Potential for Moving Blocks and Train Fleets to Enable Faster Train Meets on Single-Track Rail Corridors

Abstract

On single-track rail corridors, meets between trains are a significant source of train delay. From the stopping train’s perspective, a meet can be divided into three distinct phases: braking into a siding, waiting for higher-priority trains to pass, and accelerating to operating speed on the main track. Meet delay can be further divided into fixed and variable components depending on the number of trains partaking in the meet. Advanced train control systems incorporating moving blocks and innovative dispatching strategies such as train fleeting promise to reduce minimum meet times. Using a spreadsheet-based calculation, it was found that train fleeting distributes fixed delays among more train conflicts, resulting in more efficient conflict resolution. Complementarily, moving blocks minimize variable delays. Combining moving blocks and fleeting can be highly effective, producing the lowest meet delay across a variety of track speeds and dispatching strategies. The results from this study can help railway practitioners evaluate the benefits of train fleeting, moving blocks, shorter train lengths, and extended fleet-length sidings when developing operating and capital plans.