Predictive algorithms for train arrival and clear times at highway-rail intersections /
Research is being performed to integrate railroad information
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| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
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[Place of publication not identified] :
[publisher not identified] ;
1997.
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| Subjects: |
| Summary: | Research is being performed to integrate railroad information into traffic management centers for the improvement of traffic operations and safety on the surface street system. An issue of major concern is the advanced warning of train arrivals at highway-rail intersections. Several research projects are being performed to develop new technologies for gathering this information from the rail corridor and for communicating it to traffic management centers. Little or no research has been done to incorporate existing technologies for this purpose. Lack of methods for using technologies already available in the field to predict train arrivals has prompted this research focusing on the development of algorithms, using data obtainable from existing technologies, for prediction of train arrival and clear times. A typical rural-to-urban rail corridor, containing numerous at-grade highway-rail intersections, was chosen for this study. Six general algorithms, incorporating different types and amounts of information, were developed to predict train arrival times. Four algorithms for predicting intersection blockage by trains were developed to be used in predicting clear times. These algorithms were evaluated based on their logic, ability to explain actual train movements, as well as their accuracy and precision. Results indicated that predictive algorithms incorporating the largest amount of information yielded the most accurate results. It was found that acceleration and deceleration rates of trains between the rural detection intersections included in the study were not useful in predicting arrival times downstream for the study corridor. Train speeds at the detection intersections, however, are useful in making these predictions. Comparisons between the use of actual and mean historic train speeds at detection intersections indicated a distinct advantage in the use of actual train speeds. Comparisons between using link- speed and point-speed detection methods showed an advantage in precision and accuracy with the use of the point-speed method. For the study corridor, it was found that the use of posted train speeds in algorithms consistently led to better predictions than did the use of mean historical train speeds. |
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| Item Description: | Vita. "Major subject: Civil Engineering". |
| Physical Description: | xi, 104 leaves : illustrations ; 28 cm. Issued also on microfiche from Lange Micrographics. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references. |