Features
Conception
Infrastructure
RailLab integrates a detailed railway infrastructure modeling tool, flexible and very easy to handle:
- Track representation: segments with kilometer points and nodes representing track devices
- Track characteristics: direction, gradient, speed limit, electrical profile, ZEP (elementary protection zone) and SEL (elementary section)
- Station, Depot, sorting, switching post, junction
- Signalling: board, speed limits, track side signalling, cabin signalling, track circuit, elementary route, switch transition time, convergence interlocking, VISA, KVB
- Block: manual block, automatic block, restricted permissiveness, TVM, ETCS, CBTC
- Operating regimes: single track, bi-directional track, double track, counter-flow, etc.
Timetable
Based on the modelled infrastructure, RailLab's journey calculator allows precise design and arrangement of train paths:
- Path design: detailed route or by origin-destination, stops, type of rolling stock, runtime margin, possible schedules with journey calculation, reuse of trainsets and coupling-uncoupling
- Rolling stock characteristics: length, mass, effort-speed curves, resistance coefficients and ERTMS, speed regime
- Journey calculation: travel time calculation based on rolling stock and infrastructure characteristics
- Detailed analysis at every point of the journey: passage schedule, speed, stopping distance, acceleration and deceleration, wheel effort, electrical consumption
- Conflict calculation: free track margin calculation for each train at each signal
- Graphical representation: display of train paths on the space-time graph and track occupancy graph
- Rolling stock rostering : definition and representation of rolling stock rostering based on reuse and coupling-uncoupling
Planning
RailLab allows the creation of multiple infrastructure versions to study different development scenarios at various time horizons. It is also possible to analyse maintenance windows and adaptations of the timetable. Timetables can be exported as schedule tables and imported or exported from/to other software.
Operation
RailLab integrates various tools to account for the operational functions of the railway system.
Switching post operation
The modelling of switching post perimeters allows for detailed definition of signal-to-signal routes, route establishment times, interlockings, management methods for disrupted situations such as route changes, reordering, and minimum station dwell times.
Driver behaviour simulation
RailLab integrates a powerful simulator with a real-time representation of the timetable:
▪ Train movements based on the actual state of signals, including slowing down and stopping at stop signals,
▪ Consideration of speed control devices: KVB, VISA, TVM sequence, ERTMS curves,
▪ Driving behaviours such as reaction times, distance margins regarding speed limits and speed recovery, speed wells, total or partial consumption of regularity margin, and margin for catching up delays or advances.
Railway Network animation
- Visualisation on the infrastructure of all the trains and their movements for planned and delay simulated timetables
- Successive changes in signal states (clear track, warning, stop signal in BAL, TVM sequences, and ERTMS curves) and track devices (route changes),
- Instantaneous speeds of train movements, and their braking distances.
Robustness
RailLab integrates tools for analyzing the robustness of transport plans through its dynamic simulation module.
Incident Simulation
This feature allows testing the robustness of a timetable and/or infrastructure by injecting delays into movements (on the line, at stations, at the perimeter entry) and applying regulation measures such as consuming regularity margin, reducing station dwell times, modifying routes, and reordering movements. RailLab includes two simulation modes:
- Unit or composite simulation: injecting one or more delays into a timetable and applying reordering.
- Stochastic test simulation: automatic injection of delays with generation of delay scenarios based on regularity data (Bréhat, other data). Once the simulation is completed, a summary of original and induced delays is provided to analyse regularity, punctuality, and average delay across the Railway.
Analysis
RailLab integrates analysis tools to optimise and verify the performance of the timetable.
Timetable Optimisation
RailLab offers tools to improve the efficiency of a timetable in terms of capacity and robustness.
- Calculation of the head way margin on all signals between each train.
- Identification of conflict types: spacing, crossing, convergence, head-on.
- Conflict analysis: value of the head way margin, time to return to open track, signal passage time. These analyses allow optimising the spacing between each train on the line, at stations, or at junctions and proposing more efficient adjustments such as block re-segmentation, signal modification, etc.
Network Capacity
RailLab can calculate the infrastructure utilisation rates on the line and at stations very precisely.
- Line infrastructure utilisation rate by calculating the lowest head way margins between each train on a section of the line.
- Track occupancy rates at stations by considering dwell times and train arrival and departure times. Station track utilisation analysis
The signalling conflict calculation module determines the technical times between two movements at stations, on the line, and at junctions, and determines the corresponding standard in succession, spacing, convergence, and crossing.
Train performance
RailLab offers a display of the train speed graph. This allows visualising the train's speed throughout its journey with speed limits, gradients, and electrical profiles. This tool also allows analysing acceleration, braking, and electrical consumption performance.
