Energy-efficient automatic train operation

AI Quick Summary

Our vision is to develop novel automatic train operation algorithms that will reduce the energy consumption of the railway sector further than today’s industry standard. An ongoing pilot project with a leading train manufacturer shall evaluate the energy efficiency and reliability of these new algorithms in a fair and transparent manner. The results will be demonstrated with a prototype implementation on a real train, circulating on the Swiss railway network. Automatic train operation (ATO) software is mainly responsible for driving a train from station A to station B, adhering to all operational constraints and – typically – saving energy. Most world-renowned train manufacturers advertise high energy savings in the order of 30%, without being clear about what they compare against nor about the conditions of this comparison. At the same time, the energy consumption of the railway sector is so big that every percentage of improvement has a substantial economic and social impact. With years of experience both on mathematical optimization algorithms and train manufacturing, we set out to develop novel ATO algorithms that shall reduce the energy consumption of trains even further than today’s industry standard. An ongoing pilot project with a leading train manufacturer aims at evaluating the energy efficiency and reliability of these new algorithms in a fair and transparent manner. The results will be demonstrated with a prototype implementation on a real train, circulating on the Swiss railway network.

Project Idea Metadata

• Project Idea Name: Energy-efficient automatic train operation
• Date: 8/27/2024 1:53:02 PM
• Administrators:
  • Dimitris Kouzoupis

Project Idea Description

Automatic train operation (ATO) software is mainly responsible for driving a train from station A to station B, adhering to all operational constraints and – typically – saving energy. Most world-renowned train manufacturers advertise high energy savings in the order of 30%, without being clear about what they compare against nor about the conditions of this comparison. At the same time, the energy consumption of the railway sector is so big that every percentage of improvement has a substantial economic and social impact. With years of experience both on mathematical optimization algorithms and train manufacturing, we set out to develop novel ATO algorithms that shall reduce the energy consumption of trains even further than today’s industry standard. An ongoing pilot project with a leading train manufacturer aims at evaluating the energy efficiency and reliability of these new algorithms in a fair and transparent manner. The results will be demonstrated with a prototype implementation on a real train, circulating on the Swiss railway network.

Our vision is to develop novel automatic train operation algorithms that will reduce the energy consumption of the railway sector further than today’s industry standard. An ongoing pilot project with a leading train manufacturer shall evaluate the energy efficiency and reliability of these new algorithms in a fair and transparent manner. The results will be demonstrated with a prototype implementation on a real train, circulating on the Swiss railway network.