Receiving Routing Approach for Virtually Coupled Train Sets at a Railway Station

Elaborated in several forms before being formally defined, virtually coupled train sets (VCTS) have become an issue for capacity increase with obvious shorter train intervals. As the station organization strategy is still ambiguous due to the lack of literature, the receiving routing problem for VCTS is studied in particular. First, the existing concept of VCTS is explained, which refers to the virtual connection of trains through safe and reliable communication technology, allowing short-interval collaborative operations without the need for physical equipment. Subsequently, the operating characteristics and receiving requirements are analyzed. With a summary of factors affecting receiving operations, a mathematical model is proposed with the objectives of minimizing operation duration and maximizing effectiveness, which is solved by an improved genetic algorithm (GA) with an elitist and adaptive strategy. Numerical tests are carried out 250 times based on a practical station and EMU parameters. The macro results show the valid pursuit of designed objectives with an average duration of 204.95 s and an efficiency of 91.76%. Microevolution of an optimal scheme indicates that safety requirements are met while the process duration is only 35.83% of the original CTCS-3 mode.