Railroad Traffic Planner
Railroad Traffic Planner
The Railroad Traffic Planner is a computer-supported visualization tool designed to assist traffic planning at small railroads. This demonstration prototype was developed to support the Federal Railroad Administration's objective to aid the development of improved display interfaces for railroad operations. The Railroad Traffic Planner shows the position of trains at various points in time using stringline diagrams. The stringline interface helps planners quickly locate times and places where trains will meet or overtake each other, so revisions can be made to address conflicts. An asset tracking system module can also be incorporated that displays near-real-time positions of vehicles on the railroad tracks using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology.
Jordan Multer, Project Manager
The development of the Railroad Traffic Planner by the Volpe Center and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the Federal Railroad Administration began in 1996 as part of a project to explore the benefits of various "knowledge display interfaces" available with computers. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Commuter Rail Service and Guilford Rail System planners helped design and test early versions of the application, because improving their ability to rapidly analyze and modify train schedules contributes to safety and customer satisfaction. Fulcrum Corporation joined the team in 2003 to transfer this technology to additional railroads. The North Shore Railroad and the Paducah and Louisville Railway are the demonstration sites for the enhanced system, which also includes a low-cost asset tracking system that provides real-time train positions and speeds using Global Positioning System (GPS) cellular telephones. The goal of this project is to identify and transfer to the railroad industry cost-effective technology to provide improved safety, security, and productivity.
The Railroad Traffic Planner displays information on a computerized stringline display, and presents the locations of multiple trains over a period of time. Stringline diagrams drawn with paper and pencil or actual string on a tack board have been used in the railroad industry for many years. This software tool has many advantages over traditional methods, such as automatic speed and time calculations that greatly facilitate train schedule development. Planners can easily drag strings around to see the impact of changes in the schedule. Relevant information, such as the locations of tracks, sidings, stations, interlockings, temporary speed restrictions and grade crossings, is displayed with the strings, enabling planners to devote their time to analyzing the schedules and making the adjustments required to specify the best traffic flow opportunities.
Sample Stringline Diagram in the Railroad Traffic Planner
An asset tracking system that uses GPS-enabled cellular phones to provide near-real-time train positions has also been incorporated. It enables users to compare actual performance to scheduled times and speeds. The locations and speeds from the asset tracking system can also be viewed through map-based displays on Internet browsers and cellular telephones.
The Railroad Traffic Planner demonstration software is available here: http://www.volpe.dot.gov/hf/railroad/docs/rtp_software.zip (ZIP, 60.4 MB)
View User Guide (MS Word, 6 MB)
System Requirements
- Pentium 3 or Celeron or better
- At least 256 MB RAM (512 MB recommended)
- Display adapter and monitor capable of showing 1024x768 pixels (1280x1024 pixels recommended)
- At least 200MB of free disk space on C:\ drive
- Microsoft Windows XP or Windows 2000
For More Information, Contact:
Jordan Multer
Phone: 617/494-2573
Fax: 617/494-3622
E-mail: jordan.multer@dot.gov
