Бесплатный фрагмент - Modern management methods in railway transport

INTRODUCTION

In this textbook, the authors, based on modern system analysis, scientific and industrial experience, consider and present modern scientific and technical solutions based on the basic technological principles of railway operation, the introduction of which ensures higher reliability and safety of railway transport, takes into account the financial and economic condition of the Russian Railways Holding.

The authors reflected the state and prospects of railway transport development in the context of ongoing reforms, the role of the Russian Railways Holding in the socio–economic development of Russia, formulated modern approaches to the development of vertical traffic management based on scientific and technical achievements and informatization; ways of business development and customer orientation of the Company based on the development of logistics management methods, innovation and information technologies.

The current problems of the development of Russian railways on the threshold of the new millennium are considered in detail on the basis of an analysis of the world processes of economic development, the world transport system, the transit potential of container transportation, transport hubs and intermodal transportation. The main contours of the new transportation management system are formulated.

A significant place in the textbook is devoted to the issues of effective management of car traffic, promotion of car traffic during the transition to landfill technologies. End-to-end technologies for routing freight traffic on railways have been developed and proposed.

The textbook also describes modern approaches to the development of train schedules in the conditions of integrated technology for organizing train work.

Methodological approaches are proposed to create a unified technology of operational work on railways, technology of interaction between the schedule and the plan for the formation of freight trains in the conditions of transition to landfill technologies. The methodology of the economic efficiency of the technology of organizing the movement of freight trains according to the schedule is given.

The scientific support of innovative management of railway lines in the conditions of transition to landfill technologies has been developed and proposed. A significant place in the textbook is devoted to the development of operational planning and management systems for train and freight work on railways in the conditions of landfill technologies. Methodological approaches have been developed and proposed for the construction of technology for operational planning and management of train operation of the railway network based on simulation modeling of process technology taking into account terminal logistics centers (TLC) and traffic congestion.

An important component of the textbook is modern approaches to the organization and technology of local work in the context of the introduction of logistics technologies. Logistics technologies of train-forming stations have been developed in conditions of a significant share of local car traffic and a private fleet of freight cars.

The technique of maximizing the unloading capacity of cargo fronts and the technology that ensures its implementation is described. A mathematical model for calculating the solid threads of the schedule of local freight trains is presented. The ways of further development of the technology of local work at stations, sites and landfills are described.

The textbook presents the development of integration technologies to improve the quality of dispatching control in the conditions of landfill technologies in railway transport. The strategy of the development of integration technologies in railway transport, including in the management of the movement of freight trains according to the schedule, is described. The ways of applying the methodology of the train dispatcher performance assessment complexes based on multifactor analysis are described.

A significant place in the textbook is devoted to the development of innovative technologies for the interaction of railways with other modes of transport, including seaports. The experience of the Kaliningrad and Far Eastern Railways is described. The main vector of increasing the efficiency of transportation logistics has been determined, which consists in the balanced development of the infrastructure of ports and railways.

The textbook presents the development of innovative technologies for the operation of locomotives in the conditions of landfill technologies. The technology of controlling the operation of the locomotive fleet in the conditions of the TRMC of the Eastern polygon, the issues of operational regulation of locomotive fleets in the conditions of TRMC, the experience of the Ural-Siberian and Volga polygons on the development of traction resource management centers (TRMC) is described.

A special place in the textbook is occupied by the issue of the development of an integrated train safety system in railway transport. The state approach to ensuring train safety, improving the quality of management and responsibility for train safety (the experience of the Moscow railway), as well as improving safety through the introduction and development of situational development centers of JSC «Russian Railways» is described in detail.

A significant place in the textbook is occupied by the issue of creating integrated transport systems on railway transport. The main directions of ITS development, modern scientific and methodological approaches to the creation of ITS in railway transport, intellectualization of operational management of the transportation process are described. New approaches to the management of the operational work of the Holding «Russian Railways» based on the creation of ITS are described.

A special place in the textbook is occupied by the question of the economic efficiency of the technology of organizing the movement of freight trains using information technology. Methods and tools for making effective decisions are covered in detail. The logistic model of Corporate quality management of the transportation process is described.

The solutions given in the textbook will undoubtedly be useful to a wide range of specialists working in railway transport and transport enterprises, and will help to more reasonably and rationally optimize the management of the transportation process at all levels of management. The textbook will also be useful to a wide range of researchers, postgraduates and students of transport universities, academies, colleges and technical schools of railway transport.

For all the problems considered, the textbook presents the results of the received developments and their practical implementation. This gives the authors a solid foundation and confidence in the possibility of widespread use of the presented textbook in practical work in the implementation of the results obtained on the railway network.

CHAPTER I. MODERN APPROACHES TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TRAIN SCHEDULE IN THE CONDITIONS OF INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGY OF THE ORGANIZATION OF TRAIN WORK

1.1 Interaction of the traffic schedule and the train formation plan in the conditions of transition to landfill technologies

The key tools for ensuring high quality of transportation and the technological basis of the business of JSC «Russian Railways» are the system of organization of car traffic and train schedules, ensuring efficient use of rolling stock, increasing traffic speeds, reducing operating costs for transportation, etc. Therefore, the development and execution of a plan for the formation and timetable of trains with the possibility of flexible response to changes occurring in the transport market and in the structure of the car fleet, which today is almost all owned by the owners of rolling stock, should be carried out using the latest innovative scientific developments in this subject area. At the same time, it is necessary to provide for the interconnection of technological processes of cargo movement and the need to build information and analytical expert systems (decision support systems) and modeling systems for organizing train flows by stages: forecast, modeling, development of technological documents, operational management, analysis.

In the context of the implementation of information technologies, when organizing the movement of trains on solid «threads» of the schedule, methods of correction and adaptation of solutions using feedbacks, tracking of actually filled «threads» of the schedule by trains, analysis of practically realized weights and lengths of trains should be used. This will allow you to periodically adjust the schedule, linking it to the required volumes of traffic.

The adaptation of the train schedule to fluctuations in the volume of cargo transportation requires a reserve of «threads» of the schedule. This makes it difficult to implement the ideas embedded in it. As a result, it is required to quickly rebuild the schedule of the turnover of locomotives and the work of locomotive crews, the downtime of locomotives at the points of turnover and in the main depots increases, their productivity decreases.

In order to link the formation plan with the traffic schedule, such a number of trains by categories and directions is laid, which corresponds to the formation plan and even car traffic, taking into account their unevenness, and to ensure minimal downtime of trains and wagons, the schedule is coordinated at the nodes and trains are specialized in directions.

Specialization of trains in directions allows to load railway lines evenly, to organize rhythmic and uniform supply to the nodes of trains of different directions coming into processing and transit, to carry out through promotion of trains and compacted turnover of locomotives on elongated sections of circulation, as well as to reduce the parking of transit trains at junction stations due to the coordination of schedules.

Specialization of trains by destination will ensure the coordination of arrival and departure times from technical stations, will allow to establish a through schedule along the entire route, organize the rhythmic operation of large freight stations and access roads and advance preparation of trailer groups for transit trains at the point of breaking weight and length. This will reduce the idle time of cars under accumulation.

For the successful organization of transportation on solid «threads» of the schedule, a transition to discrete management methods is necessary. Repeated attempts to switch to a fixed schedule, using statistical data and reporting patterns of train formation at stations, have not been successful. The spread of the time of the end of the accumulation of trains at marshalling yards turned out to be large and unstable, and the search for a solution led to the desire to have only a rigid «core» of graphite, which included only part of the «threads».

In order to be able to combine a solid schedule and a complete set of trains sent by its «threads», a reliable plan-forecast of loading and departure of goods for a period exceeding the time of turnover of the car, detailed before cargo dispatch and a specific car, should be used. The purpose of this part of the task should be to maintain a permanently replenished network array of loading requests with data on the date of loading, the stations of departure and destination of the cargo, the number and type of wagons for loading each shipment.

It is necessary to improve modern systems of identification of rolling stock for more accurate tracking of the location of wagons on selected objects of the railway network using satellite navigation. Ensuring high reliability and reliability of the information received will guarantee the required efficiency and completeness of maintaining an operational model of the dislocation and condition of the rolling stock in the computer network.

In the conditions of a private rolling stock fleet, when solving issues of its consolidation, it is necessary to re-create a software computer complex that optimally, with a minimum of empty mileage, will attach the existing empty wagons and loading resources formed after unloading to the points of upcoming loading. As a result of the calculation, each wagon to be loaded in the billing period must receive a specific address — the code of the unified network marking of the station for its use for loading.

Требуется разработать такой программный комплекс, который «привяжет» заявленную погрузку перемещаемых груженых, а также порожних вагонов, направляемых под погрузку, к поездам твердого графика на всем пути следования с учетом переработки на сорти­ровочных станциях по заданному плану формирования.

Modern capabilities of technology and information technology allow us to provide quality control over the execution of planned plans and decisions. The system of automatic identification of rolling stock must reliably document the processes of moving wagons. It is advisable to display the results of calculations to ensure transportation along the entire chain of technological procedures — from the supply of wagons for loading to their departure as part of a particular train.

The capabilities of the railway transport computing network make it possible to implement the proposed solutions already today, namely, to make a discrete plan for the network based on clientele turnouts and aimed at working according to the conveyor scheme.

The organization of traffic with stable correspondence of transportation requires a change in the concept of developing a plan for the formation and construction of a train schedule. When solving questions about the scheme of cargo delivery to the consumer, first of all, the tasks of cargo service of technological routing should be solved. Ideally, technological links should be established between enterprises of the extractive and processing industries, as well as seaports. They should be detailed to the level of delivery schedules «tied» to specific chains of railway schedules. We are talking about the supply of coal and ore to metallurgical enterprises, coal to power plants, export services, etc.

In the process of developing this task, a number of difficulties were identified. To overcome them, in our opinion, it is necessary to divide all the shipments into two arrays:

— the main one, shipments from which participate in the formation of trains on solid «threads»;

— small shipments, the contents of which are used to solve the problem of ensuring the completeness and completeness of trains by the method of dynamic optimization.

In the conditions of transition to discrete control based on solid «threads» of the schedule, the correlation of car traffic consists in timely management of loading.

The stabilization of freight traffic due to the novelty of the proposed technology and some risks of changing the transportation planning system should be carried out in stages. At the first stage, when calculating a solid schedule, the current formation plan should be used. At the same time, it is necessary to combine separate «threads» of the standard train schedule and sections of the freight train route into a special «corridor» for its passage. The train is formed according to the formation plan. Technical stations, where the plan of formation provides for the processing of wagons, are proposed to issue a special task for the disbandment and formation of trains following solid «threads» of the schedule, indicating the order of inclusion of wagons in their compositions. The effect in this case is achieved by accelerating the delivery of goods (since the optimal variant of the departure time of trains from each processing station is accepted) and «linking» shipments to specific «threads».

At the second stage, the formation plan is adjusted. Based on forecasts about the arrival of freight trains in the next 6—12 hours, information about the cars included in them, as well as information about the dislocation of cars on the tracks of the station, it is possible to calculate the optimal destinations for this technical station for the day ahead for all freight shipments. This will lead to a refinement of the forecasts used in the task, but already at the next stage, since the cars arriving with this or that train on solid «threads» will be known. The adjusted formation plan will significantly accelerate the progress of car traffic, reduce the number of overwork by taking into account the operational situation in determining the appropriateness of certain assignments.

At the third stage, a «partial solid schedule» is implemented. A certain transportation sector is being created, in which applications are collected and planning is carried out for a period exceeding the turnover time of the car, and specific «threads» are selected from the current train schedule, which are assigned to certain shipments. Solid «threads» in this case are calculated without taking into account the current formation plan. Their appropriate number is determined. Shipments implemented in accordance with the formation plan and not included in the solid schedule plan constitute a reserve to ensure the full-weight and full-composition of freight trains following solid «threads».

At the fourth stage of the proposed technology, all the «threads» of the graph are solid. Providing them with wagons is carried out due to small shipments that will not be included in the calculation at the initial planning stage in a given interval, shipments for which applications are received during the current period, as well as due to the transfer of the car traffic of individual solid «threads» to other solid «threads». With this technology, it is allowed to send non-suspended and incomplete trains, taking into account that they will be replenished to the specified weight and length. The departure of each train with such an organization of work is part of a continuous chain of cargo delivery.

The objective function and the flexible system of constraints of the mathematical model of the formation of a fixed train schedule allow for its calculation to take into account the restrictions on the fulfillment of the terms of delivery of goods or penalties for their non-fulfillment, non-compliance, etc.

It is necessary to focus on the following scheme for the joint development of a plan for the formation and timetable of trains:

— for the period of validity of the developed schedule, the Central Directorate of Traffic Management forms calculated oblique tables of expected correspondence of goods and loaded wagons between train formation stations;

— taking into account the necessary movement of empty wagons, the total car traffic between marshalling yards is determined;

— the number of trains («threads» of the schedule) necessary to ensure the movement of the cars generated by correspondence between the interacting technical (sorting) stations is calculated;

— when drawing up a schedule, a calculated number of «threads» is applied between the corresponding stations so that transportation is carried out mainly in direct trains, without processing and reshaping en route.

After laying the «threads» for passenger trains, the transportation of technological routing is recorded first on the schedule. The «threads» of technical routing trains are applied along the entire route from the formation station to the disbandment station in the order of decreasing their distance. If there are several threads of the same name, it is desirable to lay them at equal intervals. When checking the terms of each transportation contract, possible adjustments are agreed with the client.

The issue of moving empty wagons is decided last. These wagons are replenished with non-suspended or incomplete trains that move loaded wagons after being tied to the «threads» of the schedule. The schedule necessarily provides for the possibility of laying time reserves for servicing the local operation of sections and nodes (prefabricated, export, transfer trains) and smoothing out possible instability of transportation.

The expediency of this approach is evidenced by the experience of foreign railways. It should be noted that one of the features of the organization of car traffic in the United States is the presence of regular freight trains. They cover 80% of car traffic. Regular trains are specialized, have permanent routes, timetables and numbers. They include wagons for certain purposes. The main «core» of regular trains is organized on the basis of stable car traffic.

According to foreign experts, the operation of freight trains of constant circulation is a very effective form of mastering cargo flows. This way of organizing traffic is attractive to customers because it allows them, thanks to pre-developed announced schedules, to choose the most suitable trains for cargo transportation.

The technology of transportation on solid «threads» of the schedule provides for the delivery of goods by a certain deadline. So, in the USA, the movement of trains carrying perishable and other valuable goods with a minimum delivery time is organized. The delivery time is determined according to the arrival schedule at the final station. Accelerated freight trains for the transportation of such goods, which accounted for 10—25% of the total number of freight trains, provided railways with significant competitive advantages in the transport market. At the same time, it should be noted that the use of such progressive methods has become possible in conditions of significant reserves of capacity and capacity of rolling stock fleets.

The experience of foreign colleagues should be taken into account when implementing the proposed technology on the Russian Railways network. For example, on the railways of the USA and Canada, the composition for the «thread» of the schedule is formed from cash cars, and then traction support is selected for the actual weight and length of the train, i.e. there is no strict regulation of train parameters according to the schedule standards. Naturally, there are restrictions on the large-scale length of the train, and the issue of possible cancellation of trains due to insufficient number of cars is promptly resolved taking into account contractual terms with the client on the terms of cargo delivery. Canada’s railways have a permanent fixed schedule of freight trains, in which individual «threads» can be removed in the absence of cargo or in order to provide technological «windows» for repairs, as well as in the event of any disruptions in train traffic. As a rule, the decision on the operational change of the schedule using computer tools can be made no earlier than 3 days before its specific implementation. In traffic management, the main function is to comply with the schedule with minimal deviations from its standards.

Work on a fixed schedule of traffic has greatly facilitated the formation of an automated transportation management system. On the railways of the USA and Canada, satellite navigation is successfully used to monitor the operation of stations, sites and polygons. Tracking the progress of the transportation process in real time, the system provides the necessary information to the dispatcher apparatus for decision-making. Due to the use of innovative technologies in these countries, significant progress has been made in improving technology, increasing labor productivity, and improving traffic safety.

When implementing the technology in question, the basic indicators of the quality of work of JSC «Russian Railways», to achieve which the efforts of railway structures should be directed, become:

— practically realizable weight and length;

— the level of implementation of the directive traffic schedule for departure, passage and arrival at technical stations;

— implementation of agreed parameters for loading and departure of wagons from cargo points;

— execution of tasks for the supply of wagons for loading;

— completion of loading tasks and release of loading resources.

According to the results achieved by these five groups of indicators, the quality of the performers’ work is evaluated. Failure to comply with the weight and length standards (less than 80%) indicates the need to adjust the train schedule, reduce the number of solid «threads». The low level of completion of the train schedule (95—97%) for departure, passage and arrival is a consequence of the unsatisfactory work of dispatching services, technical stations, traction farms, carriage, track. Failure to complete loading tasks requires improvement of work on interaction with the clientele, search for appropriate levers and incentives.

The organization of the movement of freight trains according to the schedule and the step-by-step calculation of the formation plan will significantly improve the performance of railway transport and increase the profitability of the Russian Railways holding.

1.2 Economic efficiency of the technology of organizing the movement of freight trains according to the schedule

The timetable and the train formation plan are the most important basis for the organization of transportation. On their basis, along with the procedure for regulating the fleets of wagons and locomotives, the entire system of rationing and organization of operational work has been built, on which the economic results of the railways primarily depend. The level of performance of the traffic schedule characterizes the degree of implementation of the technology of the transportation process and the quality of operational work, the efficiency of the use of rolling stock, throughput and carrying capacity.

The role of the train schedule is especially increasing in the context of the reform of railway transport. The creation of new structural entities and subsidiaries, the separation of the functions of state regulation and economic management of the industry, the development of the transport services market radically change the system of relations between the customer and the contractor of transportation. The foundations of the interaction of all objects of the transport market can and should be the train schedule.

1.3 Scientific support of innovative management of railway lines in the conditions of transition to landfill technologies

In order to increase the attractiveness of services, JSC «Russian Railways» is actively developing the technology of train movement according to specialized schedules. In accordance with the Concept of a phased increase in transportation on a fixed schedule approved in 2006, their number is growing dynamically every year in accordance with the requests of shippers, which confirms the interest of shippers, rolling stock operators in new technologies for cargo delivery.

There are several approaches to the development of «solid» threads of the train schedule. One of such approaches is the development of a combined variant train schedule (CVTS). The structure of the CVTS is such that in different operational situations, the same schedule can be used without reshuffling, and the most frequently used schedules provide a higher section speed and fewer stops for overtaking and crossing trains. This is achieved by the fact that first (after laying passenger and suburban) schedules of freight trains of the so-called «core» are applied to the schedule, guaranteed to be provided with daily car traffic. Then, without correcting the previously laid threads on the schedule, schedules of several more categories are consistently applied — optional, additional, one-time and month maximum transportation, to account for the unevenness of train traffic.

The following tasks are also solved during the development of the CVTS:

— — specialization of freight train threads in the traffic schedule;

— — the technological turnover schedule of locomotives is drawn up for the planned period (decade, month) on the basis of a developed or adjusted solid schedule of freight trains.

— — the movement of freight trains according to the schedule on closed transportation routes.

Unlike CVTS, the proposed technology for developing a solid train schedule is able to link shipments to specific «threads» of a solid schedule, which will allow more accurately predicting the delivery time of goods, more accurately carrying out shift-daily transportation planning.

The technology is based on a discrete forecast formed by a proprietary transport service system, adjusted and replenished-an application for all upcoming transportation. Such information allows for modeling and detailed calculation of transportation based on a solid schedule. The result of the simulation is a plan of the upcoming work of each loaded car on its entire route from the loading point to the destination (with which trains the car moves, on which line of the schedule the train with the car will be sent from the reformation station, when exactly it will arrive at the destination). In addition, according to the transportation plan formed in this way, the number of solid threads between technical (sorting) stations becomes known, according to the volumes of goods declared for transportation.

The tasks solved within the framework of a firm schedule have their own specific solutions in the proposed technology, which are as follows.

— Specialization of freight train threads in the traffic schedule: since each thread combines specific wagons (with specific loads), the developed optimal plan will contain «threads» of the schedule specialized in directions, types of cargo, delivery speeds.

— Technological schedule of locomotives turnover: since the simulated plan is designed for a decade, during this period, locomotives and locomotive crews are linked. In the future, the calculation may include the costs of turnover of locomotives and locomotive crews, which may have a significant impact on the formed solid schedule.

— The movement of freight trains according to the schedule in closed transportation directions. Despite the fact that closed transportation directions can be identified by the results of constructing a solid train schedule, it is recommended to exclude applications of ring routes from the initial data in order to reduce the dimension of the problem and increase the calculation speed.

The complex of information technologies of transportation management can be implemented as follows. Each client’s request from the system gets to the «information exchange of applications», in parallel with which the «information exchange of serviceable freight cars» operates on the basis of the DISPARK system. With the help of an automatic identification system, their numbers are read from rolling stock units, supplemented with information about the place, time of reading, direction of movement in dynamic arrays of cars of the DISPARK system.

Each application is selected in real time the wagon that most fully meets the needs for the nomenclature of cargo, the portionality of dispatch, the type of packaging, the possibilities of cargo and warehouse facilities at the points of departure and destination, the mode of transportation, reliability, safety, cost, profitability, etc. On the basis of this information, a shipping model is formed that fits with the wagon model from DISPARK systems. Next, the dispatch (a car or a group of cars) is tied to the jet of the car traffic and a solid thread of the schedule with the provision of a locomotive and a locomotive crew, necessary personnel and equipment along the entire route.

At the final stage, inconsistencies and possible conflict situations are eliminated, including by transferring, by agreement with the clientele, individual operations for a time that meets the requirements of railway technology. As a result, technical rationing will move from the balance method to operational planning, when each shipment corresponds to wagons with specific numbers and types, locomotives, crews.

The proposed mathematical model of the formation of solid threads of the schedule is aimed at the stability of train operation on sections and polygons of railways. This is ensured by evenly laying threads on the graph during the day, which allows for the rational loading of the technical equipment of stations, sections, locomotives and crews.

The real traffic schedule is built in several stages according to the following scheme. First, the problem is solved for a subset of applications, which includes regular import applications. At the same time, an additional restriction is included in the system of restrictions — a fixed departure time. This is necessary because loading is not actually carried out, and the train is taken to the docking station from a neighboring landfill.

The next step is to solve the problem for a subset of applications, which includes «regular» applications for long-distance transportation (import). The result of the solution will be a timetable for trains traveling to the boundaries of the polygon in question. The time of departure of shipments corresponding to these applications from cargo stations will be known. Loading should be completed by this time. Therefore, the next step should be to solve the problem of providing empty wagons to the points of upcoming loading. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account the possibility of adding empty wagons to incomplete trains following the lines of the schedule laid at the previous stages.

In the same way, a schedule is built for regular local applications and the task of ensuring loading with empty wagons is solved. Last of all, a schedule is built for irregular applications.

Such a step-by-step scheme for constructing a solid motion graph makes it possible to significantly reduce the dimension of the linear programming problem. In addition, it allows, by changing the system of restrictions, to build graphs that meet any additional requirements.

To solve the problem of ensuring the fullness and fullness of the solid threads of the graph, the idea of the dynamic optimization method is used — reducing the problem of car distribution, taking into account the time factor, to a linear programming problem (in this case, to a standard linear programming problem in Boolean variables). The task is solved for each destination station. For it, a selection is made from an array of shipments (the shipment must follow to this station) and a selection from an array of non-suspended and incomplete threads (the train at this station must go into disbandment).

To implement the new transportation management system, it is necessary to have information about the upcoming work of each loaded car: with which trains it will move, where (if necessary) the train will be disbanded, according to which line of the schedule the car will be sent from the formation station when it arrives at its destination.

The preparation of a solid schedule for the movement of freight trains is preceded by the performance of work to determine their required number per day for each selected direction. The number of solid threads of the schedule is evenly distributed over the time of day in the intervals between passenger trains. The train schedule is linked to the schedule of local work, ensuring the fulfillment of contractual obligations to the sender and recipient of goods in terms of the delivery and cleaning of wagons at a convenient time for customers.

It is crucial to create the necessary conditions for the work of locomotive crews to comply with a firm schedule of freight trains, drawn up for the actual size of the movement, taking into account the calculated norms of time for the change of crews. The best conditions for the use of locomotives are created when the sections of their handling coincide with the borders of railway directions that are multiples in length of the sections of servicing freight trains by locomotive crews. If freight trains follow the solid lines of the schedule only within the control areas, then it will still be impossible to say which train and which line of the schedule a particular car will fall into after the formation of the composition at the next marshalling yard. However, after the departure of the train from the marshalling yard, it will already be possible to accurately determine the arrival time of this car at the next marshalling yard, which, when using automatic tracking of control objects, can significantly improve the efficiency of train formation planning and regulatory measures to accelerate it. In addition, after the departure of the car from the last marshalling yard, the time of its arrival at the destination station will be precisely determined. Strict compliance with the implementation of the threads of the fixed schedule of freight trains is the main criterion for assessing the quality of the transportation process.

The developed methods and algorithms allow you to quickly adjust the train schedule based on information about upcoming traffic volumes, implementing solid schedule threads.

CHAPTER II. DEVELOPMENT OF OPERATIONAL PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS FOR TRAIN AND FREIGHT WORK ON RAILWAYS IN THE CONDITIONS OF LANDFILL TECHNOLOGIES

2.1 Methodological approaches to the construction of technology for operational planning and management of train operation of the railway network based on simulation modeling

The complex of technological processes implementing the transportation activities of the production unit of the Russian Railways Holding should be focused on ensuring traffic safety, meeting the needs of passengers and customers in transportation, efficient use of infrastructure, rolling stock, labor and energy resources.

The target parameters of the quality of the implementation of technological processes are to ensure a given volume of traffic generated by the sales unit of JSC «Russian Railways».

The economic effect arises from:

— increased revenue from transportation,

— minimization of operating costs,

— minimization of fines for non-fulfillment of transportation conditions,

— increasing the fuel and energy efficiency of train traffic and shunting work.

The train schedule and the system for organizing car traffic, including the Train Formation Plan (TFP), are key tools for organizing transportation as services for cargo owners and passengers, and, at the same time, the technological and regulatory basis for planning and managing the transportation activities of the Russian Railways holding.

The proposed measures to improve operational work on the basis of a new regulatory framework, the creation of optimal tariff conditions, strict compliance with the train schedule and the formation plan can be implemented if the following conditions are met:

— development of interconnected technological processes for the delivery of goods and passengers in the context of:

— the route of the carriage (passenger) along the chain of train destinations from the point of origin to the point of repayment of the flow;

— technologies of operation of objects of technological division of the railway network (network, transport corridor, railway, railway direction, control area, dispatch area, station);

— technologies of work of officials within their area of competence;

— interaction of elements and participants of technological processes;

— development of clear consistent quality targets and criteria for evaluating the work of each participant in the technological process with access to the bonus system;

— development of automated systems for modeling technological processes (for different levels of management, detail and depth of modeling) under specified initial conditions, constraints, reference maps of train traffic promotion, to determine the expected results of work (forecast indicators, identification of possible difficulties, search for optimal options according to specified criteria);

— integration of the results of the URRAN, KASANT and KASAT systems into a single system for making strategic, preventive and operational decisions in terms of taking into account the risks of disruption of technological processes due to the state of infrastructure (URRAN), malfunction of technical means (KASANT), violations of technological discipline (KASAT);

— development of automated workstations for specific officials involved in technological processes at each management level. All the necessary functionality should be implemented in the ARMas (analytics; automated work plans and operational tasks; a dialog system for adjusting the plan, monitoring their implementation, evaluating work, modeling and planning results; output data from external systems concerning the objects of the official’s area of competence) in a single user interface ideology.

Thus, it is necessary to develop an integrated technology for managing the transportation process based on automated systems for modeling technological processes and decision support. These systems must:

— promptly take into account changes in the volume and structure of rail transport,

— provide a choice of rational options for skipping train flows in an interactive mode,

— to offer options for the rational use of capacity when organizing traffic on «solid» schedules of freight trains, taking into account the provision of «windows»,

— to propose solutions for adjusting the formation plan, the use of advanced dispatching methods of work, coordinated operation of stations and adjacent sections based on automatic complex calculation of priorities for arrival, departure of trains, use of locomotives and crews, modeling of work technology options to issue proposed solutions in the form of orders, telegrams, ensure their distribution to performers, control of execution for specific officials, evaluation of their work according to the accepted system of quality criteria;

— self-study based on comparison of simulation results, planning and monitoring of actual execution data;

— interact with other models (import and export of simulation results).

Let us consider in more detail methodological approaches to the practical application of simulation models in technological processes of transportation management.

Simulation models are designed to solve the following main groups of tasks:

— building a work plan for a given period of time based on the adopted regulatory documents, technological processes, the current operational situation, constraints and priorities, in order to achieve quality targets while meeting the conditions for resolving conflict situations;

— search for «bottlenecks» in the capacity of facilities and options for passing through the site with different initial parameters of the incoming flow in terms of volume, intensity, a set of limiting factors (long-composite, heavy trains, late passenger trains, «windows», etc.);

— search for rational options for passing trains of a certain destination along the chains of threads between technical stations along the entire route;

— formation of a plan for the supply of trains to technical stations, current change stations (arrival order, arrival time, planned fleet and arrival route);

— search for rational options for using locomotives between regular visits to locomotive maintenance points (LMP) to perform maintenance and equipment of locomotives (TO-2) in terms of power, productivity, minimizing downtime and backup mileage;

— forecast of performance indicators for various options for skipping the flow, the sequence of providing «windows»;

— analysis of the quality of drawing up a formation plan, traffic schedule, etc.;

— construction of options for end-to-end logistics chains of cargo delivery with specified quality parameters with access to the construction of detailed technological tasks for passing car traffic and justification of the resource requirements plan for facilities and time.

The active simulation model offers various solutions based on the initial initial conditions and those set by the user during the modeling process. The model represents a closed system with incoming and outgoing data streams, as well as a self-learning process. The active model, as a rule, uses the parameters of specific objects (trains, locomotives, wagons, brigades) at a given polygon.

The passive model provides a search of options for the given rules of behavior of objects and their interaction. The result of such a model is the analysis of predicted indicators, possible difficulties, violations of technological chains, the output of controlled indicators beyond the specified limits, etc. The passive model does not involve self-learning, operates with statistical characteristics of flows and objects, regulatory parameters of stationary objects, parameters of the traffic schedule, formation plan, technical and administrative acts of stations (TRA) and others documents.

Active models are mainly designed to solve operational and preventive tasks, passive models are designed to solve tactical and strategic tasks, as well as quality control tasks of regulatory technological documents.

The simulation model is characterized by a specific modeling task, a set of quality targets, evaluation criteria, a model database and a work polygon.

Railway transport belongs to the category of highly complex real-time systems with a variety of controlled processes and objects, a strong influence of the human factor and external environmental factors. It is currently not possible to create a single simulation model of the transport process with an acceptable calculation time and response to changes in external conditions. Therefore, it is advisable to develop a network of interacting models of technological processes of different levels of coverage (network level, road level, linear level) with the possibility of mutual correspondence of modeling results taking into account the opinion of the LPR, model databases (arrays of experience, arrays of successful solutions, statistical samples).

The following main processes are present in the structure of the active simulation model:

— formation and input of initial data

— monitoring;

— modeling;

— evaluation of the model results;

— data correction;

— planning;

— performance monitoring, indicators;

— self-study.

In addition, there are modules for interfacing with other models, information systems and technical means.

The initial data include the parameters of regulatory documents; logical rules and restrictions on the behavior and interaction of stationary and mobile objects; priorities for performing operations with objects; topology and relationships of stationary objects; the results of other models (in the form of approved plans). Depending on the task in a particular simulation model, the composition of the source data and the order of information exchange with other models horizontally (at the same level) and vertically — for neighboring control levels — may vary.

The normative basis for the functioning of the models are:

— train schedule;

— train formation plan;

— technical standards of operational performance indicators;

— technical and administrative station acts;

— technological processes of work;

— standards of weight and length of trains;

— other regulatory documents.

It should be noted that these initial data are also the result of the work of human-machine simulation models of the network layer.

The monitoring process is carried out continuously. At the same time, actual data on performance indicators, full-dimensional dislocation of mobile objects, their current operational characteristics are recorded. Monitoring data is the information basis of the modeling process. Also, the monitoring process is the basis for monitoring the implementation of plans and reflecting performance indicators.

The modeling process is the basis of the simulation model. Modeling is a solution of logical problems corresponding to the structure of a particular technological process, the order of interaction of objects with each other, initial data, limitations and conditions set by a person, based on the algorithms of solution embedded in the model, databases of successful solutions, arrays of experience. In the process of solving problems, priority conflicts arise, which are solved based on the inherent priorities of processing events or objects. The model can also fulfill the conditions of a directional search of options with the calculation of target quality parameters, as well as using human-defined initial parameters based on the principle of «what if?».

The process of evaluating the results of the model is characterized by the presentation to a person (LPR), — in a convenient form at an automated workplace on request or in another place established by the regulations, of the simulation results for conflict resolution options with the calculation of quality targets for each option. The result can be displayed in text form, graphically as a forecast schedule, a garter plan, a turnover schedule of locomotives and crews, in the form of diagrams, graphs, rating series, etc.

The decision-maker — the manager or dispatcher — evaluates the results of the model in the interface of his workplace:

— agrees with the simulation results by selecting the appropriate option in the dialog mode, while the result of the model goes into the planning process,

— does not agree with the simulation results, corrects the initial data, the priorities of processing (skipping) objects, introduces additional restrictions not included in the model, runs the model for recalculation (modeling process) until an acceptable option is obtained.

The planning process is characterized by the automated transformation of acceptable results of several models into established forms of presentation of work plans, their approval by the head using an electronic digital signature and distribution to planning participants to control execution.

The process of monitoring the implementation, indicators is a reflection of the results of the monitoring process on the approved plan and established standards for individual operational characteristics of the objects of control. Also, this process is the basis for the process of self-learning of the model, replenishment of the model database, arrays of experience and arrays of successful solutions for subsequent use when using this model.

Indicators reflect the compliance of the controlled parameters (operational characteristics) of the object with the specified ranges of possible values that correspond to the concepts of «good», «acceptable», «bad» (for example), compliance with the norm, non-compliance with the norm. In this case, the concept corresponds to a certain color, shape, font size or other type of highlighting of the graphical display of the indicator to attract human attention. Indicators can be displayed both in the output forms of automated workstations, and on the scoreboard of collective use of dispatch centers.

A set of models that solve specific tasks and serve as the basis for work planning is organized into a hierarchical structure of mutual relations at the levels of management: network, road and linear. The higher level defines the tasks and restrictions for the lower levels to perform. Tasks for the network management level are formed on the basis of strategic indicators determined by the Government of the Russian Federation, the management of JSC «Russian Railways» on the basis of economic and political criteria. The road and linear level is a set of typical complexes of simulation models for tasks of its level. The typical complex of each road interacts horizontally with the corresponding models of neighboring roads, with higher and lower levels.

Modular design of a hierarchical structure is an important condition for the effective application and development of simulation models of technological processes. This will allow development organizations, research institutes and production experts to focus on improving algorithms for specific models with known external relations and interaction regulations.

Designing a hierarchical structure of mutual connections in the form of a crystal lattice seems to be more correct from the point of view of technological use, responsibility of performers and developers, continuity and standardization of methods and algorithms. A polymorphic multi-agent information environment in which individual models and tasks independently rebuild their relationships, despite its advantages and the flexibility of such an approach, is difficult to implement, poorly suited to historically established technologies and methods of railway transport. At the same time, it should be recognized that this method of designing the structure of models is of some scientific interest.

Strategic modeling tasks are solved mainly at the network level, based on statistical information on indicators, accumulated data on failures, technological violations, and capacity limitations on objects. The purpose of such models is to form an action plan and the required capacity parameters to fulfill the specified traffic volumes. When the financial block of the strategic model is connected, the investment plan and cost stages are selected, as well as the economic effect of the implementation of the event is calculated. When solving strategic tasks based on models, Ishikawa diagrams (causal relationships by groups of influence on the target task or problem under consideration), Pareto diagrams (ranking of elements of a number of elements in descending order of influence on the overall result) are widely used.

Automation of the process of identifying correlations and their constant updating is the basis for building a database of strategic models. Currently, research work to identify links is often carried out manually, occasionally after the problem has matured so seriously that it requires immediate large-scale measures and investments, which is difficult to perform in operational conditions and entails additional losses.

The use of strategic models would make it possible to identify problem areas in advance for local measures to eliminate identified «bottlenecks» with a sufficiently rapid operational effect.

Strategic tasks also include the formation of such fundamental regulatory documents as the formation plan, train schedule, technical standards of operational work.

Currently, the development of these documents takes considerable time, requires a large amount of manual labor and costs to bring the results to the performers (printing out schedules, formation plan books, etc.), and the main drawback of modern planning and management practice is the lack of consistency of these documents with each other across the network and with the real structure of transportation.

Tactical and preventive models make it possible to identify the conditions for effective use and the necessary action plan for the implementation of regulatory measures. The regulatory measures are designed to provide the polygons of the network with the necessary resources (empty wagons, locomotives, crews) in a timely manner, to redistribute train flows in order to prevent (minimize the consequences) difficulties in operational work.

Operational simulation models are the most complex, demanding to information resources and data sources, the speed of calculation of modeling options. In operational modeling, there are very often no unambiguous algorithms for solving certain conflict situations, so databases of operational models and databases of successful solutions are used.

The use of simulation models in combination with the new analytical functionality of automated systems and arms, organizational and technological measures will make it possible to organize a single basis-the skeleton of a new innovative transportation management technology. Its basis is a process approach, a clear separation of powers and areas of competence of individual managers, specialists and structural units. It is necessary to ensure rapid decision-making based on the data of operational and preventive indicators in the ARM, identifying problems and offering solutions, and not according to a pile of paper reports for past periods. It is also important that new tasks can be solved much faster and better in the new information technology environment. A scientific and practical school of managers-managers and developers of technologies and software tools should also be formed for their further systematic and systematic development.

2.2 Landfill operational work management in conditions of a freight trains solid schedule

The problem of switching to a fixed schedule of freight trains has been repeatedly discussed in the publications of domestic scientists. In the course of such discussions, several approaches to the development of a solid train schedule were formed, such as a combined variant train schedule (CVTS), a solid schedule based on the turnover schedule of locomotives. Unlike the listed technologies, this chapter binds shipments to specific «threads» of a fixed schedule, which will allow, with the full implementation of a fixed train schedule, to more accurately predict the delivery time of goods, to carry out shift-daily transportation planning.

The proposed technology is based on a discrete forecast formed by a proprietary transportation service system, adjusted and replenished-an application for all upcoming transportation. Such information allows for modeling and detailed calculation of transportation based on a solid schedule. The result of the simulation is the plan of the backgroundthe operation of each loaded car along its entire route from the point of loading to the destination (with which trains the car moves, according to which line of the schedule the train with the car will be sent from the reformation station, when exactly it will arrive at the destination). In addition, according to the transportation plan formed in this way, the number of solid threads between technical (sorting) stations becomes known, according to the volumes of goods declared for transportation.

The tasks solved within the framework of a firm schedule have their own specific solutions in the proposed technology, which is as follows.

1) Specialization of freight train threads in the traffic schedule: since each thread combines specific wagons (with specific loads), the developed optimal plan will contain «threads» of the schedule specialized in directions, types of cargo, delivery speeds.

2) Technological schedule of locomotives turnover: since the simulated plan is designed for a decade, during this period, locomotives and locomotive crews are linked. In the future, the calculation may include the costs of turnover of locomotives and locomotive crews, which may have a significant impact on the formed solid schedule.

3) The movement of freight trains according to the schedule in closed transportation directions. Despite the fact that closed transportation directions can be identified by the results of constructing a solid train schedule, it is recommended to exclude applications of ring routes from the initial data in order to reduce the dimension of the problem and increase the calculation speed.

The complex of information technologies of transportation management can be implemented in the following way. Each client’s request from the AKS FTO system gets to the «information exchange of applications», in parallel with which the «information exchange of serviceable freight cars» operates on the basis of the DISPARK system. With the help of an automatic identification system, their numbers are read from rolling stock units, supplemented with information about the place, time of reading, direction of movement in dynamic arrays of cars of the DISPARK system.

Each application is selected in real time the car that most fully meets the needs of the nomenclature of cargo, the portionality of dispatch, the type of packaging, the possibilities of cargo and warehouse facilities at the points of departure and destination, the mode of transportation, reliability, safety, cost, profitability, etc. On the basis of this information, a shipping model is formed that fits with the wagon a model from the DISPARK system. Next, the dispatch (a car or a group of cars) is tied to the jet of the car traffic and a solid thread of the schedule with the provision of a locomotive and a locomotive crew, necessary personnel and equipment along the entire route.

At the final stage, inconsistencies and possible conflict situations are eliminated, including by transferring certain operations by agreement with the clientele for a time that meets the requirements of railway technology. As a result, technical rationing will move from the balance method to operational planning, when each shipment corresponds to wagons with specific numbers and types, locomotives, crews.

In the process of solving the problem, the entire set of shipments can be divided into subsets:

a) transportation within the polygon in question (local work);

b) transportation from the considered landfill outside (export);

c) transportation from outside to the station of the landfill in question (import);

d) transit transportation.

In addition, shipments differ on the basis of «regularity»: the shipment is one-time or regular, recurring with any frequency during the billing period.

As a criterion of efficiency, a minimum of downtime at technical stations of shipments tied to solid schedule threads is selected. The following conditions serve as a limitation:

1) compliance with the norm of weight and length of trains on each of the considered sections;

2) compliance with the delivery time of realized shipments;

3) compliance with the recommended weights or lengths of trains (the requirement for full-weight/ full-length trains).

These restrictions ensure that shipments in trains of a certain weight and strictly from the departure station to the destination station.

For a real polygon, the formulated task will have a large dimension, and, as a result, its solution will be difficult in the conditions of operational transportation management.

To reduce the dimension of the problem, it is proposed to use the following methods:

1. The most significant effect on the dimension of the problem is the number of stations included in the original graph of the polygon. Therefore, the initial graph should include only stations where loading and unloading is carried out (or stations of departure and destination of shipments); stations where sorting and formation of trains is carried out.

2. The dimension of the problem is also affected by the size of the sampling interval (the interval between two consecutive departure points under consideration). Increasing this interval will significantly reduce the amount of computational work. The value of this interval should be chosen on a case-by-case basis for practical reasons.

3. It is also possible to reduce the dimension by eliminating the consideration of expectations corresponding to the downtime of departure at stations, while waiting for departure with a train, where these downtime is technically impossible or undesirable.

It is proposed to build a real traffic schedule in several stages according to the following scheme. First, the problem is solved for a subset of applications, which includes regular import applications. At the same time, an additional restriction is included in the system of restrictions — a fixed departure time. This is necessary because loading is not actually carried out, and the train is taken to the docking station from a neighboring landfill.

The next stage solves the problem for a subset of applications, which includes «regular» applications for long-distance transportation (export). The result of the solution will be a timetable for trains traveling to the boundaries of the polygon in question. The time of departure of shipments corresponding to these applications from cargo stations will be known. Loading should be completed by this time. Therefore, the next step should be to solve the problem of providing empty wagons to the points of upcoming loading. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account the possibility of adding empty wagons to incomplete trains following the lines of the schedule laid at the previous stages.

In the same way, a schedule is built for regular local applications and the task of ensuring loading by empty wagons is solved. Last of all, a schedule is built for irregular applications.

Such a step-by-step scheme for constructing a solid motion graph makes it possible to significantly reduce the dimension of the linear programming problem.

In addition, it allows, by changing the system of restrictions, to build graphs that meet any additional requirements.

Solving the problem at the initial stage of planning will not give a completely adequate solution: it will contain non-suspended and incomplete composite threads. Ensuring the fullness or fullness of such threads is planned to be carried out on-line due to shipments promptly accepted for transportation and, to a lesser extent, by combining non-suspended and incomplete-composite threads with each other.

To solve the problem of ensuring the fullness and fullness of the solid threads of the graph, it is proposed to use the idea of the dynamic optimization method — reducing the problem of car distribution taking into account the time factor to the linear programming problem.

The task is solved for each destination station. For it, a selection is made from an array of shipments (the shipment must follow to this station) and a selection from an array of non-suspended and incomplete threads (the train at this station must go into disbandment). Each loading station is characterized by a set of loaded wagons (shipments), for which it is indicated: the moment of readiness for departure, the number of wagons, the weight of one wagon (this set of loaded shipments is characterized by one destination station, which was indicated during the selection). At the next stage of the algorithm, incomplete and non-suspended trains are allocated from the resulting calculations of the number of solid threads of the graph, the disbandment of which is provided for at this destination station.

Each departure station of incomplete and non-composite trains is characterized by a set of «free seats», which are described by the following set of parameters: the moment of formation of a non-composite and non-composite train, the difference between the norm of the length of the train and the available number of cars on a non-composite thread, the difference between the norm of the weight of the train and the weight of the available cars on a non-composite thread.

In the problem, the number of wagons that need to be sent from the stations of dislocation of loaded shipments to the stations of formation of incomplete and non-suspended trains is taken as an unknown quantity. However, it is also necessary to take into account the time spent by the wagons at their departure station (waiting time for departure with a solid thread).

The following conditions serve as limitations in this task: the maximum number of wagons of a certain purpose that can be included in trains; the number of wagons (along the length of the train) that can be included in the considered non-suspended or non-fully composite thread; the maximum number of wagons (by weight of the train) that can be included in the considered non-suspended or non-fully composite a thread; restriction on the time of transportation of wagons (arrival of wagons at the station of formation of a solid «thread» no later than a certain moment).

Improving the quality of shift-daily planning in working conditions on a fixed train schedule.

Automation tools at the stage of implementation of a fixed schedule should include the functions of monitoring and accounting for the implementation of the train schedule, ensuring its reliability, and in cases of violation of the schedule, developing optimal measures for its restoration.

The restoration of a solid schedule can be carried out by current planning according to the following methodology.

For each train following fixed lines of the schedule (passenger trains and freight trains following «solid lines»), the «points» of arrival and departure at certain stations of the section are set.

To account for these points, it is necessary to find the following unknown quantities:

1) the amount of overrun relative to the overrun running time of the standard train schedule (or the normalized running time of a particular train), implemented by each train;

2) the time of delay of each train to the corresponding «control point» («point» of the arrival of the train according to the standard schedule) at each station of the direction in question.

When skipping trains and a firm schedule, the following restrictions are added to the restrictions:

1) the amount of overrun must not exceed the maximum allowable for this train on this stage;

2) the departure time of the train should not be less than the time of the «point» of departure for this train at this station.

A term is added to the target function, reflecting the costs of «overtaking» the distance travel time relative to the standard and the delay of trains to the «control points».

To implement the new transportation management system, it is necessary to have information about the upcoming work of each loaded car: with which trains it will move, where (if necessary) the train will be disbanded, according to which line of the schedule the car will be sent from the formation station when it arrives at its destination.

The preparation of a solid schedule for the movement of freight trains is preceded by the performance of work to determine their required number per day for each selected direction. The number of solid threads of the schedule is evenly distributed over the time of day in the intervals between passenger trains. The train schedule is linked to the schedule of local work, ensuring the fulfillment of contractual obligations to the sender and recipient of goods in terms of the delivery and cleaning of wagons at a convenient time for customers.

It is crucial to create the necessary conditions for the work of locomotive crews to comply with a firm schedule of freight trains, drawn up for the actual size of the movement, taking into account the calculated norms of time for the change of crews.

The best conditions for the use of locomotives are created when the sections of their handling coincide with the borders of railway directions that are multiples in length of the sections of freight train service by locomotive crews. If freight trains will follow the solid lines of the schedule only within the control areas, then it will still be impossible to say which train and which line of the schedule will get a particular car after the formation of the composition at the next marshalling yard.