Simulation for Effect of Crossing Gate Control Considering the Road Traffic

Abstract

Thanks to various countermeasures taken railway crossing accidents have decreased generally. Recently, however, many accidents are happening caused by cars violating the gate, posing a serious problem. Various proposals for improvement of the situation include, “fixed time control” and “crossing-mechanization with traffic signals”, in addition to better visibility, but to be effective and efficient they must be submitted to preliminary assessment of their effect. We aim to realize a system which increases safety and harmonizes rail-road traffic by crossing gate control considering not only rail-side but also road-side.
The paper suggests several methods for quantitatively evaluating the effects of “fixed time control” and “crossing-mechanization with traffic signals” by a simulation considering the road traffic. “Fixed time control” is highly useful with a capacity of calculating different variations for the effect. In the simulation of “crossing control with signal linked to the road traffic”, the result is generally consistent with reported record at an actual crossing. Moreover, conditions for crossing signal are selectively based on simulation taking combined rail-road traffic conditions as parameters.