A Python tool and database of Amtrak departure and arrival times with weather information

This article proposes a Python-based Amtrak and Weather Underground (PAWU) tool to collect data on Amtrak (the main passenger train operator in the United States) departure and arrival times with weather information. In addition, this article offers a database, developed with PAWU, of the operating characteristics of 16 Amtrak routes from 2008 to 2019. More specifically, PAWU enables users to retrieve Amtrak departure and arrival times of any train number throughout the United States. It then automatically retrieves weather information from Weather Underground for each rail station and stores the data collected in a local MySQL database. Users can easily select any desired train number(s) and date range(s) without dealing with the code and the raw data from those sources that are in different formats. The database itself can be used, in part, to develop, apply, and benchmark models that assess the performance of rail services such as the one offered by Amtrak.

IMPROVEMENT OF THE PROCEDURE FOR SEARCHING RATIONAL TIME RESERVES FOR RECOVERY OF TRAIN MOVEMENT OF DIFFERENT CATEGORIES

This article improves the procedure for finding rational time reserves for theresumption of trains of different categories depending on the number of detained trains on the basisof the epidemiological SIR-model. A modified epidemiological SIR-model has been implemented forthe experimental railway line, which allows to take into account the interaction of trains of differentpriorities in the train schedule and the possibility of resumption of delayed trains due to the set timereserve. The adjustment of the delay rate transfer coefficients on the real data of train delays at theline has been performed. The solution of the system of differential equations of the SIR-model isproposed to be performed by the numerical Runge-Kutta method of the 4th order. Experimentalstudies of the impact of passenger train delays on the reliability of the regulatory schedule havebeen conducted. Experimental studies of the impact of passenger train delays on the reliability ofthe regulatory schedule have been conducted. The dependences of the number of detained trains ofdifferent categories on the change in the amount of time reserve for the resumption of trains ofdifferent categories are obtained. Rational time reserves for passenger, suburban and freight trainshave been established. These results were expertly assessed and confirm the adequacy of theobtained decisions in the practice of developing a regulatory schedule of trains at JSCUkrzaliznytsia. The application of the proposed approach will automate the complex process offinding rational values of compensation time in the threads of trains of different categories on therailway line and, as a consequence, increase the level of reliability of the regulatory train schedule.

Mathematical Model of Spread of the Epidemic Inside a Railway Compartment Coach

This article discusses an aspect of the most pressing problem of 2020, that of the spread of infectious diseases. The work considers a railway compartment coach as a particular object of spread of infectious diseases. The objective is to describe spread of the epidemic in a railway coach using a stochastic model. The model of the coach is represented as a network. The processes occurring on the network are considered to be Markov processes. In this paper, two methods of stochastic modelling are applied: modelling based on Kolmogorov equations and Gillespie algorithm. Kolmogorov equations are used to test applicability of Gillespie algorithm, which, in turn, is used to simulate the model of the coach. The obtained data were analysed, and based on that analysis it is possible to make a conclusion about applicability of the model to the case of a typical passenger train.

Modeling the Dynamic Behavior of Track Transitions Along Shared Track Corridors

This paper presents findings from an analytical modeling effort undertaken to study the dynamic response of track transitions along shared-track corridors. A recently developed train-track-bridge model was used for this purpose. First, the model predictions are verified using field instrumentation data as well as data from other published literatures. Subsequently, the model is used to analyze the dynamic response of a typical bridge approach under the passage of a high-speed passenger train as well as six different freight trains comprising different freight car types. A speed sensitivity analysis of a freight train comprising one specific freight car type is also carried out. Geometric configuration of different freight trains is assessed as well as weight and speed of operation. Different track response parameters, including vertical displacement and rail-tie reaction force, are considered to highlight the differences in the track dynamic behavior under freight and passenger train loading. Analyses in both time and frequency domains illustrate the difference in track behavior under freight and passenger train loading. The significance of gap development at the tie-ballast interface near track transitions has been emphasized by illustrating the effect of tie gap on the dynamic track behavior. The paper concludes by emphasizing the importance of special consideration to track dynamic behavior for shared-track corridors.

Mathematical modeling of articulated passenger train spatial vibrations

The problem of high-speed railway transport development is important for Ukraine. In many countries articulated trains are used for this purpose. As the connections between cars in such a train differ from each other, to investigate its dynamic characteristics not a separate car, but a full train vibrations model is necessary. The article is devoted to the development of the mathematical model for articulated passenger train spatial vibrations. The considered train consists of 7 cars: one motor-car, one transitional car, three articulated cars, one more transitional car and again one motor-car. Differential equations of the train motion along the track of arbitrary shape are set in the form of Lagrange’s equations of the second kind. All the necessary design features of the vehicles are taken into account. Articulated cars have common bogies with adjoining cars and a transfer car and the cars are united by the hinge. The operation of the central hinge between two cars is modeled using springs and dampers acting in the horizontal and vertical directions. Four dampers between two adjacent car-bodies act as dampers for pitching and hunting and are represented in the model by viscous damping. The system of 257 differential equations of the second order is set, which describes the articulated train motion along straight, curved, and transitional track segments with taking into account random track irregularities. On the basis of the obtained mathematical model the algorithm and computational software has been developed to simulate a wide range of cases including all possible combinations of parameters for the train elements and track technical state. The study of the train self-exited vibrations has shown the stable motion in all the range of the considered speeds (40 km/h – 180 km/h). The results obtained at the train motion along the track maintained for the speedy motion have shown that all the dynamic characteristics and ride quality index insure train safe motion and comfortable conditions for the travelling passengers.