Student thesises
Table of contents
Current topics for student thesises
Currently prepared topics for thesises at the Chair of Railway Operations can be found in the following table. For further information, feel free to contact the listed contact person.
Train delays and cancellations occur when disruptive events create an imbalance between system capacity and demand. For example, in the Netherlands, internal factors causing failures (e.g. infrastructure, vehicle) take up to 70% of all disruptions in the network. On average, about 14 of such disruptions occur every day. Some of these disruptions remain even unnoticed by passengers; however, others generate problems spreading all over the network causing many cancelled and heavily delayed trains leading to great dissatisfaction of passengers.
Therefore, the question is: how can we predict performance of the system during disruptions? The aim of this project is to study resilience curves (as depicted above) in railway networks and capture the magnitude and spatial impact of delays and cancellations. By using historical railway traffic data, we want to identify representative resilience curves and uncover the interaction between disruption and recovery. This will enable us to predict the future behavior of the system once a disruption occurs. Finally, such prediction system can help railway operators in better estimating and anticipating impacts of future disruptions and thus define best mitigation measures.
More Information: Thesis proposal - Modelling and predicting dynamics of disruption and recovery in railway networks
Contact: Dr. Nikola Bešinović
Power peaks are an undesirable phenomenon occurring in railway networks when multiple electric trains require large amount of power simultaneously, for instance, during acceleration. This phenomenon puts too much pressure on the power grid, which in the worst cases it can result into a blackout, and hence it represents a relevant concern for operators (Regueiro Sánchez, 2021). Furthermore, the high fluctuations in power consumption over time have a significant direct impact on operation costs, even though power peaks are generally very short in time (Albrecht, 2014). Reducing energy consumption is anyways a top priority in sustainability policies in many countries.
One solution for this is fine-tuning timetables to minimize power peaks. Nevertheless, the benefits of adjusted timetables can be lost in situations with train delays in the network. In this work, the goal is to develop a new approach to mitigate anticipated power peaks in real-time by means of train control measures, i.e. traction power limitation and departure time shift, combined with real-time rescheduling.
The goal of this project is to develop a pure optimization approach for the problem of mitigating power peaks in railway networks using train control measures in real-time, possibly including train delays. This optimization approach will be made in the form of a mixed-integer linear program. We consider power limitation and departure time shift as possible train control measures. The problem minimizes the total induced delay while capturing all relevant constraints that model feasible railway traffic (block sections, single and double track sections, technical headways between trains, train conflicts, etc.) (Pachl, 2014), for which we need to use detailed infrastructure models (Radtke, 2014). The approach will be tested in a case study consisting of the line between Giubiasco and Locarno (Canton Ticino) of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB).
Further information: Thesis proposal - Optimization Approaches for Real-time Mitigation of Power Peaks in Railway Networks using Train Control Measures
Contact: Dr. Nikola Bešinović
- in Bearbeitung -
Zur Gestaltung und Bemessung von Gleisgruppen können unterschiedliche eisenbahnbetriebswissenschaftliche Ansätze und Verfahren genutzt werden. Bei der DB Netz AG ist aktuell das Verfahren LUKS Gleise etabliert, welches auf der Bedienungstheorie basiert. Aktuell wird ein neuartiges Verfahren entwickelt, welches auf Grundlage der mathematischen Optimierung arbeitet. Die beiden Verfahren sollen hinsichtlich ihrer Anwendbarkeit, der Abbildungsgenauigkeit und der erzielbaren Ergebnisse anhand beispielhafter Anwendungsfälle verglichen werden. Aus diesen Untersuchungen sind zudem geeignete Rückschlüsse für die weitere Entwicklung und Anwendung des neuartigen Verfahrens abzuleiten.
Kontakt: Dr.-Ing. Jan Eisold Tel: 0351 463-42390
Im Schienengüterverkehr nimmt der Einzelwagenverkehr (EV) weiterhin eine signifikante Position ein. Die Steuerung der Wagenströme im Netz erfolgt durch die Einzelwagenverkehrssteuerung (EV-Steuerung). Das primäre Ziel besteht darin, sowohl eine Überlastung von Strecken als auch von Zugbildungsanlagen (ZBA) zu verhindern. Eine Entlastung der Steuerung könnte durch die Ausgestaltung eines robusten Netzwerks erfolgen. Dazu sollen im Rahmen dieser Abschlussarbeit verschiedene Maßnahmen zu einer robusteren Ausgestaltung untersucht werden. Ziel ist es die Abhängigkeit zwischen Leistungsfähigkeit und Robustheit (resilience) zu bestimmen, um somit die Auswirkungen auf die Leistungsfähigkeit quantifizieren zu können.
Kontakt: Maurice Krauth M.Sc. Tel: 0351 463-36626
Suitability of the topics for S = course work, M = master's thesis, D = diploma thesis
Work on the above-mentioned topics can usually be started at short notice.
Tips and templates
Tips, templates and additional information for the writing process of a thesis can be found here.
Student thesis archive
Part of the thesises written at the Chair of Railway Operations (previously: Chair of Rail and Public Urban Transport) can be found at the following pages: