Railway Network Research Articles

Ways to Determine the Pre-Failure States of Traction Rail Network Elements

Approaches to the creation of methods of technical diagnosis of choker and interchoker jumpers, as well as the determination of their pre-failure states are considered in the article. Timely detection of a pre-failure condition allows to eliminate the fault in timely manner, and to avoid failure of an element and the system as a whole. As a result, train downtime is reduced, reputational risks and financial losses are mitigated. Practical application of the obtained results is possible during building of systems for monitoring of the technical condition of the traction rail networks (both DC and AC). Development and implementation of these systems is necessary due to the development of heavy-weight traffic on the railroad network and the transition to unmanned technologies. Similar systems have found wide application in the railway automation and telemechanics industry, and their distribution in the railroad infrastructure complex shall become a priority, which will require the development of new technical solutions, as well as science-based methods of data collection and processing, including the use of technologies of the fourth industrial revolution, such as neural networks and BigData.

О НЕКОТОРЫХ СОЦИАЛЬНО-ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКИХ ПОСЛЕДСТВИЯХ СТРОИТЕЛЬСТВА ЖЕЛЕЗНЫХ ДОРОГ В РОССИИ

The paper analyzes the socio-economic consequences of the first network of Russian railways constructed be-tween 1866 and 1875. The purpose of this project, according to the plan of the Minister of Finance M. Kh. Reitern, was to increase exports and improve trade and the balance of payments. In accordance with this plan, “export” rail-ways were prioritized, linking inland agricultural regions with the seaports Grain exports increased sixfold between 1862 and 1878, comprising 3/5 of total exports by value. Correcting official grain collection data reveals a 17% de-crease in per capita net grain balance in European Russia from 1862 to 1881 due to massive exports. The decrease in consumption is also evident from the declining average height of recruits, which dropped by 0.4 cm in 1882–1884 compared to 1875–1884. The most significant decline of 0.7 cm or more occurred in regions from where grain was exported. While the consumption of the peasants was decreasing, the standard of living of the “sufficient classes” was rising. Exporting grain to industrial countries of Europe, where grain prices were higher than in Russia, sharply increased income for landowners and doubled the value of their land. Correspondingly, the size of deposits in banks and the imports of high-quality consumer goods increased. The number of “travelers” going abroad and the amount of currency they took with them rose sharply.

Game Changer for Pakistan: Significance of Gawadar for Pakistan Economy & Factors of Underutilization of Gawadar Port

Gwadar is a game-changer for Pakistan's economy because of its tremendous potential for growth and development across many industries. The Pakistani government initiated the Gwadar Port Project in the early 2000s with the goal of making the deep-sea port a significant entrance point for trade and business, linking Pakistan with the Middle East, Central Asia, and other regions. The project was built and run mostly by China, with financial support from Pakistan. China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative will play a significant role in the development of Gwadar, which is now viewed as a strategic asset for Pakistan and China's economic interests. CPEC aims to connect China's western region with the Gwadar port through a network of highways, railways, and pipelines. Gwadar is an essential part of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a vast infrastructure and development project that aims to improve regional connectivity and promote economic growth throughout Asia and beyond. Gwadar is a key strategic asset for Pakistan's economy with the potential to fundamentally alter the country's trade and commerce environment. It is located at the junction of crucial trade and energy routes and has the potential to become a gateway to the rest of the globe, connecting Pakistan to Central Asia, the Middle East, and beyond. Thanks to its deep-water facilities and advantageous location, the port makes a perfect transit point for both international trade and energy supplies via pipelines and other infrastructure. The Gwadar Free Zone, a special economic zone within the port, aims to attract investment and provide a business-friendly environment for businesses. This will enhance possibilities. Pakistan has a coastline of approximately 1,050 kilometers along the Arabian Sea, making it a country with significant potential to harness the benefits of the ocean for its economy. Pakistan can harness the benefits of the ocean for its economy by investing in its fishing industry, shipping industry, offshore oil and gas exploration, tourism industry, and renewable energy sector. The government must ensure sustainable and responsible use of ocean resources while promoting economic growth.

Selection of fault selection jump identification algorithms for high-speed railway traction networks

High-speed railways have become a new business card for China. When power supply faults occur in the electrical traction network of high-speed railways, the practice of sacrificing selectivity to ensure the reliability of the relay protection system often occurs, and a more effective relay protection scheme must be adopted if the reliability and selectivity of the protection system are to be taken into account. Fast and accurate identification of fault types and their removal from the traction network is of great significance for the stable operation of railway power supply systems. Therefore, it is particularly important to identify and locate fault solutions. This paper analyses the commonly used fault identification and location algorithms, determines the fault signal processing principles for fully parallel AT lines, determines which algorithms are used to identify and locate faults, and helps to improve the fault detection efficiency of railway power lines.

Power Sharing Control of High Speed Railway Traction Networks Supplied by Dual End Substations

This paper presents a novel power sharing control for high speed railway traction networks which are supplied continuously by dual end substations without the neutral section. The power sharing between two substations is realised by droop control where the droop coefficients are updated based on the actual traction load distribution for a given specific active power sharing ratio, while the power sharing ratio is optimised for the least conductor line losses under the light-medium load condition. For the heavy load condition, power at both substations are more balanced so that the substation capacity can be set at a lower rating. The proposed approach is tested on a simplified single-track network model which supports continuous traction dynamics and auto-transformer connection, and simulation results confirm that the proposed method has advantages of increasing the supply distance compared with the conventional transformer substation scheme. It offers greater power supply capacity than the fixed frequency substation control scheme, and it also achieves less power losses than the equal power sharing strategy proposed in the existing studies.

A comparative analysis of the robustness of multimodal comprehensive transportation network considering mode transfer: A case study

<abstract> <p>China has built a nationwide transportation network, but there needs to be a smooth connection and transfer between different modes. Five networks are constructed to explore the characteristics of a multimodal comprehensive transportation network (CNet) in Jiangsu Province based on the optimized modeling method and multisource data. Statistical and robustness characteristics are analyzed for CNet and other single-mode networks including the highway, railway, navigation channel and airway networks (HNet, RNet, NNet and ANet, respectively). The research results show following: (ⅰ) In Jiangsu, CNet, HNet, RNet and NNet are not scale-free networks and do not have small-world properties. However, ANet is the opposite. (ⅱ) The five networks in Jiangsu are robust to the random attack and their robustness changes during the attack. However, their robustness is different under different calculated attacks. For all attack strategies, CNet is the most robust. (ⅲ) In Jiangsu, the three optimized methods enhance the robustness significantly. The network failure is delayed by 12.34, 2.79 and 2.44%, respectively. The average connectivity degree is improved by 265.69, 52.95 and 32.54%, respectively. The more hubs there are with powerful transfer capacity, the stronger the network robustness. The results reveal the key points of the construction of a multimodal comprehensive transportation system and can guide the design and optimization of it.</p> </abstract>

Algorithm for the approximate scheduling of network section's track maintenance in railway traffic control problem

Algorithmic and contributory assistance in resolving railway traffic control problems is being developed. It is founded on presenting practical issues in optimizing declarations using linear programming implements. A novel challenge of determining a pathway control a time interval during which some sectors of the railway network are blocked for reparation work is added to the previously proposed models. Applicable statements, aimed at the synchronized examination for pathway control and a train timetable for a detailed portion of the railway network A mathematical model and an optimized strategy are offered as solutions. The creative situation is simplified to a mixed integer linear problem. To explain potential computing challenges in resolving an issue, a method for obtaining an estimate is planned. It would be founded on creating a rudimentary movement timetable and its consequent revision to the reason for the necessity for railway control. Two algorithms are implemented to get an approximate solution. A basic and adapted train schedule is formed in stages of groupings of trains connected by another origin and target terminals in the first. Steps were performed single train once a time as per the time of preparation for leaving in the second. A mathematical experimentation's findings are provided.

Use of satellite imagery to categorize vegetation on the French railway network (SNCF Réseau)

In order to ensure the safety and regularity of train traffic, as well as the good condition of the railway infrastructures, SNCF Réseau must control the vegetation with efficiency on the network. For this purpose, the French railway infrastructure manager needs to know which kind of vegetation grows on the network. To make the inventory of the vegetation, a processing chain of very high spatial resolution satellite imagery has been developed. The use of a machine learning algorithm for supervised classification and the automation of the processing chain as well as the reuse of pre-trained models allowed to industrialize at a high temporal frequency the inventory of the vegetation along the French railway network.

Influence of Signalling Systems on the Capacity of Railways by Lines and Nodes Assessment Methods

In the complex railway networks characterized by mixed traffic, a key focus is the increase of railway capacity by high-performance signaling systems, including ETCS/ERTMS and beyond. Nevertheless, the estimation of effects on the headway of the introduction of innovations in signaling systems is not consolidate for complex networks.This study highlights several challenges in the line-node capacity calculation of congested networks considering a combined effect of routes conflicts in the station on lines and propagation in stations of delays suffered along the lines. The paper describes some results of the ongoing research based on the integrated use of analytical methods and simulation to networks controlled by different standard signaling systems and able to increase the capacity under specific operational conditions.The paper introduces the application of the methods to the complex mixed-traffic network nearby the Trieste railway node, situated in Northeastern Italy, including the main passengers and freight terminals and the lines operated for both services. The objective is to identify the most appropriate technological solutions and methodological approaches for the optimization of the network capacity and the minimization of delays.

ОПРЕДЕЛЕНИЕ ПРОПУСКНОЙ СПОСОБНОСТИ ПОЛИГОНА ЖЕЛЕЗНОЙ ДОРОГИ ПРИ РАЗЛИЧНОЙ КОНФИГУРАЦИИ СЕТИ

The transition to testing facility technologies for controlling train traffic on the railway network of the Russian Federation requires new principles for calculating classical parameters and characteristics of railway transportation service. This article describes the algorithm developed by the authors for calculating the throughput capacity of testing facilities with an extensive infrastructure, availability of multiple parallel train routes and non-linear connections between the initial point and final destination of a train flow.

Evaluation of operational performance parameters of rolling stock when driving over bumpy roads

The current situation on the railway network of Russia and the East Siberian Railways in particular, the increase in the number of wagon cuts and unsatisfactory condition of the track and rolling stock, require the search for optimal solutions to these problems. Considering this topical subject it is necessary to touch upon the issues of modern strategies and trends in the development of railway transport with the introduction of modern technologies and technological equipment. As a result of a detailed consideration of the cause-and-effect relationship of the occurrence of factors affecting the dynamics of the car passing the track irregularities, the starting point will be an in-depth analysis of the system of interactions between the wheel and the rail. This analysis will make it possible to objectively assess the causes of existing problems in the field of operation, describe the emerging phenomena with a sufficient degree of justification, offer progressive topical solutions and possible promising developments in this industry. Turning to the statistics on failures over the past 3 years, one can trace the growth of malfunctions associated with defects in the rolling surface of wheel sets. Indeed, an increase in the speed of rolling stock, and in the volume and quantity of transported goods resulted in an increase in the intensity of rolling stock operation. Consequently, there was an increase in loads on the main components of the rolling stock and in the intensity of parts wear.

Analysis of structural evolution and its influencing factors of the high-speed railway network in China's three urban agglomerations

Development of HSR network has an important impact on the evolution of urban spatial structure. However, quantitative discussions on influencing factors of HSR network evolution are still lack. This study explores the structural evolution and influencing factors of HSR network consisting of three urban agglomerations. The main results are as follows: (1) The HSR network in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) had maintained a stable twin-city structure, while Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and Pearl River Delta (PRD) presented a balanced and polarized structure respectively. (2) The community structure of HSR network in BTH and YRD had become complex and diversified, while that in PRD was simple and stable. (3) The overall level of HSR connections in PRD has grown at the first and that in BTH has dropped at the bottom in 2019.The overall level of connectivity of HSR network in PRD continued to rise, and it continued to decline in YRD. That in PRD has significant small-world feature. (4) The interaction intensity of tourism, income, technology, and investment of cities significantly affects HSR network structure. This article helps to adjust HSR network structure from the demand of residents' travel between cities, and optimize the service supply of inter-city high-speed travel. • The structure and evolution of HSR network in Chinese three urban agglomerations are analyzed. • The reverse impact of social economy on HSR network structure is discussed based on bottom-up thought. • A new method is used to analyze the impact of social economy on HSR network structure. • The connections of tourism, income, technology and investment between cities significantly affect HSR network structure. • Understanding the influence mechanism of HSR network structure will help adjust spatial structure of urban agglomerations.

Methodology to evaluate the impact of autonomy range for a battery train: application to the French railway network

Rail transport is the most virtuous mode of transportation but there are still 2500 rolling stocks that run on diesel. To contribute to France's objective of being carbon neutral by 2050, SNCF, the French national operator, has launched the AGC BEMU project to retrofit 5 dual-mode diesel-catenary trains into dual-mode catenary-battery trains, which will run on specific lines from 2024. In order to increase the relevance of battery-powered trains and promote their spreading, an economic optimum must be found between rolling stock, infrastructure, and operation. This paper presents the results of the analysis, using an innovative approach, of the relevance of battery-powered trains in France as a function of autonomy range. It highlights the existing territorial differences in France, which mainly depend on the electrification of the network and the railway operation.

TRANSPORT STRATEGY DURING MILITARY CONFLICT: PATHS TO RECOVERY AND INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT

The transport sector is one of the vital sectors of the Ukrainian economy, encompassing a comprehensive railway network, road infrastructure, seaports, river terminals, airports, an extensive aviation network, an intricate network of public transportation routes, bus stations, and freight customs terminals. This creates the necessary conditions to meet the transportation needs of users and business development. However, the transport sector, in its entirety, only partially meets the basic transportation needs of the population and the economy in terms of volume, not quality. Moreover, the current state of the transportation sector does not fully comply with the requirements for the effective implementation of Ukraine's European integration course, international standards, ensuring the full implementation of Ukraine's international obligations, and the integration of the national transport network into the Trans-European Transport Network, which demands appropriate organizational, personnel, material resources, and a modern legal framework. In European countries, the development horizon for the transport sector mostly extends to 2030. Consequently, the primary programmatic document defining the goals and objectives for the development of Ukraine's transport sector, considering integration with the European transport system, is the National Transport Strategy of Ukraine for the period up to 2030 (hereinafter referred to as the Strategy), approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on May 30, 2018, No. 430-r. The circumstances of martial law necessitate a review of the priority goals and measures of the Strategy. For this purpose, the Ministry of Community Development, Territories, and Infrastructure of Ukraine initiated a review of the Strategy with the development of an updated action plan involving consultants, representatives of the transport sector, and the scientific community. During the development of updated amendments to the Strategy, a balanced approach should be employed that responds to the expected future growth and changes in demand for transportation services, contributing to economic development, improving the quality of life, and efficient resource utilization. The aim of updating the Strategy is to restore the transport infrastructure affected by armed aggression to a qualitatively new level and to build an integrated transport network linked to the global transportation system, including the EU's transportation system. This will ensure the safe functioning and efficient transport complex of Ukraine, capable of meeting the transportation and other service needs in the transport sector, ensuring the defense capability of the state, competitiveness, and resilience of the national economy.

How has Transit Oriented Development Impacted Land Gentrification in London

This study evaluated the impact of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) on land gentrification in London, a city that adopted TOD in its railway network early in the 1920s. It analysed the benefits and drawbacks of TOD and Land Gentrification from the perspectives of economy, society and environment. It analysed the relationship between TOD’s advancement and the level of land gentrification in 33 main districts in London and evaluated the influence of the former on the latter. In addition, it discussed the impacts of gentrification on residents’ health from the aspects of residents’ life expectancy, obesity prevalence and mental trauma(anxiety and depression). It is concluded that:1)TOD can induce different degrees of land gentrification in surrounding areas. 2) TOD and land gentrification mainly affect the social groups with middle or low income. 3) land gentrification will affect people’s physical and mental health, but these are most influential to low - and middle-income population. 4) land gentrification will generally prolong life expectancy for low and middle-income people, but at the same time it will also increase the average level of anxiety and depression among them. The research findings contribute some advice to London and other cities’ governments to design the proper strategies of TOD planning and sustainable development.

Solving a multi-criteria problem in the logistics of special rail transport

Under the present conditions, there is a need to assess the effectiveness of the functioning of the technical base of railway transport involved in the performance of special (military) transportation, taking into account the current operational and transport situation. To make a management decision on the choice of the option for further following of a special cargo (reloading, following its course, a combined method, as well as following a detour route [4]), when an obstacle occurs along the route, it is necessary to find an option that best meets the requirements of the planned deadlines. This is possible with a systematic approach to finding an alternative way of transportation. For a reasonable choice of the method when making a decision, it is proposed to use the method of hierarchy analysis [5], which allows a comprehensive assessment of all transportation options, taking into account factors affecting the priorities of possible solutions when assessing the effectiveness of the functioning of the railway network when transporting special (military) cargo. The purpose of making a decision is to choose the option of deciding on the method of transportation of special (military) cargo during a break in the movement of trains with available alternatives (B) (4 methods of transportation) the main indicators (K) are the time of arrival of cargo to the designated area, the consumption of material resources (hereinafter- MS) when following their course or using other modes of transport (in particular - fuel), operational losses of automotive equipment (hereinafter - AT) during forced unloading, as well as the consumption of motor resources Kc = f (T, S, N, M)→min (see figure).

Digitalization of process management in the agro-industrial complex

The article is devoted to the consideration of the current problem of developing heuristic approaches in operational scheduling of production processes. The purpose of the study is related to the development of methods and algorithms for generating schedules for an arbitrary number of request vectors. The problem was formulated and formalized using scheduling schemes and priority rules. For numerical experimentation, a model of a program for generating a railway schedule and a test task were developed, including 4573 applications for weekly schedules of a railway network containing 100 stations, 128 hauls between stations, 100 passenger routes of different frequencies, 471 trains per week. The developed program model, in addition to carrying out calculations using the presented algorithms, visualizes the results of numerical experimentation in the form of spiral representations of station and haul schedules. The performance of the developed methods and algorithms has been confirmed. Conclusions and discussion of the study results are presented.

Effect of blast location and explosive mass on the dynamic behavior of a bowstring steel highway girder bridge subjected to air-blast

Steel bridges are preferred for their lesser construction time and are used in territorial border areas, to develop road connectivity between neighboring countries, and also in the existing busy railway tracks to construct underpass and roads over bridges. Bridges are also quite commonly enquired in the Indian railway network for the railway tracks to cross over the nullas and rivers. Thus, steel bridges are also the part of infrastructural lifeline system of a country. The safety performance of such structures under explosive loading during warfare and subversion too is of serious concern to researchers, engineers, and other government officials. A few research papers addressing the dynamic behavior of steel bridges subjected to explosive loading are available in the literature. The objective of this study is to simulate the behavior of a bowstring steel girder bridge using the ABAQUS nonlinear finite element analysis software and investigate its response under air-blast loadings considering various detonation scenarios in terms of location and mass of the explosive charge. Johnson-Cook (J-C) damage model has been adopted to simulate the non-linear behavior of the steel. The main parameters affecting the behavior of bridge under blast load above the surface are investigated such as explosive weight (W), the distance from the explosion source to bridge (S), and location of explosion. The blast load is modelled as a pressure function of the stand-off distance and the equivalent mass of TNT. The load-carrying mechanism, stress profiles, and dynamic responses such as maximum displacement are discussed and compared. Based on the computed results, the most critical location of the explosives is assessed. It has been found that the severe eccentric explosive loading on the deck other than at the supports is found detrimental and makes the bridge almost irreparable. Damage to the bridge is directly proportional to the explosive weight and inversely proportional to the standoff distance.

Practical Verification of Railway Signalling Programs

SafeCap is a modern toolkit for modelling, simulation and formal verification of railway networks. This paper discusses the use of SafeCap for formal analysis and automated scalable safety verification of solid state interlocking (SSI) programs – a technology at the heart of many railway signalling solutions around the world. The main driving force behind SafeCap development was to make it easy for signalling engineers to use the technology and thus to ensure its smooth industrial deployment. The unique qualities and the novelty of SafeCap are in making the use of formal notations and proofs fully transparent for the engineers. In this paper we explain the formal foundations of the proposed method, its tool support, and its successful application by railway companies in developing industrial signalling projects.

Automatic analysis of railway ground penetrating radar: Using signal processing and machine learning approaches to assess railroad track substructure

Prior to track rehabilitation works on the French railway network, train-mounted ground penetrating radar (GPR) allows for fast and nondestructive data acquisition. Substructure condition evaluation is of paramount importance as it has an impact on the quality of the planned renewal works. The interpretation of GPR data remains a challenging and time-consuming task which requires expert intervention. This research seeks to enhance and automate the analysis of the GPR data using two different approaches. A signal processing approach based on entropy analysis determines the layer thicknesses, evaluates ballast fouling, and locates areas with water retention. Field comparisons showed concordances with the proposed method. The second approach relies on deep learning to detect mud pumping defects. It showed promising results for the detection of high intensity mud pumping.