Engineering

Transport engineering

Cartography

Control engineering

Scheduling (production processes)

Quality of service

Computer science

Distributed computing

Computer network

Geography

Dynamic priority scheduling

Operations management

Punctuality

Train

IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems

Railway system performances depend on effective dynamic scheduling and train operation control. The fast expansion and increasing complexity of high-speed railway (HSR) networks raise new challenges in maintaining the punctuality and efficiency in daily operations, in particular, in the event of disruption. This paper aims to review the state-of-art in dynamic traffic scheduling, trains operation control, and their integration for safer, more punctuate, efficient, and resilient HSRs, whose origins may trace back to their counterparts in traditional railways. First, the existing two-tier hierarchy of scheduling and control in HSR's daily operation is introduced. At the higher layer of scheduling, a general model of dynamic train scheduling is discussed, followed by reviewing the scheduling methodologies. At the lower layer of train operation control, recent progress in tracking control of high-speed trains is discussed, with focus on the latest advances in single train control and cooperative control for multiple trains. Then, as the trend of technological progress for future HSRs, the recent development of integrating dynamic scheduling and operation control is introduced, which is made possible by efficient information exchanges among the scheduling subsystem and the train control subsystem. A three-layer integration framework and associated co-optimization methodologies are presented by introducing a co-optimization layer that bridges the separated scheduling and control layers. Finally, this review is concluded with discussions on open questions and possible directions for future research.

Dynamic Scheduling, Operation Control and Their Integration in High-Speed Railways: A Review of Recent Research