achieve a synchronous application of brake forces, which is usually customary for passenger trains. The paper generalizes a previous air brake pneumatic model to passenger trains and describes the needed modifications. Among them, the way the pressure reduces in the brake pipe is generalized. Moreover, this paper reports an analytical bi-dimensional function for calculating the nozzle diameter equivalent to the electro-pneumatic (EP) or the electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brake valve as a function of the wagon length and the time to vent the brake pipe locally. The numerical results of the new model are compared against several experimental tests of high-speed passenger trains of Trenitalia, namely ETR500 and ETR1000. The model is suitable to be integrated into the UIC software TrainDy, aiming to extend its computational field to passenger trains and to simulate the safety of trains during a recovery.

An investigation of dynamic vehicle-bridge interaction effects based on a comprehensive set of trains and bridges

The consideration of interaction effects between vehicle and structure is an important aspect in the dynamic analysis of railway bridges. They usually lead to a reduction of the structural responses compared to computations without consideration of the vehicle-bridge interaction. The interaction effects can either be accounted for by Finite Element analysis including multi-body models of the vehicles or in a simplified way – as adopted by the actual regulations – by artificially increasing the bridge damping. In this way, a simplified dynamic analysis under consideration of the interaction effects is possible using the moving load model.However, several studies have shown that the current approach of the additional damping included in Eurocode 1 is non-conservative in many cases, possibly leading to an underestimation of the structural responses. The approach in Eurocode 1 as well as the more recently proposed approaches were based on a limited number of combinations of trains and bridges. In order to verify these approaches in a more thorough way, the present paper investigates the vehicle-bridge interaction effects based on 25 real high-speed passenger trains (including conventional and articulated trains) and over 100 single-span bridges with spans ranging from 5m to 55m.A typical criterion of analyzing the vehicle-bridge interaction phenomenon is the reduction of the structural acceleration computed using a 2D multi-body representation of the vehicle compared to the simplified moving load approach. Therefore, the reduction of the acceleration due to the interaction is discussed in detail and put in relation to the results of previous research. The results of over 800 000dynamic analyses performed in the present study confirm that the additional damping approach depending on the bridge span as included in Eurocode 1 overestimates the actual vehicle-bridge interaction effects. Furthermore, the results show that recent additional damping approaches depending on bridge and train characteristics lead to more reliable additional damping values. Their application requires public availability of train characteristics and an extension of the approaches for articulated as well as heterogeneous trains.

Development of models and algorithms of aerodynamic drag of a high-speed train and calculations of particle entrainment

The work is a study of the patterns of jet-cavitation air flows when flowing around a high-speed passenger train. On the basis of theoretical studies, the forces of resistance (frontal and near-wall) of the external environment to the movement of the train, the influence of cavitation currents on the near-wall layer, the current flows generated during the movement of the rolling stock, the resistance of the external environment of the rolling stock, both as a whole and on each car of the train, are determined, the influence of cavitation flow from solid particles lying on the underlying surface, critical velocities that reduce the entrainment of solid particles, establishing the regularity of the movement of entrained solid particles. The work also includes a theoretical determination of the aerodynamic drag coefficient and hydrodynamic pressure forces, normal and shear stresses on the surface of the wall of a train consisting of n cars, a study of the effect of gaps between cars and on the speed characteristics of the train, leading to a change in the acceleration of cars.

СУЩЕСТВУЮЩИЕ МОДЕЛИ ОРГАНИЗАЦИИ МАРШРУТОВ СКОРОСТНОГО ОБЩЕСТВЕННОГО ТРАНСПОРТА И ИХ ВЛИЯНИЕ НА ВРЕМЯ ПОЕЗДКИ ПАССАЖИРА

Currently, there are no studies in the Russian scientific literature devoted to models of the organization of high-speed passenger transport routes. At the same time, as practice proves, the time of movement of passengers significantly depends on the accepted system of organization of routes. For example, non-stop routes, on the one hand, increase the required volume of rolling stock used for passenger transportation, but, on the other hand, reduce the total transshipment time. The article analyzes approaches to the organization of routes on the high-speed passenger transport network and presents the calculation of the overhead travel time of passengers for different network options. Calculations of the passenger’s traffic speed are given separately, depending on the distance of a trip and the type of transport used. It is pointed out that the optimal choice of the model of the route network of urban passenger transport makes it possible to reduce the cost of infrastructure construction and improve the quality of public services.

ПРОЕКТИРОВАНИЕ, МОДЕРНИЗАЦИЯ И ПРОИЗВОДСТВО СТАБИЛИЗАТОРОВ ПОПЕРЕЧНОГО НАКЛОНА ВАГОНОВ ДЛЯ СКОРОСТНОГО ДВУХЭТАЖНОГО ПОДВИЖНОГО СОСТАВА

The article is devoted to the organization of serial production of lateral tilt torsion stabilizers of railcar bodies. The relevance of the topic is due to upgrade of the Russian fleet of railway rolling stock by high-speed passenger trains with double-decker railcars of enhanced comfort, as well as the necessity of import substitution. All the developments presented in the article are protected by invention patents, useful models and industrial samples, which indicates not only their high scientific and technical level, but also their great practical, theoretical and methodological significance.

Study of specific aspects of calculating the throughput of freight trains on two-track railway sections with mixed traffiс

The article shows a study of the influence of the high-speed train “Afrasiab” on the throughput of stations, which was determined by analyzing the change in the coefficient of displacement of freight trains from the schedule when high-speed trains “Afrasiab” pass to the sections of JSC “Uzbekiston temir yullari”. In addition, the article discusses in detail the issues of reducing the interval of arrival of freight and high-speed passenger trains at the points of division in a row and increasing the maximum number of freight trains that can pass through the section based on the connection technology of high-speed passenger trains.

Measures of effective use of the capacity of twotrack sections of JSC “Uzbekistan Railways”

The article first presents the analysis of the complete structure of all two-track sections of JSC “Uzbekistan Railways” with mixed traffic, and then the proposals of local and foreign scientists regarding the determination of the coefficient of displacement of freight trains from the graph on two-track sections in conditions of mixed traffic of trains are described in detail. In addition, the factors affecting the displacement coefficient of freight trains from the graph were analyzed, as well as the reduction of the time interval of the arrival of freight and high-speed passenger trains that arrive at the separation points in a row in the track direction, and as a result of the organization of train movement based on the technology of connecting, increasing the maximum number of freight trains in the sections suggestions were made regarding the issues.