Missing tracks and switches – on the way to assess modernised stations in terms of their usefulness for railway traffic

Abstract

Rail transport plays an important role in the vision of the development of mobility in the European Union. This is reflected in modernisation projects that include not only railway lines, but also station layouts. Unfortunately, many examples in the Czech Republic and Poland show that the 'rationalization'of the number of tracks and switches often leads to situations in which the station is no longer useful for rail traffic that would be even slightly different from the assumed standard. Currently, a simulation model is being developed to assess the modernised stations in terms of their usefulness for rail traffic. This article presents the so far solved problems related to the aspect of time, as well as track prioritisation when accepting various types of trains. It also contains the currently tested version of developed algorithm, which allows simulating the operation of stations in random traffic conditions.