Ensuring A Reasonable Passenger Capacity Utilization Rate of a Train for Its Sustainably Efficient Transport

Abstract

Based on simulations of the transports of a typically formed Chinese intercity passenger train hauled respectively by major types of the locomotives on a certain railway line in China, this research analyzes the changes of the traction energy cost intensity and passenger transport efficiency of the train with varying its passenger capacity utilization rate and target speed. It is found that if the passenger capacity utilization rate of such a train is higher than 60.00%, the effect of its passenger capacity utilization rate and target speed on its traction energy cost intensity and passenger transport efficiency is relatively very small. In contrast, if the passenger capacity utilization rate of the train is reduced from 40.00%, the efficiencies of its traction energy cost and passenger transport both decrease obviously and such decreases are evidently affected by its target speed. Therefore, strictly preventing the passenger capacity utilization rate of a conventional intercity passenger train from decreasing from 40.00% in particular and meanwhile striving to make its passenger capacity utilization rate higher than 60.00% as new evaluation benchmarking are able to effectively improve the railway passenger transport operation management in China.

Dispatching and Rescheduling Tasks and Their Interactions with Travel Demand and the Energy Domain: Models and Algorithms

“…For this reason, several authors focused on the trade-off between energy saving and passenger satisfaction [292][293][294][295][296][297][298]. In general, [299][300][301] analysed the relation between energy-efficient strategies and stability of the planned timetable, while [302] analysed also the utilisation rate of train capacity resulting from the implementation of energy-saving strategies. Finally, [76] compared the minimum-energy timetable with those obtained by taking into account also rolling stock and other operational costs.…”

A Passenger-Oriented Optimization Model for Implementing Energy-Saving Strategies in Railway Contexts

“…Several works merged the energy-saving perspective with operational issues. Within this framework, several authors [65][66][67] analyzed the relation between energy-efficient strategies and stability of the planned timetable; Feng et al [68] evaluated the utilization rate of train capacity resulting from the implementation of energy-saving strategies; Canca [69] compared the minimum-energy timetable with those obtained by taking into account also rolling stock and other operational costs. Authors' proposal, instead, consists in a passenger-oriented bi-objective framework, in which the energy perspective is combined with the evaluation of passengers' satisfaction, expressed in term of user generalized cost.…”