The coupling and decoupling of trains while they are in motion is one of the research fields of the DLR project, Next Generation Train. The coupling will be non-mechanical, but virtual and will be maintained by means of distance control technology. A special challenge of the virtual coupling in railway operation is the peril point of the switch in case of failure during the passage of two trains which are coming from different tracks, running in close succession at high speed. Therefore some concepts are unrealizable with the current switch technology. Nevertheless there are situations where virtual coupling seems promising. One scenario is the virtual coupling at low speed, for example in the proximity of a station, where a safe brake is possible in case of a switch failure. The 'Shinkansen' scenario aims to increase line capacity on the Tokaido high-speed line in Japan between Tokio and Osaka. The fastest 'Nozomi' trains are stopping only at major stations. These stations have two tracks per direction with a 400-metre platform. The idea is to double the number of Nozomi trains. So in every stopping station, there are two trains arriving and departing in a short interval. The distance on the open line is not that close, so it is more a ride within relative braking distance than a virtual coupling. To evaluate that scenario a special railway operation simulation has been developed, which is able to handle virtual coupling. The simulation shows the possibility to increase seating capacity from 15,000 to 23,000 seats per hour and direction. One bottleneck is occurring in Nagoya, where an additional platform is needed. Also the return time in Tokio has to be shortened to no more than 15 min.
The Next Generation Train (NGT) is a research project of the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Within this project we develop concepts for a new high-speed train, a regional train and a fast freight train. For the fast freight train concept, called NGT CARGO, we analyzed an exemplary European corridor between Madrid and Bucharest. The train uses high-speed lines in Spain, France and Germany and then follows the Danube corridor railway lines through Austria, Hungary and Romania. A scenario was set up to shift adequate (high-value, expeditious goods) from truck transport to this high-speed rail system. Knowing the volume of goods from the traffic forecast 2030 from the German Ministry of Transport (BMVI) two rail-logistic approaches have been compared: a single wagon system with shunting and a line train system where the goods are transshipped automatically between the trains in terminals. The goods of course have to be treatable in an automatic way, e.g. euro pallets with maximum loading volume and fastened goods. The departure frequency of the trains has to be high in order to reach a high average transport speed. That's why the volume of goods per train is low, which makes a single wagon system inefficient. There complete wagons have to depart for instance daily notwithstanding their load factor. Furthermore, a timetable analysis has been done for the German and partly the French section of the route to evaluate the feasibility of integrating a high-speed cargo train into the current and future traffic flow on conventional and high-speed lines. Passenger trains keep their higher priority (even local trains). Only conventional freight trains are ranked lower than the NGT CARGO. The analysis shows, that a train path under real conditions is slightly slower than the ideal trajectory, but this has not a deep impact to the average transport speed.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.