On track for reliable rail
by Emma Masters
A computer program developed by UniSA researcher Amie Albrecht that
integrates train timetabling and track maintenance schedules could
revolutionise the rail transport industry, making it safer and more
reliable.
Albrecht has created a world-first mathematics model that successfully optimises and combines two key schedules in the rail industry, a manual process that takes many weeks and something traditionally done in what she described as an ad hoc manner.
“The rail industry hasn’t got as far as creating optimal train timetables, they are still producing just one feasible train timetable. There is no consideration given to attempting to integrate track maintenance in the best possible way,” Albrecht said.
“Because the process is done manually there aren’t methods in place in organisations for how you might do this optimally. The guys from track maintenance ring and say ‘we need another hour on the track’ and the two departments keep bartering until they get a train and track maintenance schedule that fits together.”
Albrecht said the importance of integrating train and track maintenance schedules comes down to safety issues and knowing passengers and goods are going to arrive on time.
“In the long term I would like to see rail become far more competitive,” she said.
"The freight industry will then start moving freight from roads onto rail where it is a lot safer. At the moment rail is less reliable than the roads. You can be waiting several hours for a train to arrive. Companies send goods by road because it is generally guaranteed they will get there on time."
Albrecht has spent time in Queensland looking at how Queensland Rail creates its train timetables, and she’s also used data they’ve supplied to create new schedules with her integrated program.
“We’re in the process of getting feedback from the train timetables we’ve created to make sure what we’re doing is realistic and operational,” she said.
Albrecht’s PhD is part of a body of work being completed at UniSA for the Rail Cooperative Research Centre. The research centre is a collaboration of six Australian universities and six industry partners, including Queensland Rail.
“The research centre is split into six different themes focusing on different areas of rail in Australia,” Albrecht said.
"My project is in theme three, which looks at mathematical techniques for scheduling and other types of optimisation problems relating to rail, like network congestion, fuel saving and train crew rostering.
"Research can be a very isolating experience. One of the nice things about working in the centre is you’re doing your own work but within a group setting. There is a constant interaction with people in your own university as well as people out in industry. It makes what you’re doing seem important.”