Rail

Procedures for improving the efficiency of classification yard operations are studied in this paper. Multistage sorting strategies make efficient use of land and tracks. Equations are derived giving the service time per car and space requirements of three multistage sorting strategies: the sorting-by-block, the sorting-by-train, and the triangular sorting strategies. Exact service time formulas are given for the first two strategies, and an approximation is given for the last strategy. The approximation, when compared with exact calculations, proved to be quite robust. Errors were on the...

This paper and its companion present a study of railroad classification yard strategies that allow for blocks of destinations to be assigned to classification tracks in different ways, depending on the time of day, week or month. With the same number of tracks, more classifications can be handled by this method. The paper examines homogeneous traffic; that is, traffic patterns where all blocks have the same amount of traffic, where cars for all blocks depart equally frequently from the yard and where the overall traffic flow does not change with time. The results represent the beginning of...

The paper presents a new method for operating urban railways that, without building any additional infrastructure or significantly changing the passengers’ level-of-service, allows an agency to run trains up to three times longer than existing station platforms and still fill them with passengers. An operating system (OS) underpinning the new method is presented. The only requirement of the rolling stock is that the doors in different parts of each train (e.g., its cars) can be operated independently. The extra-long trains (XLTs) can protrude beyond both ends of the station platforms—in...

There has been a unique convergence of factors that have contributed to Japan's outstanding public transportation system. The paper focuses on two modes of transportation: air and high-speed rail (HSR). These two modes do not complement each other as in Europe, but compete head-on in Japan. Moreover, Japan does not have to contend with market-distorting public subsidies, because both companies operating HSR in the corridor of interest are highly profitable, primarily because of their HSR service. The Japanese transportation system therefore provides an excellent environment in which to...