Schedule

The creation of timetables in public transport is called timetable planning (also called timetable construction or timetable creation) .

history

In the early days of the railway , only passenger trains ran according to the timetable, while freight trains were used as a dispositive . While these were initially only published as a notice timetable at the train stations , the first collections of timetables appeared as course books as early as the 1940s .

In 1846 the picture timetable was used for the first time to create timetables .

In order to coordinate cross-border journeys in Europe, the European Passenger Train Timetable Conference was introduced from 1872 , at which the coordination of the individual national timetables took place. This existed until 1996 and was replaced by the Train Europe forum.

In 1887 August von Borries developed a method for determining the travel time of trains, which served as the basis for timetable planning in Germany from 1903.

From June 1, 1891, the German and Austro-Hungarian railway administrations initially introduced Central European Time internally to coordinate the timetables. This time was taken over with the law concerning the introduction of a uniform time determination from April 1, 1893 for the entire German Empire.

To support the planning, traveler counts were carried out for the first time in 1893.

For the first time in 1898, freight trains in Germany were divided into train types.

From 1907 train formation and disbanding aids were created for the shunting service .

The first electronic travel time determination was carried out in 1967.

In the 1980s, the graphic computing technology was so mature that it came to the first attempts with electronic picture timetable construction programs. So with the SBB with SYFA (system timetable), with the ÖBB with RUF (computer-aided timetable creation), with the DR with TEFA (technologist workstation timetable processing) and with the DB with IFB (interactive timetable processing).

tasks

The timetable is used to coordinate the route requests , to provide information about the desired target operating status and to provide information for the customers of the infrastructure company. The DB Netz AG calls this process so as route management .

It is located after the line planning in the planning process and upstream of the vehicle schedule . It thus represents the link between long-term supply planning and short-term operational planning.

As results of the travel planning to a road map information media for customers to create, on the other for internal purposes train diagrams , EBuLa - and speed restrictions data, book timetable booklets, Zugverzeichnisse and other timetable documents such timetable arrangements , timetables for Zugmeldestellen and barriers items and route schedules.

Planning horizon

In the strategic area, in the run-up to infrastructure changes, schedule variants are worked out through the "long-term schedule" (ie for five to 30 years) and capacity analyzes are carried out.

The greatest planning effort is expended for the "network timetables" or " annual timetables ". There are around two years between train path registration and publication. This timetable is usually adjusted about halfway through the timetable year for the "small timetable change".

“Construction timetables” have shorter planning horizons, which record changed train sequences in the course of construction work. Special trips are planned at the shortest possible time. This can lead to planning lead times of less than a day between the train path registration and the train journey.

Action

Standing picture timetable. The path axis is standing, the time axis is lying.

Rail transport

In public, nationwide rail networks , the process of network scheduling extends over several years. The various interests of the users, set out in the route requests, and the interests of the infrastructure operator for optimal use of his systems must be taken into account and linked to a valid timetable. Added to this are voting with neighboring railway networks, such as those in the European passenger train timetable conference held today or railway companies Forum Train Europe or in railway infrastructure companies in RNE takes place.

Input variables for rail timetable planning can include the existing infrastructure, the route requests, the desired routes and the train stops and vehicle equipment, as well as knowledge of planned changes in the infrastructure, e.g. due to construction sites.

From these, route-time lines for a visual timetable are calculated using dynamic driving calculations. This has been done with the help of electronic computers since the 1960s. Various influences can also lead to timetable deviations from this target timetable during operation , which necessitate unscheduled (dispositive) interventions by the departments (e.g. dispatcher ). In order to compensate for such unscheduled deviations , the so-called standard supplements are given in the route construction to the pure travel time , i.e. the shortest possible travel time under typical conditions. To compensate for construction measures, the so-called construction allowance may be given. Taken together, these times result in the so-called time-path line of the train. Since an exact determination of these time shares is time-consuming and often not required in this level of detail, they are sometimes estimated using lump sums. The time-distance line describes in a two-dimensional coordinate system at what time the train is where on the route.

In the classic form of route-specific timetable construction, these route-time lines are arranged by inserting, shifting and bending (slowing) in a visual timetable so that the trains follow one another as closely as possible. It is assumed that in the operational implementation of the train journey, the method of driving in block spacing with stationary block sections is used and the train journeys cannot follow each other as closely as desired. Different methods are used to estimate the minimum headway time for a given sequence of trains. In heavily used rail networks, the occupancy time of each block section is calculated individually for each train journey. If the accuracy requirements are lower, the occupancy times for different train groups are estimated; each train group has the most homogeneous dynamic driving properties possible. The individual occupancy times of a train journey form the blocking time staircase. These blocked time stairs , plus buffer times, must not overlap, otherwise the minimum headway time will be undershot and a headway conflict will arise. Until the 1990s, this was done with the means of technical drawing , i.e. H. with paper, ruler and pencil, since then this has been supported by computer programs. This freedom from conflict is one of the principles in the construction of the network timetable. It means that trains in a network with trains that are delayed by a maximum of the buffer time can always run unhindered. In the case of occasional traffic, this requirement is only being implemented in a more relaxed manner due to the already high level of network utilization and the few days of traffic.

When creating cycle timetables, attention is also paid to so-called symmetry . Figuratively speaking, this means that for the generation of the counter train, the base train is mirrored in a picture timetable at the middle of the route axis. Expressed mathematically, this means that the sum of the respective transit times of a train and its counter-train add up to a multiple of the cycle time .

For the detailed planning of track occupancy in train stations, detailed track-specific train station picture timetables are used.

The results of the timetable planning are recorded in the form of table timetables, picture timetables or network graphics , among other things .

In Germany, the legal basis and regulations for the creation of network timetables are provided by Sections 52 and 53 of the Railway Regulation Act (ERegG), in which, in particular, hierarchies are defined according to which train path requests are to be preferred. Lower-ranking train path requests are offered a temporal or spatial shift. In the case of train path applications of equal rank and an agreement that cannot be reached, the maximum price procedure according to Section 52 (8) ERegG applies. The train path for which the applicant is willing to pay the highest fee is awarded the contract.

Deutsche Bahn AG

An example is the timing of the network timetable creation at DB Netz :

• 18 months before the timetable change: Definition of the infrastructure data basis
• 17 months before the timetable change: information to railway companies about planning premises
• 8 - 9 months before the timetable change: Train path applications must be submitted by the second Monday in April
• 6 - 7 months before the timetable change: Preparation of the preliminary network timetable draft within around 50 working days by around 140 timetable designers
• 5 months before the timetable change: Submission of the preliminary draft network timetable to the railway companies on the 1st Monday in July and processing of objections
• 4 months before the timetable change: Handover of the final draft network timetable
• 3.5 months before the timetable change: Acceptance or final rejection of the train paths by the railway companies
• The timetable changes on the second Saturday in December at midnight

For medium-term capacity requirements, DB Netz AG has concluded framework agreements with its customers since 2006, usually for five years; framework agreements are currently no longer offered. Train path registrations with reference to a framework agreement are given priority in the network timetable planning in the event of competing train path requests. A total of 20,911 capacity registrations were made for the 3rd framework contract period 2016–2020. Decision-making procedures were necessary in 90 cases.

Switzerland

In order to ensure independent train path allocation, the railway companies SBB , BLS and SOB as well as VöV founded Trasse Schweiz AG at the beginning of 2006. This is for the timetable planning on the route network of the three railway companies, which cover 94% of the Swiss standard gauge network with their route network. With 10 employees, the company processed a total of 13,500 train path applications from 19 railway companies in 2013.

In May 2014, the Federal Council decided on a consultation draft which, among other things, provides for the transfer of Trasse Schweiz AG to an institution under public law , which is to be responsible for the allocation of train paths on the entire standard-gauge network in Switzerland.

Public transport

In smaller public transport networks , timetable planning is usually done at short notice. In most cases, only a single company uses the infrastructure in tram / light rail / underground traffic . In addition, there are fewer dependencies in bus transport than in rail transport . For these reasons, it is possible to react to fluctuations in demand more quickly and more extensively for economic reasons .

Mathematical optimization

Another method is the mathematical approach using a timetable graph . The boundary conditions are summarized in a graph. An optimal solution for this timetable graph is difficult or even impossible due to the variously linked conditions. For these reasons, boundary conditions often have to be relaxed in order to obtain valid timetables. If a strictly timed timetable is described with these timetable graphs, the Periodic Event Scheduling Problem (PESP) arises. Because of its NP severity , this is particularly difficult to calculate.

Computer-aided timetable planning

Most timetable programs today aim to support the timetable planners. Here, the classic working method of manual construction is often used, for example in the FAKTUS / RUT-0 of the RWTH Aachen Institute of Transport Sciences for electronic route construction, which was introduced at Deutsche Bahn in the 1996/97 annual timetable . This was the world's first network timetable that was completely based on a purely blocking-time stair-based creation.

The programs for railway operations studies Strele (line performance), STRESI (timetable creation and operational simulation) and their successor LUKS also follow this structure.

The Viriato program developed in 1996 by the Swiss company SMA and Partners is used in particular for the creation of cycle timetables .

In addition to this program that works with macroscopic infrastructure, the network-wide route system NeTS , which works with microscopic infrastructure, has also been used by the Swiss Federal Railways since the 2010 timetable year .

In addition, in German-speaking countries the program schedule processing system FBS of IRFP common.

The Danish State Railways (DSB) and Banedanmark have been using the Train Planning System (TPS) developed by HaCon GmbH for their timetable planning since 2002. This program is also used in Great Britain by the infrastructure operator Network Rail and 220 other rail companies. In France it is used by the infrastructure operators RFF and TP Ferro and the national railway company SNCF . Jernbaneverket has been using this program in Norway since 2013 .

There are several data formats for exchanging data between the programs. The largest initiative to standardize this interface is the railML developed by Fraunhofer IVI and ETH Zurich in 2002 .

The programs Mobile Plan from Init AG , IVU.Plan from IVU Traffic Technologies or epon from ISIDATA GmbH are used in urban and regional bus traffic . In contrast to the rail sector, driving dynamics calculations take a back seat and line planning, schedule planning and duty planning aspects come to the fore.

As in the rail sector, the exchange of files between the individual programs is also important here. Therefore, the Association of German Transport Companies started an initiative to standardize the data exchange interface.

Automatic timetable planning

The first approaches to automatic timetable calculation were made in the Netherlands by the TU Delft with the DONS program. This was able to calculate the timetable for the Dutch railways , which began on December 10, 2006, every 1 hour. The train journeys between the stops, the track occupancy within the stations, the schedule as well as the duty roster were calculated.

A research group at the Technical University of Berlin achieved a similar success by solving the timetable for subway traffic in Berlin .

With the TAKT program system, a timetable program is being developed at the TU Dresden with which, for the first time, Germany-wide timetables for the long-term timetable planning of DB Netz AG can be created.

In ad hoc timetable planning, CGI Inc. is developing a program for automated timetable construction for DB Netz AG. The project comprises an investment volume in the double-digit million euro range and is supported by the Federal Ministry of Transport.

Web links

• Barnimer Busgesellschaft: The timetable - the creation.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Sliwka, H; Plietz KD; Teutsch, J: Timetables A – Z , p. 46, 1st edition 1981, transpress VEB Verlag für Transportwesen, Berlin.
2. ↑ Röll, Freiherr von: Enzyklopädie des Eisenbahnwesens , Volume 5. “Fahrzeit” , Berlin, Vienna 1914, pp. 26-30.
3. ↑ Article on the uniform railway time in issue 35 of the gazebo from 1891 in the original
4. ↑ Article on the uniform railway time in volume 35 of the gazebo from 1891 in transcription .
5. ↑ Thomas Gröger: Simulation of the creation of a timetable on the basis of a hierarchical route management and proof of the stability of the operational management , July 3, 2002
6. ↑ ^{a b c d e} G. Heister: Eisenbahnbetriebstechnologie. Chapter 6: Route Management. Eisenbahnfachverlag, Heidelberg / Mainz 2005, ISBN 3-9808002-2-9 .
7. ↑ DB Netz AG: "Guideline 402 - Train Path Management".
8. ↑ ^{a b c} A. Hausmann, DH Enders: Basics of rail operations. Chapter 1.10: Timetables. ISBN 978-3-9808002-4-2 .
9. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Jörn Pachl : System technology of rail traffic. Chapter 6: Schedule Construction. ISBN 978-3-8348-1428-9 .
10. ^ ^{A b} J. Janicki: System Knowledge Railway. Chapter 5.3.3: Timetable and timetable creation . 2011, ISBN 978-3-9808002-6-6 .
11. ↑ Deutsche Bahn: Topic Service Factor X or: The high art of the timetable ( Memento of the original from March 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , March 17, 2014, accessed March 18, 2014. 
12. ↑ EU Commission: 2002/844 / EG: Commission decision of October 23, 2002 amending Directive 2000/14 / EG with regard to the date for changing the network timetable in rail transport (text of relevance for the EEA) (announced under file number K (2002) 3997) , accessed March 18, 2014.
13. ↑ DB Netz AG (Ed.): Netznachrichten June 2015 ( Memento of the original from June 21, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed June 21, 2015 
14. ↑ Trasse Schweiz AG: Background information ( Memento of the original from May 13, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed on May 13, 2015. 
15. ↑ Federal Office of Transport: Federal Council sets benchmarks for the future organization of the railway infrastructure ( memento of the original dated May 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , May 28, 2014, accessed May 29, 2014. 
16. ^ Siegfried Rüger : Transport technology urban public transport. 3. edit Edition. Transpress, Publishing House for Transport, Berlin 1986.
17. ^ Karl Nachtigall : Periodic Network Optimization and fixed interval timetables. Habilitation thesis . University of Hildesheim , 1998, IB 112-99 / 02 (DLR).
18. ↑ O. Brünger, T. Gröger: Managing timetable routes and simulating timetable creation . (PDF; 388 kB), lecture given at the Transport Science Days of the TU Dresden 2003.
19. ↑ VIA Aachen: "FAKTUS timetable construction and investigation computer-aided route management" ( Memento of the original from December 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . 
20. ↑ Sauer, W .: RUT - computer-aided route construction. Railway technical review. 48 (11), 720-725 (1999)
21. ↑ SMA and partners: Viriato ( Memento of the original from March 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . 
22. ^ "First SBB timetable with Netcetera software" , Netcetera, February 9, 2010, accessed on December 18, 2017.
23. ↑ Network-wide train path system , SBB.ch, accessed on February 24, 2013.
24. ↑ IRFP: FBS ( Memento of the original from November 25, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . 
25. ↑ HaCon GmbH: Train Planning System (TPS) , accessed on May 14, 2015
26. ↑ HaCon GmbH (Ed.): "TPS from HaCon sets the course in Norway" ( Memento of the original from March 21, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , May 28, 2013, accessed May 14, 2015 
27. ↑ ISIDATA: EPON .
28. ↑ VDV: VDV Interface Initiative: Public Transport Data Model .
29. ^ L. Kroon, D. Huismann et al.: The new Dutch timetable - The OR Revolution. (PDF; 175 kB), January / February 2009.
30. ↑ Huismann, D .; Kroon, L .: "The New Dutch Timetable: The OR Revolution" ( Memento of the original from October 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , in MET 2/2008. 
31. ↑ Numerator: wait faster. on: Spiegel online , September 7, 2009.
32. ^ Zuse Institute Berlin: MATHEON-B15: Offer planning in local public transport. ( Memento of the original from November 10, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
33. ↑ Chair for traffic flow theory at the TU Dresden: Research: timetable planning
34. ↑ Jens Opitz: Automatic generation and optimization of cycle timetables in rail transport networks. Dissertation . (Logistics, mobility and transport). Gabler Verlag | GWV Fachverlage, Wiesbaden 2009, ISBN 978-3-8349-2128-4 .
35. ↑ Eurailpress: DB Netz: Automatic timetable construction , February 28, 2017