Energy-Efficient Train Speed Profile Generator Combining Partial Energy-Oriented Driving Approaches

One way of reducing the energy consumption of trains is to drive them in an energy-efficient manner. There can be various driving patterns between two adjacent stops, or various speed profiles, because there is a gap called the running time supplement between the planned running time set in a timetable and the shortest possible running time of the train. Previous studies have proposed using up the supplement by changing the driving operation from powering to coasting at optimal points in terms of energy consumption. Others have shown that full use of regenerative braking helps save energy. In this study, we developed an energy-efficient speed profile generator by combining these partial energy-oriented driving approaches when the planned running time is given. We added this generator to existing shortest running time calculation software, so that it works for various vehicle and train route data. Numerical experiments showed that our profile provided superior performance compared to manually created ones for artificial and real data. (C) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.