Suburban Railway Research Articles

Effects of train speed and passenger capacity on the environmental vibration of viaduct and surrounding soil of suburban railways

Compared with the general urban rail transit, some of the current rapid urban rail transit can reach a maximum speed of 140 km/h when the train is running, which exceeds the speed level of the general urban rail transit. To consider the influence of different speeds and loads on the vibration of viaducts and the surrounding soil environment, this paper establishes a three-dimensional finite element model of rail-viaduct soil. The results show that: the frequency domain acceleration of each measurement point increases with the increase of train speed; except for the measurement point which is 20 m away from the centerline of the track, the frequency domain speed of each measurement point increases with the increase of train speed; the frequency domain speed under the low-frequency component of the viaduct measurement point increases with the increase of train loading, and the growth rate is obviously larger than that of the middle and high frequency bands, and the frequency domain speed of the measurement points in the site also increases with the increase of train loading, and the growth rate of the low-frequency band is obviously larger than that of the middle and high frequency bands. The frequency domain velocity at each measurement point of the site also increases with the increase of train load, and the growth rate of the low-frequency band is obviously larger than that of the middle and high-frequency bands.

Improving the catchment area identification for suburban railway stations by incorporating whole-journey-based mode choices and unevenly distributed population

Suburban railways have emerged as a predominant transport mode for suburbanization development in megacities. Enhancing transit-oriented development (TOD) in the catchment area of suburban railway stations is an essential strategy. To improve the catchment area identification, we proposed a method for delineating the catchment areas of suburban railway stations from the whole journey perspective and under a multi-mode access travel system. The grey distance delay (GDD) model was constructed to determine the catchment area. A case study was used to illustrate the applicability and advantages of our proposed method in metropolitan areas worldwide. The results indicated that the acceptable access distances vary greatly across access travel modes and are affected by the main travel in the suburban railway at the same time. The range of the catchment areas of bicycle and bus is larger than that of urban rail transit, and the strength of attraction of bicycle and bus shows a trend of increasing at first and then decreasing. Each access travel mode has its competitive advantage area, and these travel modes jointly serve the access trip within the suburban rail catchment area through a competition and cooperation relationship. These findings are able to enhance the identification of the catchment area and provide insights for suburban TOD and transport planning.

Investigation of the vibration isolation effect of composite vibration isolation walls on ground surface vibrations in deep tunnels of suburban railways

To investigate the vibration isolation effect of composite vibration isolation walls on surface vibrations in suburban railway deep tunnels under various influencing factors, an integrated numerical model of the train was initially developed. This model solved the wheel-rail interaction force and was applied to a three-dimensional volume coupling model of the track soil. Subsequently, the model's reliability was validated through comparison with measured data. Afterward, the vibration isolation effects of various types of EPS material vibration isolation walls were examined, with a focus on exploring the impact of thickness, material proportion, and relative positioning of the materials within the vibration isolation wall composed of EPS material and concrete. Research indicates that with an increase in the burial depth of a single material vibration isolation wall, its effective vibration isolation frequency range gradually widens. When the burial depth of the vibration isolation wall exceeds the tunnel burial depth, the vibration isolation effect is optimal. Composite vibration isolation walls, with thicknesses smaller than single-material vibration isolation walls, exhibit superior vibration isolation effects compared to their single-material counterparts. The effective vibration isolation frequency band of composite vibration isolation walls differs from that of single-material vibration isolation walls. Using the optimal-size vibration isolation wall of a single material as a composite vibration isolation wall enhances the vibration isolation effect of peak acceleration in the frequency domain by 16.58% and peak velocity by 16.95%. Moreover, frequency domain peak displacement experiences a 30.73% improvement in the vibration isolation effect.

Diversity and Influencing Factors of Public Service Facilities in Urban (Suburban) Railway Life Circle—Evidence from Beijing Subway Line S1, China

Diversity and Influencing Factors of Public Service Facilities in Urban (Suburban) Railway Life Circle—Evidence from Beijing Subway Line S1, China

Development of a Methodological Approach for the Design of Train Speed Trajectory Diagrams for the Suburban Railways—Application on the Greek Railway Line Athens–Chalkida

Development of a Methodological Approach for the Design of Train Speed Trajectory Diagrams for the Suburban Railways—Application on the Greek Railway Line Athens–Chalkida

Effects of train speed and passenger capacity on ground vibration of underground suburban railways

This study aims to explore the optimal driving speed for ground vibration in suburban railway underground sections. We focused on the ground surface of suburban railway underground sections and developed a 3D finite element dynamic coupling model for the tunnel–soil system. Subsequently, considering factors such as train speed and passenger load, we analyzed the propagation characteristics of ground vibration responses in urban railway underground sections. The research results indicate a significant amplification phenomenon in the peak power spectrum of measurement points near the tunnels in underground sections. The high-frequency components of the power spectrum between measurement points are noticeably higher between the two tunnels. Furthermore, as the train speed increases, this amplification phenomenon becomes more pronounced, and the power spectrum of each measurement point mainly concentrates on several frequency bands, with the amplitude of the power spectrum near the prominent frequencies also increasing. However, when the train speed is between 100 and 120 km/h, the impact on the amplitude of the power spectrum at measurement points above the running tunnel is minimal. Additionally, the amplitude of the middle-to-high frequency components in the power spectrum increases with the increase in passenger numbers. The impact on the peak acceleration amplitude at each measurement point is minimal when the train speed is 80 km/h or below. However, once the train speed exceeds 80 km/h, the peak acceleration amplitude above the running tunnel rapidly increases, reaching its maximum value at 113 km/h, and then gradually decreasing.

Enhancing Women's Commuting Experience: A Study of Ladies’ Special Trains in the Mumbai Suburban Railway System

The suburban railway network in Mumbai plays a crucial role in the daily lives of millions of people. To improve safety and comfort for female commuters, Ladies’ Special Trains have been introduced. This research paper undertakes a comparative analysis of Ladies’ Special Trains and conventional local trains, examining their historical backgrounds, developmental trajectory, and influence on the commuting experiences of women. Through the evaluation of safety, comfort, and convenience, we analyse the advantages and disadvantages of both transportation methods to inform future enhancements. The results of this study make a valuable contribution to the scholarly conversation and provide valuable insights for policymakers, transportation authorities, and civil society organizations involved in promoting inclusive and secure mobility solutions in Mumbai.

Integrated Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) with suburban rail network design problem for maximizing profits

ABSTRACT Driven by the transit-oriented development (TOD) policy for rail stations, this study focuses on the network design of rapid suburban railways and the TOD zone design of corresponding suburban rail stations within metropolitan areas. A multi-level rail transit network was introduced, and the newly planned suburban rail network was considered as an expansion of the existing network to provide rapid services between urban and suburban areas. An integrated programming model was proposed to determine the physical and service routes of suburban rail network, the frequencies of each line, and the TOD plan along the selected rail stations. The integrated model is solved using the Adaptive Large Neighborhood Search (ALNS) algorithm. The effectiveness of the proposed model and methods is illustrated through numerical experiments, and several scenarios are designed for parameter analysis.

Thresholding-based cellular automata for transportation network derived future urban growth patterns in a peri-urban area

The present study uses the standalone Cellular Automata (CA) model to predict the transportation network-derived future urban growth patterns of a rapidly expanding peri-urban area in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The Landsat satellite images of 1999, 2009, and 2019 are used to deduce the study region's land use/land cover (LULC) patterns. The road networks, suburban railway stations and proposed metro stations are considered the primary drivers of urban growth. The classification results show an increase in built-up area by 48 km2 (104%) from 1999 to 2019, decreasing the open land and vegetation by 21%. The fine-tuned CA gives an area under the relative operating characteristic curve of 0.907, locational accuracy >72% and quantitative accuracy of >89%, indicating a good model fit. The calibrated model is used to simulate the urban growth of 2029 for two scenarios: first a no-metro case and second considering the proposed metro's impact. While the built-up area increases by 28%–120 km2 for the no-metro case, including the proposed metro increases the built-up prediction to 133 km2. The enhanced built-up highlights the role of metro development in triggering significant growth in the region. Although the present study uses Kalyan and contiguous area, the general structure of model and its ability to function with a limited data makes it adaptable across diverse regions at different stages of development worldwide. Such an urban growth model can serve as a practical tool for planners in prompt decision-making.

An improvised analysis of smart data for IoT-based railway system using RFID

RFID (radio frequency identification) is a progressively adopted technology in today’s automated world. Wireless technologies have enabled contactless payments, tracking, identifying, and many more features in a system that can be introduced to build a smart environment. This work overviews the usage of the IoT (Internet of Things) platform for tracking passengers and enabling online payments through wireless sensors and RFID technology in Chennai Suburban Railways. The tracking system consists of an RFID reader that can locate and track passive as well as mobile objects attached with passive RFID tags. The proposed system incorporates the installation of RFID readers at every entrance and exit of the railway station, and every passenger carries their own RFID tags. This not only enables online payments for passengers but also helps the government in tracking the crowd for demand monitoring. The new methodology creates a digital workspace and enforces lawful safety regulations both for the administration and the consumers. A prototype of the proposed system is implemented in real-time to understand the workings of the system. Data collection is done through RFID tags that act as transit cards and an analysis for consumer demand is done using the DBSCAN (Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Application with Noise) algorithm with a Randomized KD-tree for the analysis of spatial and temporal patterns. A new algorithm, the iDBSCAN (improved Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Application with Noise) algorithm is proposed for faster performance on the datasets.

Влияние методов амортизации активов на эффективность хозяйственной деятельности транспортной корпорации

The relevance of the study is due to the search for modern, most advanced and convenient approaches for transformation and digitalization, for the formation of financial savings sufficient for the renovation of assets. The study of the dependence of depreciation policy, financial stability and the efficiency of economic activities of transport corporations allows us to determine the main directions of asset renovation. The object of the study is the process of forming a depreciation strategy for transport corporations aimed at creating sufficient financial savings. Sufficiency is determined by the real possibility of providing the required volumes of financing for the renovation of public pension facilities. The purpose of the work is to develop a methodological approach for the formation of a depreciation strategy as part of improving the financial management of national transport corporations. The tasks that required their solution to achieve this goal required: consideration of the general theoretical foundations associated with the study of modern developments on the formation and development of a depreciation strategy for replenishing one’s own sources of investment finan­cing; development of an effective depreciation strategy for a transport corporation. Strategies based on the use of combined methods of calculating depreciation, taking into account their impact on the efficiency of business activities; analysis of methods for calculating depreciation based on objective and reliable information, namely, accounting and tax accounting data. The research is based on the methods of induction, deduction and general cognition. Using the example of an operating passenger suburban railway corporation, the results of a study of the influence of the choice of depreciation methods (depreciation bonus) of the active part of production fixed assets on taxation, efficiency and quality indicators of its production, economic and financial activities are presented. The results of the study have proved that when using methods of logical, statistical and correlation analysis, it is possible to use scenario approaches as the main tool for developing a rational depreciation policy for a suburban passenger railway corporation. The conclusions are based on practical recommendations for the formation of an accounting policy of a railway corporation, allowing to accumulate funds and form strategic savings sufficient for the complete restoration of active fixed assets.

Monitoring of Insulated Rail Joints Based on Gap Value Measurement

AbstractThe monitoring of an IRJ would allow targeted maintenance to be carried out, reducing the problems caused by its potential failures. The authors present the results of a test field investigation, that involved the installation of seven longitudinal displacement sensors that continuously record the gap value of insulated rail joints (IRJs). The monitoring of an IRJ would allow targeted maintenance to be carried out, reducing the problems caused by its potential failures. The studied monitoring system was installed in a station of the suburban railway line within the metropolitan city of Bologna (Italy). Analysis of low-and high-frequency recordings was performed. In particular, low-frequency acquisition was used to fit a statistical predictive model that detects a deviation from a standard behaviour and may evidence anomalies. For the high-frequency acquisitions (registered during train passage) some representative quantities, that can provide macroscopic indicators of loss of joint stiffness, were computed. Although gap measurement alone is not exhaustive for identifying all possible failure scenarios, the data acquired by these monitoring devices can represent a possible immediate monitoring solution, based on already available instrumentation, to provide user-friendly predictive analysis systems aiming at improving the railway maintenance.

Design and research of suburban railway fire alarm system

With the rapid development of suburban rail transit, fire safety issues have received more and more attention. As the first line of the Shanghai Suburban Railway, the fire safety problem of the Shanghai Suburban Railway Airport Link Line is more prominent. In this paper, an automatic fire alarm system is designed and researched for the fire safety problem of the Shanghai Railway Airport Liaison Line, which adopts a hierarchical distributed structure and can realize accurate fire detection thorough immediately sending fire alarm information to the station control room and line operation control center and informing the location of the fire area. At the same time, the system also coordinates with the BAS system and ISCS system or independently realizes the linkage control of fire fighting equipment. The research results of this paper are of great significance for improving the fire safety level of Shanghai railway airport links.

Dynamic Factor of Suburban Railway Bridge Considering Random Vibration

The focus of this paper is to examine the dynamic factor of the suburban railway by utilizing the random vibration approach. Breaking through the previous methods of relying on huge amounts of measured data, herein, the dynamic factor essentially results from two major parts: the dynamic effect caused by moving train loads and that generated by track irregularity, which has clear physical significance. As the internal excitation of the vehicle–bridge system, track irregularity has strong randomness. Based on the dimension reduction method, the spatial domain power spectral density (PSD) of the track irregularity is transformed into the time-domain PSD. Therefore, the randomness of the random process is reduced by exploiting the constraint form of a random function, and then, the typical samples of the track irregularity considering randomness are constructed. Using the vehicle–bridge coupled vibration model, the standard deviation of the dynamic factor is evaluated accounting for the random track irregularity and 99.7% guarantee rate. Finally, the impact coefficient of the track irregularity on the bridge is methodically obtained. The sensitivity of the standard deviation of the dynamic factor to vehicle speed and bridge frequency is analyzed. The given solution methodology can fully take into account the randomness of the track irregularity. Thereby, it provides the dynamic factor formulas as a reference for the dynamic performance evaluation of suburban railway bridges and possible revision of current design specifications.

Spatio-Temporal Evolution of Urban Expansion along Suburban Railway Lines in Megacities Based on Multi-Source Data: A Case Study of Beijing, China

Suburban railways in megacities exert a pivotal role in propelling urbanization and shaping urban agglomeration. However, previous study endeavors have overlooked the transformations occurring in urban expansion along suburban railways, with a particular dearth of attention on the spatio-temporal evolution of landscape ecology and urban function. Therefore, this study employs the megacity of Beijing as an example. It utilizes remote sensing and point-of-interest (POI) data spanning from 2008 to 2022 to construct an indicator system from two essential dimensions: urban form and function. We explored the spatio-temporal characteristics of alterations in urban expansion within the gradient buffer zone adjacent to the suburban railway network in Beijing. The results showed that: (1) The rates of urban expansion were highest in 2008–2013 and lowest in 2013–2018; moreover, suburban railways had the greatest impact on the built-up area within 2–4 km along the route, and the impact gradually decreased beyond 4 km. (2) The direction of urban expansion shifted northward in the direction of latitude and eastward in the direction of longitude from 2008 to 2022, with the shift in latitude being more distinct. (3) The number of urban functions gradually increased from 2008 to 2018, but the number of medical services suddenly increased and the number of other urban functions decreased from 2018 to 2022; in addition, urban functions other than scenic spots were mainly distributed in the main urban areas, with very few clusters distributed near stations. (4) The landscape shape index became more irregular and fragmented from the center along the route to the edge of the buffer zone from 2008 to 2013, and the degree of fragmentation was highest in the 2–4 km buffer zone. In summary, this paper analyzes the spatio-temporal characteristics of urban expansion along suburban railways through four indexes, namely expansion rate, expansion direction, urban function, and landscape shape, and the results of this study are of great significance to the development and planning of suburban railways in megacities.

Line Planning under the Operation Mode of Line Sharing between Metro and Suburban Railway

Due to high transport efficiency, reduced transfer time, and various other advantages, the joint operation of different rail transit systems emerges as the optimal choice for rail transit systems. This article mainly studies the line-planning problem under the line-sharing operation mode between metro and suburban railway. First, a complex multiobjective programming model is established to maximize the net profit of two operating companies and the time savings of passengers. The constraints of this model encompass passenger flow, available vehicles, line carrying capacity, station capacity, cross-line configuration, departure frequency, and variable value range. Second, the linear weighted sum method is introduced to consolidate three objective functions into a single one, while utilizing the improved artificial bee colony (IABC) algorithm to address the line-planning problem. Besides, the traditional artificial bee colony (TABC) algorithm and the simulated annealing (SA) algorithm are provided as comparison groups to solve the same numerical example problem. The results demonstrate significant reductions in travel time by adopting the line-sharing operation mode. In addition, the IABC algorithm exhibits better solution quality and higher efficiency than both the TABC and SA algorithms. The proposed method proves to be valuable in formulating and optimizing the line plan.

Understanding Influencing Factors of Travel Mode Choice in Urban-Suburban Travel: A Case Study in Shanghai

After the rapid expansion of the subway system over the past two decades, some cities are preparing to build more suburban railways. The emergence of suburban railways is bound to change the choice of suburban passenger transportation. This paper studies the factors that affect the choice of travel mode at the construction stage of suburban railways, aiming to design a more rational suburban railway network and urban public transport service system. Taking Shanghai as an example, this study first surveyed revealed preference (RP) and stated preference (SP) among urban-suburban travelers. Then, we used discrete choice models (DCM) and machine learning algorithms to build a travel mode choice model based on data collection and analysis. Furthermore, the importance of each factor was analyzed, and the effects were predicted under several traffic demand management schemes. Finally, this study proposed some strategies for increasing the share of public transport. On the one hand, it is suggested that Shanghai should continue to develop suburban railways and maintain low pricing of public transport services. Considering the construction and operation costs, the government needs to provide certain subsidies to stabilize prices. On the other hand, as passengers are very sensitive to the “last mile” trips in their suburban railway travel, transport planners should strengthen the connection from and to the suburban railway stations by developing services such as shared bikes and shuttle buses. In addition, the results indicated that some traffic demand management measures can also contribute to a larger share of public transport.

Energy Management of Networked Smart Railway Stations Considering Regenerative Braking, Energy Storage System, and Photovoltaic Units

The networking of microgrids has received significant attention in the form of a smart grid. In this paper, a set of smart railway stations, which is assumed as microgrids, is connected together. It has been tried to manage the energy exchanged between the networked microgrids to reduce received energy from the utility grid. Also, the operational costs of stations under various conditions decrease by applying the proposed method. The smart railway stations are studied in the presence of photovoltaic (PV) units, energy storage systems (ESSs), and regenerative braking strategies. Studying regenerative braking is one of the essential contributions. Moreover, the stochastic behaviors of the ESS’s initial state of energy and the uncertainty of PV power generation are taken into account through a scenario-based method. The networked microgrid scheme of railway stations (based on coordinated operation and scheduling) and independent operation of railway stations are studied. The proposed method is applied to realistic case studies, including three stations of Line 3 of Tehran Urban and Suburban Railway Operation Company (TUSROC). The rolling stock is simulated in the MATLAB environment. Thus, the coordinated operation of networked microgrids and independent operation of railway stations are optimized in the GAMS environment utilizing mixed-integer linear programming (MILP).

Modeling Departure time choice of Metro Passengers: A case study of Delhi metro

Delhi metro is suffering from severe congestion due to booming travel demand. Differential pricing is an important and effective measure in traffic demand management (TDM). Whether pricing strategies work depends strongly on the responses of travelers to fare changes. Normally, the fare elasticity of demand is used to describe the relationship between demand changes and fare changes at an aggregate level. It is useful to estimate demand changes for system-wide and long-term pricing policies. However, for regional and short-term (valid time window is short) fare strategies, it is hard to capture the reactions just by the fare elasticity of demand. The retiming elasticity decreases greatly with increasing shift time, and 30 minutes is almost the maximum acceptable shift time for passengers. Moreover, the retiming elasticity of passengers in the middle term is approximately twice that in the short term. Applications of fare optimization are also executed, and the results suggest that optimizing the valid time window of the discount fares is a feasible way to improve the congestion relief effect of the policy, while policymakers should be cautious to change fare structures and increase discounts. Passengers' travel responses to fare changes are very complex and related to various external factors, such as service quality, travel preference, and socioeconomic factors. Past works on travel responses are usually specific to a certain region or transit system and assume that the external factors remain the same before and after the policy. Flexi fare is a successful measure in Beijing suburban railway and it handles the booming congestion of suburb rail. Modeling in departure time choice plays a vital role in caters the congestion in the metro and distributing the commuters at different intervals of time. The objective of this study is to understand the ridership pattern, mode-choice behaviour, trip purposes of users, and willingness to shift due to fare differential during the peak and non-peak hours in the metro rail system of Delhi. To know the different modeling departure time choice, it is necessary to know the willingness to shift to an off-peak hour or hike in peak hour fare. The study result shows that the users with work trips are willing to pay more but unwilling to shift from peak hour travel, and users with leisure trips are willing to shift to non-peak hour travel if the fare in peak hour changes. Therefore, new fare strategies should be recommended.

Simulation of pedestrian and cyclist underpass to reduce risky behaviour and traffic violations - a case study level crossing Trnava in Croatia

Level crossing accidents are among the most common accidents in rail transport. Accidents between trains and pedestrians often end in serious injury or death. Several key factors contributing to the occurrence of train-pedestrian accidents are human error (violation of laws), poor visibility, inadequate infrastructure, etc. One of the aims of this study is to analyse the problem of frequent illegal pedestrian and cyclist crossings at the Trnava level crossing in Croatia. Data was collected through observations and camera recordings of illegal pedestrian and cyclist crossings (traffic violations). Frequent train traffic on the double-track international and suburban railway line M102 (Zagreb Glavni kolodvor - Dugo Selo) leads to long closing times of the level crossing. The problem is exacerbated by the high volume of pedestrian and cyclist traffic, which makes the Trnava level crossing a high-risk location for accidents. Data collected on site (at the Trnava level crossing) is used to create a simulation of a pedestrian and cyclist underpass using PTV Vissim software and to investigate the effectiveness of the underpass as a solution to reduce risky behaviour by level crossing users at the Trnava level crossing. The result of implementing of the underpass for pedestrians and cyclists is a complete separation of non-motorised traffic and rail traffic, which significantly reduces traffic violations and insures safe movement of level crossing users.