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Abstract
The paper presents algorithms for energy-optimal train
control which can be applied in Driver Advisory Systems. As
the train driver shall be diverted as few as possible by this
system, a constructive two-level algorithm based on the
theory of optimal control and a gradient method is presented
which delivers the energy-optimal regime sequence with the
minimal number of regime changes.
The integration of operational requirements in this algorithm
is discussed in detail, in particular the consideration of the
properties of the Dutch train protection system ATB EG and
the integration of capacity bottlenecks as minimal speed
constraints. The algorithm is applied to some representative
line sections of the Dutch railway network in a case study.
1 Introduction
Driver advisory systems are an appropriate means to reduce
energy consumption of trains [1, 9]. The acceptance of these
systems by the drivers is essential to reach the promised
energy savings in practice. One prerequisite for a high
acceptance is that the computed advice should be consistent
with the safety system in use and the current operational
situation.
Driver advisory systems have first been developed for
regional or suburban trains with relatively short interstation
distances and only simple constraints which have to be
considered. Today, the available processing power and
communication bandwidth allow to integrate even
complicated real-time constraints in the optimisation
algorithm. The paper looks in particular at the Dutch railway
network, where due to the heavily used infrastructure many
complicated constraints occur.
In Section 2 the paper shortly explains the reasons for
choosing a gradient method for the computation of the
energy-optimal trajectory between two consecutive points
with fixed train state. These can either be train stations with
fixed arrival times or capacity bottlenecks with fixed passing
times. The extension of the existing algorithm for the
consideration of capacity bottlenecks is described in Section
3. In Section 4, the Dutch train protection system ATB EG is
analysed in its influence on energy consumption. It is
2 Energy-efficient driving
2.1 General design questions
Energy-efficient driving between two consecutive stations
has been discussed in the literature since the 1970s (see [1]
for an introduction and [7] for a comprehensive literature
overview).
Two basic approaches can be distinguished:
1. Use of a precise train model and calculation of the
trajectory using a discrete search space and a numerical
solver. The application of Dynamic Programming is the
most popular approach in this field, see e.g. [5], other
search methods like direct search can be found in the
literature as well.
2. Derive the optimal regimes using the Maximum
Principle and construct the trajectory based on these
regimes.
In the first approach constraints for speed and time can be
easily interpreted as restrictions in the search space. The
entire freedom of tractive effort is seen as disadvantage of the
algorithm: the driver can only follow a given advice exactly,
if displays exist which compare requested and actual tractive
effort: This is only the case in a few modern traction vehicles.
The quality and energy-efficiency of such an algorithm
depends on the chosen discretisation of the search space, if
discretisation intervals are large, the method leads to
solutions which are far from optimal in the real world, if the
intervals are small, the tractive effort might change
frequently, which might divert the driver. That was the most
important reason to use the second approach here: By
application of the Maximum Principle one obtains that there
are four optimal regimes, in particular:
x
Full power (limited by the maximal permitted
acceleration of the train, Abbreviation: pow)
station 3
station 2
maximal speed
pow
cr
co
only on steep
descents
in all other cases
min speed =
max speed
in bottleneck
speed
station 1
brm
ATB speed
minimal speed
position
subsection 1
section
timetable
requirement
4 5
arrival
time
234
1 2 3
passing
time
arrival
time
old alt,
alt, old
is compared for all subsections and all variants for energysaving, the maximum is determined and the corresponding
alternative transition states are set. The algorithm is repeated
until all running time margin has been distributed or it is not
possible to add more reserve to any of the subsections which
might be the case if minimal speeds would be hurt by
applying more margin.
Of course the step sizes and determine the precision of
timekeeping and energy efficiency. They are adapted
depending on the amount of running time margin which still
has to be distributed.
This gradient method leads to optimal solutions when only
small running time reserves are available. The more margin
has to be distributed, the bigger the chances are, that the
stepwise distribution of the margin only leads to suboptimal
solutions. The possible consequences will be discussed in the
case studies.
,QWKHRQJRLQJUHVHDUFKSURMHFW5DLOHQHUJ\WKHVHWLPHV
are referred to as restrictive target point. They are part of the
proposal for a communication standard between operation
control centres and onboard units [10].
140
Speed /km/h
120
100
= 960s
Gdm
Earliest passing
time in Gdm
150
Energy
110
100
Delay
in Ht
100
Delay in Ht /s
120
50
850
900
950
1000 1050
Passing time /s
1100
1150
80
t
60
Gdm
= 1400s
energy-optimal
(858s)
20
0
50
25
0
Gdm
40
Height /m
Energy consumption /%
10000
20000
30000
Position/ m
40000
The Dutch system ATB has been installed on all major lines
in the network since the 1950s. It is based on a continuous
communication from track to train, which is realized by
stamping the 75 Hz signal of the track circuits with a
rectangular signal of different frequency the so called
coding of the track circuits. Five different codes can be
transmitted this way from track to train, each code stands for
a certain speed (40, 60, 80, 130 or 140 km/h) which shall be
referred to as ATB speed in the suite of this paper. The ATB
speed is the minimum of the current line speed, the
announced next speed limit and the speed limit announced at
the previous signal. If this maximal speed is not contained in
2
cr
ATB
co
brm
140
Timeoptimal
with ATBl
120
i.e. that for a given start state of the train at the beginning of
the subsection (1 , 1 ) and a given target state of the train at
the end of it (2 , 2 ) the trajectory )( = with maximal
area under the curve is the one with the shortest time. It can
easily be shown that this is the curve which consists of
braking with the minimal required number of braking steps
(as long as possible) before either cruising at ATB speed or
braking with maximal braking rate (until the end speed of the
subsection).
In the optimisation process, a change of the ATB speed
restriction is another criterion to form a new subsection. At
the start of the gradient method, ATB subsections are
simulated with time-optimal riding first. During the gradient
method, two situations might occur:
- Running time reserve is added to the ATB subsection:
This is only possible, if the subsection end speed is
100
Speed /km/h
= 2 = 2 ,
80
Energyoptimal
without ATB
60
40
Energyoptimal
with ATBl
Subsection with
ATB speed 40 km/h
500
1000
1500
2000 2500
Position/ m
3000
3500
4000
Speed /km/h
Timeoptimal
with ATB
100
Energyoptimal
without ATB
Energyoptimal
with ATB
50
Height /m
6 Conclusions
150
0
20
0
-20
5000
10000
Position /m
15000
20000
References
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Hansen, J. Pachl. (eds.) Railway Timetable & Traffic.
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LQIRUPDWLRQV\VWHPSOD\LQFRQIOLFWVLWXDWLRQV",Q 10th
IFAC Symposium Control in Transportation Systems,
Delft.. (2006)
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[4] $ '$ULDQR 7 $OEUHFKW 5XQQLQJ WLPH UHoptimization during real-WLPH WLPHWDEOH SHUWXUEDWLRQV
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of
the
Driving
of
Trains.
atautomatisierungstechnik. 50, pp. 606-613. (2002)
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[7] 5/LX,0*RORYLWFKHU(QHUJ\-efficient operation of
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