UNITY UNIVERSITY (UU)

RAILWAY ENGINEERING & Tunnel Construction

CHAPTER- 5
Railway System Operation &
Maintenance
December 29, 2023
(BERHANU G.)

©Berhanu G/yohannes 2016/2017

CONTENTS
❑ Introduction

❑ Train Formation

❑ Railway Carrying capacity

❑ Organization of Station Operation

❑ Railway Operation Planning

❑ Track maintenance
 The basic railway operation is to provide a transportation
service by moving goods and people from one place to
another, safely and efficiently.
 The operating department of a railroad is responsible for
organization of train operations.
 Basic activities of train organization Operation include:
◦ Organization of different train as required (Joining and detaching)
◦ Distribution of trains on railroad structure based on the demand
◦ Control of the train movement on a railroad
 There must be close coordination between operations and
engineering personnel in planning work windows that are
the least disruptive, balanced with the need to execute the
projects efficiently and safely.
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 A train consists of one or more vehicles connected together and
moving under the control of a single driver.
 The vehicles can be passenger coaches or freight wagons, or
occasionally a combination of both.
 Trains must be assembled from vehicles of the right kind in the
right order, and when vehicles are joined together in large numbers
(Length) they form a trains which are controlled by a single
operation room.
 Generally , the purpose of a train formation is to marshal wagons
from incoming trains into new assemble so that they and other
wagons can form a new train which is as long as possible.

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 There is no universal optimum train length, i.e., that
will meet all requirements under all conditions.
◦ costs tend to favor long trains with minimum motive power
◦ Shorter trains:-to provide good customer service and faster
trains.
 Train length is typically dictated by:
◦ length of passing sidings (Station length) ,
◦ terminal capacity,
◦ in-train dynamic forces while handling trains in hilly territory,
and other physical restrictions.
 It is possible to estimate the benefits and costs of
operating trains of different lengths, arriving at an
optimum length of train for a particular
movement.(supported by computer simulation
techniques.)
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 Longer trains may have negative effects on
reliability and service quality under conditions
where;
◦ Available motive power is strained by weight, grade,
or curvature.
◦ Reduced speeds or need for engagement of helper
locomotives would necessitate crew changes or
require additional crew hours.
◦ Terminal configuration restricting the ability to
prepare trains for departure and receive them without
additional interference with other terminal
operations.
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 Factors to be considered in passenger train
formation include:
◦ Adequate seat capacity to match anticipated ridership demand.
◦ Services and amenities to meet customer requirements, e.g., a
comfortable seated ride, sleeper cars for overnight travel, dining
or café cars.
◦ Potable water and restrooms, which must be serviced by water
service and toilet dump connections at train layover or turn
facilities.
◦ Train length compatible with available passenger platforms,
loading/unloading requirements, and baggage handling needs.
◦ Cargo cars or mail cars.
◦ Motive power sufficient to provide on-time service to meet
schedules on a consistent basis.

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  Railway Capacity is a measure of the ability to move a specific amount of
traffic over a defined rail line with a given set of resources under a specific
service plan.
 Types of Capacity:
1. Theoretical Capacity:
✓ It is the number of trains that could run over a route, during a
specific time interval, in a strictly perfect, mathematically
generated environment, with the trains running permanently and
ideally at minimum headway.
✓ It assumes that traffic is homogeneous, that all trains are identical,
and that trains are evenly spaced throughout the day with no
disruptions.
2. Practical Capacity:
✓ It is the practical limit of “representative” traffic volume that can
be moved on a line at a reasonable level of reliability.
✓ The “representative” traffic reflects the actual train mix, 9
priorities, traffic bunching, etc
3. Used Capacity:
➢ It is the actual traffic volume occurring over the network.
➢ It reflects actual traffic and operations that occur on the line.
➢ It is usually lower than the practical capacity.
4. Available Capacity:
➢ It is the difference between the Used Capacity and the Practical
Capacity.
➢ It is an indication of the additional traffic volume that could be
handled in the route.
➢ If it allows new trains to be added, it is a useful capacity; otherwise, it
is lost capacity.

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Infrastructure Parameters
➢Block and signaling system
➢Single/double tracks
➢Network effects
➢Track structure and speed limits
➢Length of the subdivision
Operating Parameters
➢Track Interruptions
➢Train stop time
➢Maximum trip time threshold
➢Quality of service, reliability, or
robustness:

Traffic Parameters
➢New or existing lines
➢Train mix
➢Regular timetables
➢Priority trains

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 Purpose of station (general)
◦ To entrain or detrain passengers
◦ To load or unload goods or parcels
◦ To control the movement of train
◦ To enable train to cross each other in the case of a single line section
◦ To enable faster trains overtake slower ones
◦ To enable locomotive to refuel, whether it be diesel, water or coal
◦ To attaches or detach or wagons to trains
◦ To collect food and water for passengers
◦ To provide facilities for change of crew and staff
◦ To provide facilities

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 Modern railway stations are highly complex facilities, both
physically and technologically.
 They must serve the needs of the customer during normal and
emergency situations and must be operable and maintainable with
minimal resources.
 In terms of operational requirements, the stations should have the
following facilities:
◦ Step-free access;
◦ Intuitive way-finding;
◦ Congestion free circulation;
◦ Staff accommodation;
◦ Ticketing facilities;
◦ Gate lines;
◦ Security control and communication systems;
◦ Evacuation facilities.
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 ❖ There are four main functional
areas typically housed in most
stations;
➢ Core Area
➢ Transition Area,
➢ Peripheral, and
➢ Administrative areas
1) Core areas
➢ focus on processing passengers.
➢ It includes
➢ ticketing,
➢ information,
➢ baggage handling,
➢ reclaiming, and
➢ Waiting 14
2) Transit areas 4) Administrative area
◦ Connect transit facilities in the ◦ Control both traffic and station
core areas to the transportation management.
modes. ◦ These areas can be isolated from
◦ It includes other facilities or
 Restrooms, ◦ Inserted among them.
 Telephones, and
 Commercial spaces.
3) Peripheral areas
◦ Support circulation outside the
main buildings.
◦ They often include
 Platforms,
 Tracks, and
 Vehicle service spaces
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 The different planning problems of a passenger railway operator
can be classified in several ways.
 One way is to look at the planning horizon of the different
problems.

Railway Operation Planning

Strategic Tactical Operational Day to day

Planning, Planning, planning planning

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 Rolling stock and crew are the main resources of a railway
operator.
 At a strategic level decisions need to be taken are:
◦ The amount of rolling stock units required,
◦ The number of crews which are necessary for the coming years,
◦ The line structure.
Strategic Planning

Rolling Stock Management Crew Management Line Planning

➢Another important issue at the strategic level is the product

that will be offered to the passengers.
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❖N.B: Planning horizon for rolling stock is different
(longer) than for crew.
A) Rolling stock management
 Rolling stock management is a strategic planning process with an
extremely long time horizon.
 For example,
◦ ordering new rolling stock is a process that takes several years.
◦ Moreover, the expected lifetime of rolling stock is typically several decades.
 Therefore, rolling stock management requires the application of
appropriate long term demand forecasting models that can deal
with the stochastic nature of the demand for railway transportation.
 Long term decisions are usually supported by quantitative methods
based on scenario analysis.

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B) Crew management
 The objective of crew management is to establish a long
term matching between the required and the available
capacities of the crew depots(railroad station).
C) Line planning
 A line is a direct railway connection between two end stations that
is operated with a certain frequency and with a certain train type.
 The usual train types are:
◦ intercity trains that only stop at the large stations,
◦ inter regional trains that also stop at a number of medium-sized
stations and
◦ regional trains that stop at nearly all underway stations.
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1. Timetabling
◦ Timetable determines the main productivity of a railway
company and its basic structure which is determined at the
tactical level.
◦ In a cyclic timetable, each line has to be operated in a cyclic,
or periodic pattern
◦ For example, every 30, 60 or 120 minutes.
◦ Might be revised at some time intervals in order to minimize
the passenger waiting times
❖However, not only a timetable in itself is important, but the reliability of
such a timetable during the operations is even more important.

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2. Reliability of Railway Timetables
 Reliability is the ability of a system or component to perform its
required functions under stated conditions for a specified period of time.
 Applied to the railway setting, it is the ability of the railway companies
to bring their passengers (or goods) from their origins to their
destinations according to the timetable.
 Therefore, at tactical planning the following take place
◦ Measuring reliability of real-world operations
◦ Analyzing realization data
◦ Forecasting the reliability of a given timetable
◦ Optimizing a timetable with respect to reliability

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3. 8 o’clock rolling stock assignment
 A first step in the planning process of the rolling stock is the allocation of rolling
stock to the trains that are operated around eight o’clock in the morning.
 In this step, the idea is that, if it is possible to determine an appropriate
allocation of the rolling stock to the trains during the morning peak, then this
allocation will be appropriate during the other hours of the day as well.
 This is reasonable, since:
◦ the required capacity during the evening peak is usually less than during the
morning peak:
◦ the evening peak lasts longer than the morning peak, and it has a lower
demand per time unit.
➢ In determining the 8 o’clock rolling stock assignment, the question is:
➢ which types and subtypes of rolling stock need to be assigned to each line,
and
➢ how many units of each type and subtype need to be allocated to the trains
around 8 o’clock in the morning.
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 At the operational level, the last details of the timetable are planned.
 For instance, during the non-peak hours some trains do not run, and in the early
morning (late evening), the timetable should start up.
 Furthermore, the rolling stock and crew schedules are constructed.

A) Rolling stock circulation

◦ In the rolling stock circulation problem, one has to determine an appropriate
allocation of rolling stock units to the trips to be operated.
◦ Relevant objectives to be pursued are service to the passengers, efficiency,
and robustness.
B) Crew scheduling
 A set of tasks, which can either be passenger train movements, empty train
movements, or shunting activities, must be assigned to train drivers such that
each task is covered and each train driver has a feasible duty.

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 Every day there are minor modifications of the timetable
due to some extra trains (charter trains, extra trains for e.g.
sport events) or speed limitations on some parts of the
infrastructure due to track maintenance.
 In general, these minor modifications have no influence on
the rolling stock and crew schedules.
 However, Rolling stock circulation. Crew scheduling and
Maintenance circulation of rolling stock will be planned
for any minor change in each day.

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 Railway tracks can be maintained either
conventionally by manual labor or by the application
of modern methods of track maintenance such as
mechanical tamping or measured shovel packing

 The railway track should be maintained properly in

order to enable trains to run safely at the highest
permissible speeds and to provide passengers a
reasonable level of comfort during the ride.

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 Track maintenance becomes a necessity due to
following reasons.
(a) Due to the constant movement of heavy and high-
speed trains,
✓The packing under the sleepers becomes loose and track
geometry gets disturbed.
✓The gauge, alignment, and longitudinal as well as cross levels
of the track thus get affected adversely and
✓the safety of the track is jeopardized.

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b. Due to the vibrations and impact of high-speed
trains, the fittings of the track come undone and
there is heavy wear and tear of the track and its
components.
c. The track and its components get worn out as a
result of the weathering effect of rain, sun, and sand.

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Advantages of track maintenance
 If the track is suitably maintained, the life of the
track as well as that of the rolling stock increases
since there is lesser wear and tear of their
components.
 Regular track maintenance helps in reducing
operating costs and fuel consumption.

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 Small maintenance jobs done at the
appropriate time such as tightening a bolt
helps in avoiding loss of the concerned fitting
and thus saving on the associated expenditure.

 When track maintenance is neglected for a

long time, it may render the track beyond
repair, calling for heavy track renewals that
entail huge expenses.

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 Critical Review Assignment on Types of track
maintenance from the following literatures.
 SATISH CHANDRA “RAILWAY ENGINEERING” chapter
18 Track maintenance
 COENRAAD ESVLED “MODERN RAILWAY TRACK”
chapter 12 Track maintenance and Renewal
 Deliverables
◦ Defects on railway track structures
◦ Tests to detect those defects
◦ Cause of defects
◦ Mechanism of correction

Due on Final Exam Day

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EN
D
OF
CO
UR
SE

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THANK YOU!

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