The potential for saving energy by more precisely calculating station dwell times on commuter rail service

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of reducing scheduled station dwell time to save energy on commuter rail lines. Most commuter rail schedules include a fixed amount of dwell time (e.g. 30-seconds) at each station. For stations with higher demand the station dwell time may be up to 1 minute. Generally the station dwell time is set high enough to meet peak period passenger boarding/alighting demand and remains constant throughout the day. Therefore, station dwell times in off-peak periods are often longer than needed. The goal of this research project was to estimate the energy savings that could be achieved by re-allocating excess station dwell time to the inter-station travel time thereby enabling the train to travel at a slower top speed between stations. This was done by developing an estimate of the number of passengers boarding/alighting at the next station for each trip, precisely calculating the inter-station speed and providing this information to the train operator. The research simulated operations of an actual commuter line in Vienna to estimate the energy savings possible using this strategy. Results showed that commuter railways could reduce their energy use by approximately 1% by more precisely setting station dwell times.