Research on Capacity Calculation & Assessment Framework for Chinese High Speed Railway based on UIC406

Railway capacity is not only the basic condition for the allocation of railway resources but also an index set for the evaluation of the usage of them. Sometimes the maximum theoretical results calculated according to the coefficient methodology for the capacity calculation of the Existed Chinese traditional railway (abbreviated as ECTR) would be less than those statistical results from the real railway operation .What’s more, it even exists such a paradox that a timetable with many trains gives lower capacity consumption than a timetable with fewer trains. The main reason for these mistakes lies in that in the past it’s too much highlighting the number of trains while ignoring other service quality related constraints such as the average speed, the heterogeneity of trains, the timetable stability and the effect of the railway network during the course of the capacity calculation. However, railway capacity is just a kind of comprehensive balance as a result of all of these factors. By overcoming the weaknesses analyzed above, regarding the International Union of Railways (UIC) capacity leaflet as a framework, taking into account the characteristics of Chinese railway operation and the passenger market needs, redefining the criteria for the assessment of Chinese high speed railway in a more scientific way, the purpose of this paper is to build a calculation and assessment framework for Chinese high speed railway capacity, which is indispensable not only for the calculation of the station & line capacity even for the identification of the network bottlenecks but also for the improvement of the railway’s service level.