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The paper presents an original approach to perform capacity assessments o f railway systems, based on the automatic generation and evaluation o f feasible timetables. This method relies on a microscopic model o f railway systems, used to simulate the train runs and the operation o f the signalling system. The resulting simulated train paths are utilised to arrange the input dataset for a scheduling algorithm which generates conflict-free timetables, which are then analysed in order to point out how and how much capacity is consumed. The described method and model are applied to a real case study, provided by a singletrack railway in Piedmont, Italy. Given a baseline scenario, a set o f infrastructural and operative improvements are taken into account. The relevant capacity increases are evaluated in terms o f reduction o f the global travel times of trains with respect to the baseline scenario. Results are analysed and discussed, highlighting the potentialities o f the presented method to performing effective capacity evaluations useful for a better exploitation o f railway systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which develops a capacity assessment of the two railways which connect the ports placed near the town of Savona to Piedmont in Italy to find solutions for setting up effective freight services.

The Trans-Mongolian railway represents an interesting study case within the Trans-Asian connections, since - in these years - they have been subject to radical upgrading intended to increase its carrying capacity. This article presents a study aimed at quantifying the potential benefits that may be expected from the introduction of signalling systems based on radio block, (radio cab signalling), as the level 2 and level 3 ERTMS/ETCS; the study will resort to a dedicated analysis methodology which takes into explicit consideration the particularities of the single-track railway service and the need to set up the appropriate timetables in order to exploit at its best the potential of a more effective signalling system. To this purpose, beside the technical parameters, two operational ones are introduced, in the intent of modelling the train fleeting or platooning effects. Once the appropriate analysis formula was defined, it has been applied to the Mongolian line, thus obtaining results in the form of daily capacity maps, which are presented and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-speed railways have recently conquered market shares that were previously only covered by air transport, at daily distances up to 600–800 km, or by cars, for journeys of 100–150 km, mainly thanks to the much higher speeds that have been reached by high-speed trains since the late Nineties. However, in recent years, the relevance of the dependence of the transport sector on black-oil and the consequent emissions have drawn attention to the importance of energy efficiency as a significant parameter to compare alternative transport modes in a more complete way than travel time and covered distance . This paper has the purpose of: – quantifying and comparing the specific energy consumption of air transport with that of high-speed rail transport; – determining the ranges in which operating, sometimes also investing, in one of these two modes would be convenient from the usage viewpoint and from an energy perspective; – determining where there is still notable competition between these modes. The comparative analysis has been carried out taking into account original data and assessments linked to energy consumption, but it has also been considered important to investigate several other factors, such as the price of electricity compared to that of kerosene. It has been possible, through the use of rail simulation and of two different air transport simulation tools , to evaluate the consumption of the two transport modes in order to compare the two modal alternatives; rather original outcomes have been obtained. Owing to the presence of a number of variables that can play an important role in a comparative specific energy consumption study on air and high speed rail transport, further analyses are envisaged. However, the present work represents a first, fundamental step towards obtaining a more complete vision of the problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]