A Dispatching Tool for Railway Transportation

Almost all trains have to run according a schedule. One exception may be some freight trains which may start at a random time. Unfortunatly, for some reasons, some minor problems occur and lead to have delays. Due to limited ressources available (tracks, cars,. . . ), a small problem can lead to a chain of delays. To monitor the traffic and take decisions are the main goals of the train dispatcher. This person decides which train can run and on which track. An example is the single-track problem. In this case, the schedule is built in order to let trains going in opposite directions to meet in some specific places (stations, yards,. . . ). If one train is delayed, the dispatcher should decide how to organize the crossing. Basically, in most cases, he has to decide between to keep the crossing at the same location (by delaying the other train) or to move the crossing to another place (but may increase the delay of the already delayed train). The decision is difficult since it may introduce other conflicts or delays later. Similar problems occur in general networks (dual-tracks,. . . ) where the dispatcher has to choose a compromise. Since improving existing infrastucture is expensive and the traffic is increasing, the work of the dispatcher become more and more complex and difficult. Another factor is the wider range of trains used nowadays: suburban trains, freight trains, long-distance passengers, fast trains,. . . Another complex problem to handle is the connections between trains.