Current status and prospects of research on safety situation awareness of high speed railway operation environment

Purpose–The safety of high-speed rail operation environments is an important guarantee for the safe operation of high-speed rail.The operating environment of the high-speed rail is complex,and the main factors affecting the safety of high-speed rail operating environment include meteorological disasters,perimeter intrusion and external environmental hazards.The purpose of the paper is to elaborate on the current research status and team research progress on the perception of safety situation in high-speed rail operation environment and to propose directions for further research in the future.Design/methodology/approach–In terms of the mechanism and spatio-temporal evolution law of the main influencing factors on the safety of high-speed rail operation environments,the research status is elaborated,and the latest research progress and achievements of the team are introduced.This paper elaborates on the research status and introduces the latest research progress and achievements of the team in terms of meteorological,perimeter and external environmental situation perception methods for high-speed rail operation.Findings–Based on the technical route of“situational awareness evaluation warning active control,”a technical system for monitoring the safety of high-speed train operation environments has been formed.Relevant theoretical and technical research and application have been carried out around the impact of meteorological disasters,perimeter intrusion and the external environment on high-speed rail safety.These works strongly support the improvement of China’s railway environmental safety guarantee technology.Originality/value–With the operation of CR450 high-speed trains with a speed of 400 kmper hour and the application of high-speed train autonomous driving technology in the future,new and higher requirements have been put forward for the safety of high-speed rail operation environments.The following five aspects of work are urgently needed:(1)Research the single factor disaster mechanism of wind,rain,snow,lightning,etc.for high-speed railways with a speed of 400 kms per hour,and based on this,study the evolution characteristics of multiple safety factors and the correlation between the high-speed driving safety environment,revealing the coupling disastermechanism ofmultiple influencing factors;(2)Research covers multi-source data fusion methods and associated features such as disaster monitoring data,meteorological information,route characteristics and terrain and landforms,studying the spatio-temporal evolution laws of meteorological disasters,perimeter intrusions and external environmental hazards;(3)In terms of meteorological disaster situation awareness,research high-precision prediction methods for meteorological information time series along high-speed rail lines and study the realization of small-scale real-time dynamic and accurate prediction of meteorological disasters along high-speed rail lines;(4)In terms of perimeter intrusion,research amulti-modal fusion perception method for typical scenarios of high-speed rail operation in all time,all weather and all coverage and combine artificial intelligence technology to achieve comprehensive and accurate perception of perimeter security risks along the high-speed rail line and(5)In terms of external environment,based on the existing general network framework for change detection,we will carry out research on change detection and algorithms in the surrounding environment of highspeed rail.

Xi’an-Chengdu High-Speed Railway Starts Operation

High-speed trains linking Xihn, capital of Northwest Chinas Shaanxi Province, and southwestern metropolis Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, began operation on December 6, 2017.

Optimization of maintenance strategy for high-speed railwaycatenary system based on multistate model

A multi-objective optimization model considering both reliability and maintenance cost is proposed to solve the contradiction between reliability and maintenance cost in high-speed railway catenary system maintenance activities.The non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm 2(NSGA2)is applied to multi-objective optimization,and the optimization result is a set of Pareto solutions.Firstly,multistate failure mode analysis is conducted for the main devices leading to the failure of catenary,and then the reliability and failure mode of the whole catenary system is analyzed.The mathematical relationship between system reliability and maintenance cost is derived considering the existing catenary preventive maintenance mode to improve the reliability of the system.Secondly,an improved NSGA2(INSGA2)is proposed,which strengths population diversity by improving selection operator,and introduces local search strategy to ensure that population distribution is more uniform.The comparison results of the two algorithms before and after improvement on the zero-ductility transition(ZDT)series functions show that the population diversity is better and the solution is more uniform using INSGA2.Finally,the INSGA2 is applied to multi-objective optimization of system reliability and maintenance cost in different maintenance periods.The decision-makers can choose the reasonable solutions as the maintenance plans in the optimization results by weighing the relationship between the system reliability and the maintenance cost.The selected maintenance plans can ensure the lowest maintenance cost while the system reliability is as high as possible.

Statistical delay distribution analysis on high-speed railway trains

The focus of this study is to explore the statis-tical distribution models of high-speed railway (HSR) train delays. Based on actual HSR operational data, the delay causes and their classification, delay frequency, number of affected trains, and space–time delay distributions are discussed. Eleven types of delay events are classified, and a detailed analysis of delay distribution for each classifica-tion is presented. Models of delay probability delay prob-ability distribution for each cause are proposed. Different distribution functions, including the lognormal, exponen-tial, gamma, uniform, logistic, and normal distribution, were selected to estimate and model delay patterns. The most appropriate distribution, which can approximate the delay duration corresponding to each cause, is derived. Subsequently, the Kolmogorov–Smirnov (K–S) test was used to test the goodness of fit of different train delay distribution models and the associated parameter values. The test results show that the distribution of the test data is consistent with that of the selected models. The fitting distribution models show the execution effect of the timetable and help in finding out the potential conflicts in real-time train operations.

A train timetable rescheduling approach based on multi-train tracking optimization of high-speed railways

Purpose–This paper aims to propose a train timetable rescheduling(TTR)approach from the perspective of multi-train tracking optimization based on the mutual spatiotemporal information in the high-speed railway signaling system.Design/methodology/approach–Firstly,a single-train trajectory optimization(STTO)model is constructed based on train dynamics and operating conditions.The train kinematics parameters,including acceleration,speed and time at each position,are calculated to predict the arrival times in the train timetable.A STTO algorithm is developed to optimize a single-train time-efficient driving strategy.Then,a TTR approach based on multi-train tracking optimization(TTR-MTTO)is proposed with mutual information.The constraints of temporary speed restriction(TSR)and end of authority are decoupled to calculate the tracking trajectory of the backward tracking train.The multi-train trajectories at each position are optimized to generate a timeefficient train timetable.Findings–The numerical experiment is performed on the Beijing-Tianjin high-speed railway line and CR400AF.The STTO algorithm predicts the train’s planned arrival time to calculate the total train delay(TTD).As for the TSR scenario,the proposed TTR-MTTO can reduce TTD by 60.60%compared with the traditional TTR approach with dispatchers’experience.Moreover,TTR-MTTO can optimize a time-efficient train timetable to help dispatchers reschedule trains more reasonably.Originality/value–With the cooperative relationship and mutual information between train rescheduling and control,the proposed TTR-MTTO approach can automatically generate a time-efficient train timetable to reduce the total train delay and the work intensity of dispatchers.

Dynamic behavior of new cutting subgrade structure of expensive soil under train loads coupling with service environment

Expansive soil is sensitive to dry and wet environment change. And the volume deformation and inflation pressure of expansive soil may induce to cause the deformation failure of roadbed or many other adverse effects. Aimed at a high-speed railway engineering practice in the newly built Yun-Gui high-speed railway expansive soil section in China, indoor vibration test on a full-scaled new cutting subgrade model is carried out. Based on the established track-subgrade-foundation of expansive soil system dynamic model test platform, dynamic behavior of new cutting subgrade structure under train loads coupling with extreme service environment(dry, raining, and groundwater level rising) is analyzed comparatively. The results show that the subgrade dynamic response is significantly influenced by service conditions and the dynamic response of subgrade gradually becomes stable with the increasing vibration times under various service environment conditions. The vertical dynamic soil stress is related with the depth in an approximate exponential function, and the curves of vertical dynamic soil stress present a "Z" shape distribution along transverse distance. The peak value of dynamic soil stress appears below the rail, and it increases more obviously near the roadbed surface. However, the peak value of dynamic soil stress is little affected outside 5.0 m of center line. The vibration velocity and acceleration are in a quadratic curve with an increase in depth, and the raining and groundwater level rising increase both the vibration velocity and the acceleration. The vertical deformations at different depths are differently affected by service environment in roadbed. The deformation of roadbed increases sharply when the water gets in the foundation of expansive soil, and more than 60% of the total deformation of roadbed occurs in expansive soil foundation. The laid waterproofing and drainage structure layer, which weakens the dynamic stress and improves the track regularity, presents a positive effect on the control deformation of roadbed surface. An improved empirical formula is then proposed to predict the dynamic stress of ballasted tracks subgrade of expansive soil.

Progress in high-speed train technology around the world

This is a review of high-speed train development in the sense of technology advances all over the world. Three generations of high-speed trains are classified according to their technical characteristics and maximum operating speed. Emphasis is given to the newly developed high-speed train in China, CRH380. The theoretical foundations and future development of CRH380 are briefly discussed.

JR East aims for driverless Shinkansen operation

East Japan Railway Company(JR East)is aiming to“realize driverless train operation”as one of the key measures to respond to rapid changes in the business environment.Currently,Automatic Train Operation(ATO)equipment is not installed on the Shinkansen,but there are plans to introduce ATO or driverless operation in the near future.From 2018-2021,the Ministry of Land,Infrastructure,Transport and Tourism(MLIT)held the“ATO Technology Study Group for Railways”in which the concept of technical requirements necessary for driverless operation was discussed.In 2021,JR East conducted the GOA4 demonstration test on the Joetsu Shinkansen.In this test,we were able to confirm the basic functions of Shinkansen vehicles such as automatic departure control,speed control,fixed position stop control,and remote stop control using ATO.We aim to realize unattended operation(GOA4)for deadhead trains between Niigata Station and the Niigata Shinkansen Rolling Stock Center by the end of the 2020 s,and driverless operation(GOA3)for passenger trains of the Joetsu Shinkansen by the mid-2030s and continue to develop the necessary technologies and build systems.

Natural disaster warning system for safe operation of a high-speed railway

In this paper,the least square support vector machine(LSSVM)is used to study the safety of a high-speed railway.According to the principle of LSSVM regression prediction,the parameters of the LSSVM are optimized to model the natural disaster early warning of safe operation of a high-speed railway,and the management measures and methods of high-speed railway safety operation under natural disasters are given.The relevant statistical data of China’s high-speed railway are used for training and verification.The experimental results show that the LSSVM can well reflect the nonlinear relationship between the accident rate and the influencing factors,with high simulation accuracy and strong generalization ability,and can effectively predict the natural disasters in the safe operation of a high-speed railway.Moreover,the early warning system can improve the ability of safety operation evaluation and early warning of high-speed railway under natural disasters,realize the development goals of high-speed railway(safety,speed,economic,low-carbon and environmental protection)and provide a theoretical basis and technical support for improving the safety of a high-speed railway.

Review of research on high-speed railway aerodynamics in China

High-speed railway aerodynamics is the key basic science for solving the bottleneck problem of high-speed railway development.This paper systematically summarizes the aerodynamic research relating to China’s high-speed railway network.Seven key research advances are comprehensively discussed,including train aerodynamic drag-reduction technology,train aerodynamic noise-reduction technology,train ventilation technology,train crossing aerodynamics,train/tunnel aerodynamics,train/climate environment aerodynamics,and train/human body aerodynamics.Seven types of railway aerodynamic test platform built by Central South University are introduced.Five major systems for a high-speed railway network—the aerodynamics theoretical system,the aerodynamic shape(train,tunnel,and so on)design system,the aerodynamics evaluation system,the 3D protection system for operational safety of the high-speed railway network,and the high-speed railway aerodynamic test/computation/analysis platform system—are also introduced.Finally,eight future development directions for the field of railway aerodynamics are proposed.For over 30 years,railway aerodynamics has been an important supporting element in the development of China’s high-speed railway network,which has also promoted the development of high-speed railway aerodynamics throughout the world.