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This paper concentrates on organising, planning and managing the train movement in a network. The three classic management levels for rail planning, i.e., strategic, tactical and operational, are introduced followed by decision support systems for rail traffic control. In addition, included in this paper are discussions on train operating forms, railway traffic control and train dispatching problems, rail yard technical schemes and performance of terminals, as well as timetable design. A description of analytical methods, simulation techniques and specific computer packages for analysing and evaluating the behaviour of rail systems and networks is also provided. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd

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The evaluation of carrying capacity of complex railway nodes is a typical problem to be faced in metropolitan areas. This paper initially analyzes a few methods (Potthoff methodology, Probabilistic approach and Deutsche Bahn procedure) for the evaluation of carrying capacity of complex railway nodes. The aim of the article is to investigate commonalities and differences among these methods in order to try (even in the continuation of the research) to identify potential margins of improvement or to formulate a new approach to evaluate the use of stations in a synthetic mode, considering the characteristics and the limits of the existing and analyzed models. The results of the theoretical analysis have been validated by means of applications to typical case studies. © 2014 The Authors

In this article, two models for estimating the energy saving potential on a mass rapid transit system are described. The first model is very useful for analysing the energy and the second one aims at estimating consumptions of a mass rapid transit system in a period of time. The latter was applied first to a generic line with six stations and then to line A of Rome metro network. Results of both applications show that headways of 120-150 s are ideal for energy saving as they allow transfers between braking and accelerating trains