HI IN T E R N A T I O N A L C O N F E R E N C E
T R A N S P O R T S Y S T E M S T E L E M A T I C S TST'03
Z E S Z Y T Y N A U K O W E PO L IT E C H N IK I Ś L Ą S K IE J 2003
T R A N S P O R T z.51, n r kol. 1608
r a ilw a y in te r lo c k in g system s, tr a ffic c o n tro l a n d in fo rm a tio n system s, r a ilw a y tra n sp o r t q u a lity
Michal B O L E K1
C O N T R I B U T I O N O F M O D E R N C O N T R O L A N D I N F O R M A T I O N S Y S T E M S T O Q U A L I T Y I M P R O V E M E N T O F R A I L W A Y T R A N S P O R T
M o d e r n ra il w a y con trol s y s te m s base d on r e m o te control can b e a ppl ie d to inc re ase traffic m a n a g e m e n t e ff ic ie nc y, to c en tr al ise traffic co ntrol and also to re d u c e costs. R el ate d in fo rm a tio n syst em s, w hi c h a u to m a ti c al l y ta k e in fo rm a tio n fr om inte rlo ck ing e qu ip m e nt , m a y th an c on tri bu te to ad ditional increase o f traffic m a n a g e m e n t eff ic ie n c y an d im p r o ve c li e n ts ’ information.
W P Ł Y W N O W O C Z E S N E G O S Y S T E M U Z A R Z Ą D Z A N I A R U C H E M O R A Z S Y S T E M U I N F O R M A C Y J N E G O
NA P O P R A W Ę J A K O Ś C I T R A N S P O R T U K O L E J O W E G O
N o w o c z e s n e s y s t e m y s te r o w an ia kol ej ą op a rte na z da ln ym s te r ow an iu m o g ą być s to so w a ne do p o d w y ż s z a n ia sp ra w n o ś c i z ar zą d z an i a r u c h e m , do centralizacji s ter o w an ia ru c h u a ta k ż e do o b ni ża ni a ko szt ów . S y s te m y z w ią z a n e z info rm a ty ką , które a ut om a ty cz n ie p o b ie ra ją in fo r m a cj ę z w yp o sa ż e n ia b lo ka dy , m o g ą w p ły n ą ć n a d o d a tk o w e p ow ię k sz e n ie e fe k ty w no śc i z ar z ą d z a n i a ru c h e m oraz u d o s k on al e n ie in for ma cji klienta.
1. IN T R O D U C T IO N
O ne o f principal stan d ard s o f q u ality o f tran sp o rt is its speed. Its im p ro v em en t can be achieved in d ifferen t w ay s, at first b y m o d ern izin g o f infrastructure, than by m o d ern izin g o f rolling stock and at n o t least b y im p ro v em en t o f traffic m an ag e m en t o rg an izatio n . E sp ecially on railw ay th ere is p o ssib ility o f im p ro v em en t o f quality o f tran sp o rt p ro cesses b y ch an g e o f interlocking concept.
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2. R E M O T E L Y C O N T R O L L E D IN T E R L O C K IN G S Y S T E M S
O ne o f p o ssib le m o d ific a tio n s is creation o f cen tralized control an d in te rlo c k in g system . In p e rio d o f d ev e lo p m e n t o f re m o te ly co n tro lled system s (R C S ) w e sh o u ld h ave in m ind d istin ctio n s, w h ich resu lt from d ifferen t situation at m ain and bran ch lines. It is clea r that there is n o t n e c e ss ity to e q u ip all lines w ith the sam e equipm ent. S o it is n e c e ssa ry to build in terlo ck in g system w ith accep tab le risk level (e.g. traffic d istu rb an ce in case o f system failure, se c u rity ris k level etc.) an d acceptable costs in view o f im p o rtan ce o f line and ch aracter o f traffic.
2.1 B R A N C H LI N ES
T h e p rim a ry reaso n fo r im p lem en tatio n o f RCS on branch lines is red u ctio n o f staff, w hich cap acity is o b v io u sly n o t utilized, b u t it is n o t only b en efit o f th ese system s on branch lines. O th er b e n e fits, w h ich can be fu lly used on m ain lines, are w ritten in section 2.2.
T he n ex t p o ss ib ility o f q u ality im p ro v em en t and efficien cy o f traffic m an ag e m en t is system o f rad io b lo ck . Its realizatio n in v o lv es secu red m aster co m p u ter in centre and secured term inal in v eh icle w ith function o f sim p le autom atic train control, bo th co n n ected to data channel o f rad io link. T h e lin e has to b e eq u ip p ed w ith passiv e b alises. C ov erag e o f line by rad io signal is n e c e ss a ry o n ly in p lace s o f tran sm issio n , i.e. esp ecially n e a r statio n s. It is ex p ected th a t in view o f h ig h ly d ifferen tiated con d itio n s on lines system c o u ld be ap p lied in various levels, w h ich can be in creased w ith o u t d ifficu lties and w hich are co m p atib le. A t the highest level th is sy stem sh o u ld be co m p atib le w ith ETC S on m ain lines. T he m ean in g o f this system is to allo w m o v e m e n t o f train at line speed w ith acceptable secu rity risk level and m in im u m lossages.
2.2 M A I N L I N E S
T he p rim a ry reaso n fo r im p lem en tatio n o f RCS on m ain lines is im p o ssib ility o f effectiv e m an ag in g o f traffic from sep arate in terlo ck s in stations, b ecau se in p a rtic u la r stations are n o t available d ire c t in fo rm atio n ab o u t traffic in distan t locations o f ra ilw a y line and m ed iated in fo rm atio n d o n o t allo w co rrect deciding, b ecau se th e y are n o t p u n ctu al enough.
T h is situation is g ettin g w o rse w ith in creasin g n u m b er o f trains and w ith th e ir increasing speed. R C S allow h ig h e r traffic m an ag e m en t effectiveness and m in im izatio n o f traffic distu rb an ces im p acts. In re g a rd o f n e c e ssity o f high o p erab ility u n d er all circu m stan ces (e.g.
failure state o f sy stem ) th ere is n o t p o ssib le to realize so e x ten siv e s ta ff red u ctio n s as on branch lines. It is n e c e ss a ry to estab lish the m o st optim al con d itio n s fo r traffic an d its quality.
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3. S U P E R S T R U C T U R E S O F IN T E R L O C K IN G S Y S T E M S
Superstructure, w hich p ro v id es transm ission o f inform ation about train m o v em en t from interlocking system to ra ilw a y info rm atio n system s, can be established. T h is info rm atio n can conduce to additional im p ro v em en t o f traffic m an ag em en t effectiv en ess an d th ey can also conduce to clients o f railw ay , w h e th e r in p assen g er tran sp o rt (train lo catio n ) o r in freight transportation (m o n ito rin g o f co n sig n m en t). O ne o f these system s is G T N , w hich w ill be described in section 3.1. Interconnection o f in terlo ck in g and inform ation system s has som e problems, w hich re s u lt from p rin cip les o f interlocking.
T he m ain p roblem o f th is connection is th at betw een interlocks an d R C S devices are transferred sa fety -relev an t info rm atio n and for their sim plification is n ecessary to have closed netw ork b y sta n d a rd EN 50159-1 in w hole area. It m eans that, aside from an o th er technical details, there is re q u ire m e n t th a t device, w hich is o p erated in tran sitio n n etw o rk , can n o t generate info rm atio n th at ap p ear as RCS info rm atio n and th ey can n o t create access for trespassers.
C losed n etw o rk and n o g en eratin g o f reserv ed inform ation can n o t be p ro v ed o r it w ould be difficult to keep clo sed n etw o rk a fter longer ru n n in g period.
B ecause th ere is n o ex istin g in terlo ck in g system p repared for altern ativ e solution by open netw o rk in sense o f standard EN 50159-2, there is no p o ssib ility to estab lish open interconnection betw een interlocking system and any sup erio r control system . In this stage is possible on ly restricted in terco n n ectio n , w hen data are sent from in terlo ck in g system and access to this system is d isab led in sense o f requirem ents o f in terlo ck in g equipm ent.
A vailable technical solution is unidirectional connection o f fail-safe n etw o rk an d n etw o rk o f other inform ation sy stem s (O IS ), w hich allow s O IS to obtain actual an d relev an t inform ation about traffic th ro u g h in te rlo c k in g system , b u t on the o th er side it in h ib its access from O IS netw ork to R C S n etw o rk (O IS n etw o rk m eans e.g. G TN netw o rk and linked system C EV IS, MIS etc.) In n o case is p o ssib le to control interlocking equipm ent d irectly from O IS netw ork.
In th eir co n seq u en ces can n o t be utilized all possibilities o f th ese system s, e.g. i f th ere is train route to rig h t section o f statio n , etc. If w e w ant to execute these su p erv isio n s w e have only one p o ssib ility n o w - im p lem en t it directly into RCS.
3.1 G R A P H I C A L A N D T E C H N O L O G I C A L S U P E R S T R U C T U R E ( G T N )
G raphical an d T ech n o lo g ical S up erstru ctu re is co m p u ter app licatio n d esig n ed as a support for traffic m a n a g e m e n t on determ in ate sector o f railw ay netw o rk . It is ch aracterized as a su perstructure o f in terlo ck in g system w ith tran sfer o f train num bers. A p p licatio n is preferred on lines w ith R C S , b u t it co u ld be ap p lied in isolated stations too.
W ith reg ard to co n n ectio n o f in terlo ck in g and inform ation functions, G T N is in stru m en t for effective traffic m an ag e m en t. T h is application allow s:
• to m o n ito r activ ity o f in terlo ck in g system and, on b asis o f train n u m b ers transfer, co llects req u ired inform ation about current state o f traffic in co n tro lled area, bo th in real tim e,
• to d isp la y an d d o cu m en ts real realization o f traffic on line sections an d in p articu lar statio n s - train log, train diagram o f ex ecu ted traffic, operation log,
• to do traffic statistics fo r assigned area,
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• to u se im m e d ia te ly in fo rm atio n ab o u t current state o f traffic fo r g en eratio n o f p ro g n o stic m odel - u p d atin g o f train ro u te in train diag ram allo w s instant e v alu a tio n o f tra n sp o rt p ro cesses,
• to ch an g e o rg an izatio n an d p lan n in g o f traffic fo r n ex t period,
• to co n n ect to Inform ation S ystem o f O p erativ e M an ag em en t (1SOR), so it is g atew ay b etw een in terlo ck in g system and in fo rm atio n an d m an ag em en t sy stem s o f ra ilw a y traffic (C E V IS , M IS, C D S),
• to be so u rce o f in fo rm atio n ab o u t optim u m form o f train m o v em en t, w h ich will b e c o n v e y e d to lo co m o tiv e driver and th ey w ill d irectly affect driving d y n am ics o f train.
3. 2 C O N C L U S I O N S
It is o b v io u s th a t in te rlo c k in g an d in fo rm atio n system s co n trib u te to q u a lity o f railw ay transport. R e m o tely co n tro lle d in terlo ck in g system s and th eir co n n ectio n w ith inform ation system for m a n ag in g o f traffic an d fo r cu sto m ers are the rig h t w ay to im p ro v em en t o f quality.
In p e rio d o f d e v e lo p m e n t an d im p lem en tatio n o f th ese sy stem s w e m u s t accep t different con d itio n s o f individual line an d the so lution m u st be adapted to th ese co n d itio n s.
4. A U T O M A T IC D IS T R IB U T IO N S Y S T E M S O F IN F O R M A T IO N FO R P A S S E N G E R S
Inform ation sy stem s fo r p assen g ers can be d ivided in p rinciple to aco u stic an d visual system s. B oth o f th ese sy stem s sh o u ld deliver integrated inform ation ab o u t m o v em en t o f trains relativ e to ra ilw a y statio n o r stop. P art o f this in fo rm atio n , w h ic h is d istributed m an u ally n o w , is p o ssib le to be g en erated au to m atically b y system G T N . In th a t case is n e cessary to tell a p art a b o u t situ atio n in stations an d stops.
4.1 R A I L W A Y S T A T I O N S
N o w ad ay s m o s t o f im p o rta n t stations in C zech R epublic are eq u ip p ed w ith visual and acoustic system fo r in fo rm in g o f p assen g ers. M in o r stations are m o stly eq u ip p ed w ith acoustic system o r th e re is n o t sy stem fo r in fo rm in g o f passen g ers. Inform ation fo r these system s is g en erated m an u ally , alth o u g h w ith som e co m p u ter assistan ce (e.g. selection o f type o f an n o u n cem en t).
F o r fu lly au to m atic d istrib u tio n o f inform ation is n e cessary th e system co n n ected to in terlo ck in g system . T h is re q u ire m e n t is fu lfilled b y system G TN co n n ected to interlocking system w ith tra n sfe r o f train n u m b ers.
V isual in fo rm atio n
T he first visual in fo rm atio n about train is displayed on in fo rm atio n panel as soon as there is free place. T h is p lace can ap p e a r in tim e o f dep artu re (or in specific tim e a fter arrival) o f som e train , w hich listed on th is panel. T his inform ation contains on d ep artu re (arrival) panel (an d so on p la tfo rm s an d on w ays to p latfo rm s) type an d n u m b e r o f train , d irection o f train an d sch ed u led d ep artu re tim e an d can be taken from train diagram .
Contribution o f m o d em control an d inform ation system s to quality im p ro v em en t. 73
The specification o f p latfo rm o r track is suitable after departure o f p rev io u s train from this track to p re v e n t accessio n o f passengers to w rong train. Inform ation a b o u t track is also in GTN. T he p ro b lem o f th is so lu tio n , esp ecially in m ain stations w ith lo n g access w a y to platform s, is occu p atio n o f track ju s t after d eparture o f previous train, w hen there is n e e d to ensure as little tim e o f stop in station as possible. In th is case is suitable to sp ecify the track sooner in co n n ectio n to ex p ected d ep artu re tim e o f previous train.
G TN system also tran sm its inform ation about delay o f trains, w hich is p o ssib le to be displayed b efo re tim e o f sch ed u led arrival (it is n o t usual these days).
A p p ro x im ately 5 m in u tes b efore expected departure o r arrival tim e (this info rm atio n is in GTN sy stem ) is also su itab le to disp lay this fact on inform ation p an el, e.g. by bulb blinking.
A fter actual d ep artu re o f train (it is inform ation from interlocking system tra n sm itte d by GTN) w ill be th e in fo rm atio n a b o u t this train deleted from panel. In case o f arrival is suitable to display info rm atio n a b o u t train certain tim e after.
A coustic inform ation
T he first aco u stic in fo rm atio n com es approxim ately 5 m in u tes b efore ex p ected arrival time. T his info rm atio n co u ld be taken from G TN system , b ecause it p ro v id es current inform ation ab o u t train m o v em en t and autom atically co rrects expected train diagram . In this time there is an n o u n cem en t a b o u t train type and num ber, the direction o f train , tim es o f arrival and departure, the p latfo rm an d even tu ally the train setting.
T he n ex t in fo rm atio n is arrival o f train. This inform ation is available in G TN system as inform ation from in te rlo c k in g system ab o u t occupation o f track. T he co rrectio n o f th is tim e (difference b etw een tim e o f o ccupation o f track an d its arrival) is also p o ssib le in G TN system.
T he last in fo rm atio n a b o u t train is call to ending o f accession, w h ich is p ro v id ed in designated tim e b efo re d ep artu re. T h is tim e depends on local conditions.
T he im p o rtan t in fo rm atio n is also the delay o f train. It is suitable to in fo rm about it at least 5 m in u tes b efo re sch ed u led arrival and then in regular intervals and in case o f change o f delay. S im ilar tim es sh o u ld be applied in case o f departure. I f the ch an g e o f expected departure is know n later, then is su itab le to announce it im m ediately.
4.2 R A I L W A Y S T O P S
R ailw ay stops are im p o rtan t part o f railw ay system and there is very in su fficien t standard o f in fo rm atio n fo r passen g ers. T h ere is m o stly on ly one source o f info rm atio n - the table o f arrivals and dep artu res. T h is fact has a great im p act on in terest o f passen g ers, b ecause there is n o t w ay to an n o u n ce them an y disturbances.
V isual inform ation
A t stops is su fficien t to install panels fo r visual inform ation about tw o n e x t train s (it is possible to d isp lay it ap art b y relev an t track). T his inform ation sh o u ld co n tain especially direction o f train , sch ed u led d ep artu re an d delay o f train. T rack n u m b e r sh o u ld be also displayed, e sp ecially in case o f traffic closure o f one o f tracks. Inform ation from G TN w o u ld be: scheduled d ep artu re, d irection o f train, delay o f train and used track. In sh o rt tim e before expected arrival o f train is p o ssib le to use stro n g er visual signalization (bulb b lin k in g etc.).
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A coustic in fo rm atio n
A p p ro x im a te ly 5 m in u te s b efo re sch ed u led arrival o f train (this tim e c o u ld b e different in view o f local co n d itio n s) c o u ld b e an n o u n ced in fo rm atio n , w hich co n tain s at least direction o f train an d sch ed u led d ep artu re, an d also d elay o f train - w hen it co m es, th ere sh o u ld be a n o th er an n o u n cem en t 5 m in u tes befo re ex p ected arrival o f train. In case o f b ig g e r d elay is reaso n ab le to re p e a t th is in fo rm atio n in appropriate intervals. W hen the train is n o t going, there is n e cessary to in fo rm p assen g ers ab o u t alternative connection - th is in fo rm atio n cannot be an nounce a u to m atically from G T N system .
N ex t an n o u n cem en t, w h ich co n tain s info rm atio n about direction o f train an d u sed track sh ould com e b efo re ex p ected arrival o f train.
4. 3 C O N C L U S I O N S
C o n n ectio n b etw een G T N system an d info rm atio n system s fo r p assen g ers is m issing link esp ecially in ca se o f ra ilw a y stops o r stations w ith o u t perso n n el, w hich can be count as stops in v iew o f d istrib u tin g in fo rm atio n fo r p assengers. T here are p assen g ers w ith o u t any info rm atio n a b o u t d istu rb an ce s d ire c tly at stops n o w in C zech R epublic an d th ey h av e to only w ait w hen th e train arriv e in case o f d e la y o r cancellation o f train. T h is situ atio n does not co n trib u te to attract p asse n g e rs to ra ilw a y transport. W ith reg ard to th is situ atio n is necessary to m en tio n th a t th is in fo rm atio n is also m issin g in bus tran sp o rt and im p ro v e m e n t o f w ay o f inform ation p assen g ers in ra ilw a y tran sp o rt c o u ld be co m p etitiv e advantage.
O n th e o th er h an d th ere are b ig g e r station, w here is n e c e ssa ry b ig n u m b e r o f a n n o u n cem en ts, in clu d in g an n o u n cem en t about co nnected trains. W hen w e use autom atic a nnouncing, th ere c o u ld be situ atio n th a t the info rm atio n is d istrib u ted w ith delay, so th ey are u seless, an d th is d e la y is tra n sfe rre d to n e x t announcem ents. So I th in k th a t th ere is su itab le to h ave o p e ra to r o f a co u stic in fo rm a tio n system in th ese stations. V isual in fo rm atio n co u ld be in view o f th e ir ch a ra c te r d isp la y e d au to m atically in connection w ith G T N system .
A B B R E V IA T IO N S C D S C entral D isp atch in g S ystem (on th e C zech R ailw ays)
C E V IS C entral Info rm atio n S y stem o f R o llin g Stock (on the C zech R ailw ay s) E TC S E uropean T rain C ontrol System
G S M -R G lobal S y stem fo r M o b ile C o m m u n icatio n - Rail
G T N G raphical an d T ech n o lo g ical S up erstru ctu re o f in terlo ck in g system ISO R In fo rm atio n S y stem o f O perational M an ag em en t (on the C zech R ailw ay s) M IS Local Inform ation S y stem (on th e C zech R ailw ays)
O IS O th er in fo rm atio n sy stem s R CS R em o tely co n tro lle d system s
Contribution o f m o d em control and inform ation system s to quality im p ro v em en t. 75 B IB L IO G R A P H Y
[1] C H U D Â C E K V., K O N E C N Y I., S T O L Î N M.: S y s té m y z a b e z p e i e n i p r o v o z u a fize ni d o p r a v y na
¿ el ez n ii n ic h tratich (v ë e tn ë vyu zi ti G S M - R ) . C D V Û 2 Praha, 2002.
( C h ud â êe k V., K o n e ë n ÿ I., Stol in M.: Inter loc king and traffic m a n a g e m e n t sy ste m s o f ra ilw a ys (inc lud ing application o f G S M - R ) . C ze c h R a i lw a y Rese ar ch Institute Pr ague, 2002).
[2] G T N - zâ kl ad ni po pis , v e rz e 3.1. A Z D Praha, s.r.o., 20 02 (G T N - principal descri pt ion , v er si on 3.1. A Z D Prague, 2002).
R eview er: Ph. D. Jerzy M ikulski
