Evaluation of Automatic Train Operation Design for Energy Saving Based on the Measured Efficiency of a Linear-Motor Train

Abstract

Recently, interest in energy savings in railway systems has been increasing because of its environment-friendly aspects, e.g., CO₂ emissions. In this paper, the authors propose a scheduling and control system for Automatic Train Operation (ATO) that saves energy. Current research in ATO concentrates on the optimization of speed profiles to save energy. The differences in this system from previous work are substantiative experiments on the track and a design that explicitly considers the following energy-saving operations. First, coasting is installed in speed profiles and maximum speed is decreased by jerk regulation. Second, power-limiting braking is used in the braking section and regenerative energy is increased. To achieve this braking efficiency, notch operations are updated. Finally, second-order scheduling is achieved by high speed control using ATO. For the experiments on the track, the efficiency of a linear-motor train was measured in a pre-experiment and used to perform accurate numerical calculations. In conclusion, the numerical study shows an energy efficiency increase by 7.3% and the plan for further experiments is determined.