Long-term tactical infrastructure planning for a transportation network consists of deciding on renewals and major maintenance works. Such projects constitute large budget volumes and will impair the available traffic capacity during their execution, especially for railway systems. Quantitative methods that schedule and coordinate infrastructure projects together with traffic flow adaptations is however largely lacking today. This paper addresses the joint planning of temporary capacity restrictions and traffic flow adaptions during track work closures, by proposing a bi-level optimization model which separates the problem into project scheduling (upper level) and traffic assignment (lower level). The latter model uses a novel traffic flow formulation for routing volumes of trains through the transportation network under the capacity restrictions given by the project scheduling. An aggregated network is used together with time discretized into uniform periods, which makes it possible to treat large national planning problems with a planning horizon of up to a year and a period length of a couple hours. The computational properties are evaluated, both for the individual models, and for their joint usage. Furthermore, results from applying the models on two case studies, concerning Northern and South-Western Sweden, are presented. The main conclusion is that the model formulations are capable of solving realistic planning cases and to provide support for capacity planners at an infrastructure manager, even for a large national railway. The results show that a good overview over the collective traffic impact is obtained, but also that details of particular traffic relations or capacity usage over individual network links and their variation over time can be studied. One major deficiency has been identified in the flow-based traffic assignment model, which can lead to incoherent train flows over long traveling distances and many time periods. 

EU-kommissionens förslag från 2023 introducerar en ny tåglägesprodukt kallad Rolling Planning. Rapporten beskriver metoder för att identifiera Rolling Planning-kapacitet baserat på historisk trafikdata. Genom klustring av dygn och klassificering skapas prognoser för kapacitetskonsumtion, vilket kan användas för att reservera kapacitet i framtida tågplaner. Utvärdering visar viss träffsäkerhet men behov av kompletterande underlag.

Denna rapport sammanfattar resultaten från forskningsprojektet RANKA – Rangerbangårdars kapacitet i prognos 2040. Målet har varit att ta fram modeller, metoder och nyckeltal för rangerbangårdars kapacitet och produktivitet som ska kunna nyttjas i arbetet med långsiktiga prognoser. Rapporten introducerar en metod att projicera prognosticerade volymer till ett typdygns sannolika trafik genom statistisk sammanställning av operativ data till en belastningsprofil unik för varje bangård. Nyckelord: Rangering, transportprognoser, kapacitet, produktivitet.

The Seamless Freight cluster is part of the TRANS4M-R project and the Europe’s Rail initiative. It aims to deliver an essential contribution towards the modernization, digitalization and harmonization of multimodal rail freight. By addressing various technical enablers identified in the MAWP, Seamless Freight bridges the gaps between actors, countries, systems, processes and transport modes. Against this background, this Deliverable is the main output of the specification phase and includes the relevant requirements, both functional and non-functional, the main use-cases and use-case environments as well as a description of relevant systems, data types, processes and challenges. These specifications build on the basic requirements identified in the scope of the Deliverables D25.2 and D25.3. The contents of this deliverable are the result of an extensive and iterative process, involving relevant stakeholder groups (IMs, RUs, TOs, YOs, CTOs and shippers) that are all part of the TRANS4M-R team. The specifications are structured according to the different work packages, in which the solutions, that are necessary to fulfil the objectives of Seamless Freight, will be developed. True seamless planning must result in perfectly consistent planning and allowing for smooth transition and continuity for all actors involved along the entire transport chain as well as all assets required for operating the railway system. Seamless planning therefore encompasses all planning horizons (e.g. long- and short-term as well as real-time), all planning environments (e.g. yards, terminals and all connecting infrastructure) and involves a variety of complex planning systems and processes. All these aspects feed the derivation of requirements for planning systems and their interfaces, with additional consideration of the interconnection to dispatching and keeping the information on line and network capacity updated for all actors, in order to achieve true seamless planning. Dynamic Dispatching has focussed on the constraints of today, that hinder optimized processes due to lack of real-time information. An intensive exchange with end customers and stakeholders has led to several use cases which shall at an international level prove that harmonization and the dynamic adaption of tasks due to real-time information will lead to higher efficiency and maximizing the use of existing infrastructure. Intermodal Prediction Systems, forecasting both the ETA and the ETD for pre-defined milestones by using advanced machine-learning models, enhance the transparency and reliability of rail freight. The systems use various TAF TSI and EDIGES message types as basis input. Its quality is evaluated using pre-defined TAF TSI KPIs. Main applications for the prediction values are the optimisation of terminal and yard processes as well as the assignment and planning of rolling stock utilization (Asset Warehouse). The concept of Standardised European Railway Checkpoints is a further development of the previous work carried out in Shift2Rail and the concept of “Intelligent Video Gates” (IVG). The main objective was thus a further development of the previous work. Moreover, in FP3 Checkpoints are also developed but at main lines for both freight and passenger trains. Hence, one main aim was to give a clear and through background description, including existing similar systems that the IMs in T25.4 currently possess. Process descriptions were carried out for three types of operational stops for freight trains; intermodal terminals, marshalling yards and borders. Opportunities for improving these processes though the use of Checkpoints as well as a vast set of use cases were identified. Functional and non-requirements were developed. Based on the process analysis and the defined requirements, technical specifications were outlined for detection technologies and for data sharing. Albeit technical standardisation has been addressed, further work is needed to be carried jointly between the System Pillar sub-project Harmonized European Railway Diagnostics (Herd), FP5 T25.4/WP29 and FP3 WP7. Thus, the specifications outlined in this report will be the basis for a standardised development and installation of Checkpoints within WP29. Multimodal Integration has focussed on the constraints of today, that hinders simple bookings of freight on rail. Three primary reasons have been identified that will be tackled by use cases. The time-consuming process of finding existing freight train services, the complexity to book services if more than one primary supplying company is involved and the difficulty to establish new services where today’s offering is not yet matching the market demand. All shall demonstrate that harmonized and standardized process and data exchange will lead to higher usage of existing infrastructure due to lowering entry barriers. All this requires a high degree of collaboration between the involved actors both within and often across national borders. Today, there is a call for better synchronisation within and between transport practices. Big hopes are being placed on digitalisation as an enabler and means for integrated and sustainable performance along the multi-modal supply chain. The primary objective for enabling data exchange is to provide a framework that allows a seamless and harmonised exchange of data. This framework aims to facilitate an increased data availability and quality by reducing technical and administrative barriers for the generation and exchange of data in the project. This framework will be built on existing developments rather than introducing new elements.

Denna rapport har tagits fram inom ramen för projektet SATT-TF, Samplanering av trafikpåverkande åtgärder och trafik – Trafikflöden. Under SATT-TFs genomförande-period har arbetet med att implementera den av RNE och FTE framtagna förslaget på ny kapacitetstilldelning, framtagen inom ramen för projektet TTR, Description of the Timetabling and Capacity Redesign Process, tagit fart. Rapporten beskriver dels sammanfattningsvis TTR-projektets framtagna process samt hur en prognosticerad transport tar sig igenom de olika processtegen som prognosticerat tågläge och olika kapacitetsobjekt till fastställt tågläge och genomförd trafik. Fokus för rapporten ligger på den förplanering som ingår i TTRs process. Denna förplanering är ny för svenska förhållanden och inför ett genomförande av TTR-projektets resultat behöver den svenska infrastrukturförvaltaren skapa rutiner och arbetssätt som dels stämmer med TTR-processens beskrivningar och handböcker, dels är effektiva att genomföra, dels leder till effektiv trafik. I rapporten görs en jämförelse med mer generell planering som den ter sig i industriella sammanhang. Den typ av resursplanering som görs under TTR-processens förplanering har sin motsvarighet inom många industrisektorer. Vidare presenteras en metod för att beräkna resursbeläggningen, i TTR-projektets terminologi benämnt Kapacitetsmodellen, givet en mängd prognosticerade tåglägen vilka har ett tidsfönster inom vilket de kan anses implementera sin tilltänkta transportuppgift korrekt. Denna metod kan dels användas för en given mängd prognosticerade tåglägen utan varianter men kan även generaliseras till en kombinatorisk urvalsoptimering genom att alternativa vägval och/eller tidsmässig placering av de prognosticerade tåglägena introduceras varvid optimeringsproblemet består i att välja de varianter som ger den bästa globala planen. Det senare resultat är beskriven i mer detalj i en separat rapport. En viktig del av förplaneringen utgör bedömningen av den produktionstid som åtgår till ställtid, dvs. sådan tid som måste läggas till planen för att möjliggöra produktion av produkter med olika produktionsmässiga egenskaper. För tågplanen och schema-läggning av tåglägen utgör ställtid den tid som åtgår för att möjliggöra tåglägen med olika prestandaegenskaper, väsentligen olika hastigheter. Rapporten beskriver ett sätt att kalkylera mängden ställtid för en viss linjesträcka och mix av prestandaklasser, samt hur en bedömning av storleken på ställtiden kan göras. Givet mängden ställtid så kan mängden tid som används till värdeskapande produktion beräknas, vilken i sin tur kan översättas till kombinationer av tåglägen ur de valda prestandaklasserna. Finessen med detta ligger i att tågordningen på den undersökta sträckan inte är fastlagd utan att antalet tåglägen från respektive prestandaklass gäller för den givna tidsperioden oavsett ordning på tåglägena. Detta att inte detaljerat schemalägga trafiken till en tidtabell under förplaneringen är en viktig abstraktion som skapar betydande flexibilitet till senare processteg under både förplaneringen men också efter ansökan om kapacitet och är besläktad med Successiv planering.

This report outlines a calculation method for allocating resources on railway infrastructure. The method is based on a ’set cover’, a concept known in operations research and expressed as a mixed integer program (MIP). Each future train path is represented by a number of variants, including the alternative that the exclusion of the train path from the future working timetable, the objective being to select the alternatives that minimizes an estimated generalized cost. The calculation method utilizes a newly developed measure for capacity consumption in railway traffic, which is based on the area that a future train path occupies in a Marey graph, timetable graph, where the train path occupies each line section with a certain transport time. This timespace- area is regarded as a measure of the infrastructure capacity consumed. The calculation method described in this report has been demonstrated to be effective in tests and has been employed in studies of models for socio-economic valuation of railway traffic during the advance planning process steps before railway undertakers apply for capacity.

Denna rapport beskriver en beräkningsmetod för resursbeläggning av trafik på järnvägsinfrastruktur. Beräkningsmetoden baseras på ett så kallat Set Cover, en inom operationsforskningen känd metod uttryckt som ett Mixed Integer Program, MIP. Varje framtida tågläge representeras som ett antal varianter inklusive alternativet att tågläget inte genomförs, exkluderas, från framtida tågplan. Ett alternativ för varje framtida tågläge skall väljas som minimerar en bedömd generaliserad kostnad. Beräkningsmetoden använder ett nyutvecklat mått för kapacitetskonsumtion vid tågtrafik baserat på den area som ett framtida tågläge har i en Marey-graf, tidtabellgraf, där tågläget belägger varje delsträcka med en sin transporttid. Denna area ses här som mått på den infrastrukturkapacitet som konsumeras. Beräkningsmetoden har i test visat sig effektiv och använts i utredning av modeller för samhällsekonomisk värdering vid förplanering av järnvägstrafik innan ansökan om kapacitet.

Valuation of train traffic in TTR's Advance planning Europe's infrastructure authorities organized in RNE, Rail Net Europe, and Europe's railway undertakers organized in FTE, Forum Train Europe, have for several years been running an international development programme called "Redesign of the International Timetabling Process" (originally "TimeTable Review", abbreviated TTR) aiming at trans-forming the capacity allocation process on railways. The results from TTR have in turn largely influenced the European Commission's proposal for a new regulation in the area. An important component, at least for Swedish conditions, is an increased degree of pre-planning which results in a supply/offer of pre-planned train paths. Capacity will also be reserved during the preparation of the annual timetable for later allocation which can be up to 3 years ahead. This places great demands on the infrastructure manager’s ability to be able to reserve capacity, value capacity (even under uncertainty) and safeguard the capacity characteristics that have been reserved, as well as having tools to support that. This report summarizes the work carried out within the project “Service and Transport capacity supply on rail”, TOT. The goal of TOT has been to investigate the possibilities of using the already defined Priority categories, used in the conflict phase of today’s process, for valuation and prioritization of train transports in the Advance planning phase of the TTR process, i.e., before railway undertakers formally apply for capacity. To summarize TOT’s results, the Swedish prioritization criteria can be used for valuation train traffic in TTR's Advance planning phase. Someone, preferably the infrastructure manager based on own experience, needs to decide which priority category different pre-planned transports should be classified as. The assessment should be made based on the society's utility that a particular transport is being performed. The Priority categories are not suited to e.g., decide in a competitive situation between equal actors which one that should be allocated a pre-planned train path. For this, a complementary method is needed to determine who should be allocated the capacity. Ideally, the Swedish Priority category also needs further development to, among other things, valuate traffic regularity as well as marginal effects when there are several similar paths planned during a limited time frame. There is a large need for a valuation function for the infrastructure manager during the preplanning phase, to be able to prioritize among different foreseen needs. The valuation model needs to value the socio-economic utility of the intended use of the infrastructure in the coming timetable where capacity shortages can be foreseen due to conflicting demands. For this purpose, the Swedish prioritization categories can work as a basis.

As railway markets are increasingly deregulated, coordinating and prioritising between capacity requests becomes more complex and more important. This paper describes the advantages and challenges of different allocation methods in vertically separated open-access railway markets, with several railway operators and heterogeneous traffic, and where a public infrastructure manager must resolve operators’ conflicting path requests. Three broad groups of allocation methods are described: administrative methods, allocation by social cost-benefit analysis and willingness-to-pay based allocation. We describe pros and cons of these allocation principles for three different market segments: commercial traffic with long planning horizons, (subsidized) traffic controlled by public transport agencies, and traffic with short planning horizons. We then outline an allocation process that meets the requirements of a deregulated market better than conventional methods. It is a mixed method, which uses an auction-like mechanism to allocate pre-defined paths to commercial operators on specified, capacity-constrained lines. The net social benefits of capacity reserved for traffic controlled by public transport agencies is assessed through social cost-benefit analysis of timetables. The benefits decrease when timetables are adjusted to make room for additional commercial train paths; the size of this loss determines the reservation price of the auction-like mechanism. Dynamic pricing is used for short-term allocation on congested line segments. © 2021

Följande rapport introducerar ett nytt kapacitetsmått för trafik på järnväg. Syftet med det föreslagna måttet är att det skall vara användbart vid förplanering av järnvägstrafik, innan järnvägsföretag och andra sökanden lämnar in sina ansökningar om trafik och kapacitetstilldelningen slutförs. Kapacitetsmåttet utgår från det gängse sättet att presentera en tågplan, den så kallade tidtabellsgrafen, eller i branschen refererad till som bara ”grafen”. För varje spårsträcka som tågläget belägger så utgör kapacitetskonsumtionen ytan som upptas i grafen. Denna yta är summan av varje individuell signalsträckas längd multiplicerat med tiden som tågläget belägger hela spårsträckan. Detta utgör kapacitetskonsumtionen för tågläget. Måttet blir intressant i de tidigare processtegen innan ansökan om kapacitet. Då ansökan ännu inte är genomförd så finns inga sökta avgångs- och ankomsttider, däremot en prognos vad som kommer sökas (t.ex. genom den i TTR angivna händelsen Capacity Needs Announcement). Genom att lägga på ett tidsfönster kan varje prognosticerat tågläge abstraheras att avgå/ankomma inom detta tidsfönster. Kapacitetskonsumtionen är dock konstant, och denna fördelas över tidsfönstret. Genom att för varje tidsögonblick ackumulera den fördelade kapacitetsåtgången fås en kapacitetsanvändningsplan. Denna är en abstraktion av det tänkta framtida schemat (tågplanen) och kräver således inte en konfliktfri tågplan som utgångspunkt. En kapacitetsanvändningsplan kan således realiseras av många olika scheman som realiserar den. Tanken är att kapacitetsanvändningsplanen, om prognosen för framtida trafik är rätt, på ett korrekt sätt lyckats abstraherat den framtida tågplanens konkreta schema. Hänsyn måste tas till de tidsmässiga kostnader som uppstår för att tåglägen har olika hastighet och på enkelspår går i olika riktning. Detta hanteras i analogi med andra industrisektorer med ställtid, vilket också är kapacitetskonsumtion och således ingår i kapacitetsanvändningsplanen. Utöver detta måste hänsyn i kapacitetsanvändnings-planen tas till tid som behövs för att reglera möten och förbigångar på omgivande driftplatser och ger upphov till ytor som inte längre kan nås i ett konkretiserat schema. Då denna kapacitetskonsumtion adderas till den övriga beskrivna kapacitets-konsumtionen har en kapacitetsbudget skapats vars syfte är att klargöra förutsättningarna för vilken trafik som kan bedrivas och som skall kunna realiseras i ett schema (tågplan) efter att ansökan om kapacitet skett. Det i denna rapport beskrivna måttet för kapacitetskonsumtion utgör en brygga mellan de tidigare processtegen i kapacitetstilldelningsprocessen och de senare.

Reserve capacity in Railway capacity allocation. Each year railway undertakings (RUs) apply for capacity to run trains on the railway infrastructure. The infrastructure manager (IM) should make a complete timetable for all applications together with capacity restrictions when maintenance etc must be performed. In this process, referred to as the capacity allocation process, the IM should also schedule some reserve capacity for later use during the execution of the plan. The reserve capacity then competes with the applied capacity of the RUs, since it is only motivated to introduce reserve capacity where there is a capacity scarcity. If there is plenty of rest capacity (capacity that no one applied for in the yearly process), then there is no need for reserve capacity. Since reserve capacity competes with all other capacity applied for in the yearly capacity allocation process, the amount, location and lines where reserve capacity is introduced must be founded in fair and sound principles in order for the RUs in the yearly process to accept the costs taken to make room for the reserve capacity. This report addresses such models and methods for the Swedish capacity allocation process. The report in part summarizes in condensed form the two earlier reports that have been published, as well as reports some new material regarding process descriptions, data analyses of previous years’ timetables and interviews with three different RUs. The report also gives some recommendations to the Swedish IM Trafikverket about tools for representing reserve capacity, design of the process and how to allocate paths based on reserve capacity once capacity has been reserved. One key recommendation is that a new timetabling object should be introduced, called Capacity reservation, CR. A CR is a named (has identity) timetabling object that can be used in a train path in the future. If an RU wants to use such a CR in a train path, the RU must apply for it and exceed a valuation criterion to be able to get it. This valuation criterion is a connection to the costs that other yearly applied traffic has to take in order to make room for the reserve capacity. CRs are managed (not “allocated”) by the IM and are not allocated to an RU or entrepreneur until they have applied for it. CRs are available for allocation after the timetable is finalized and the short-term process (ad hoc) is started, including the process step Late path requests. The report also relates the models and methods to the upcoming new capacity allocation process called Timetabling and capacity redesign, TTR. TTR introduces Advance planning, i.e. planning in advance of the RU allocations. For this to work, it is crucial to be able to reserve capacity in various forms, both segmentation and reserve over time (safeguarding).