began a few years ago as a research project at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. The aim of the project, Object-Oriented Modeling in Railways, was to develop a userfriendly tool to answer questions about railway operations by simulation. Figure 1 shows how the simulation tool works. Predefined trains run on a railway network according to the timetable. During the simulation, calculates train movements under the constraints of the timetable and the signaling system. After a simulation run, Open- Track can analyze and display the resulting data in the form of diagrams, train graphs, occupation diagrams and statistics. Input Simulation Output Rolling stock Interactivity / Disturbances Diagrams Infrastructure Train graphs Occupations Timetable Animation Statistics Figure 1: The modules of the simulation
2 Rolling stock data stores each locomotive s technical characteristics, including tractive effort/speed diagrams, load, length, and adhesion factor. A database organizes locomotives into groups called depots. A simulated train consists of one or more locomotives from a depot together with a number of passenger or freight cars (carriages or wagons). Another database can store the simulated train. Network data describes a railway network in special graphs called double vertex graphs. A user can edit the network s topology graphically. Every element of the graph holds various attributes. An edge, for example, holds a track section s length, gradient, maximum speed for different train categories and much more. A user can create and manage objects for edges and vertices, and also signals, switches, stations and routes. Figure 2 shows an example for a station. Project Olten FR10000 RE10003. 355 354 353 IC200 08 352 351 Olten 569 Olten.opentrack Figure 2: Layout of a station Timetable data The timetable database stores information for each train at each station, including arrival and departure times, minimal stop time, and connections to other trains.
3 Simulation During a simulation, trains try to obey the given timetable. The differential equations for speed and distance are the basis for calculating a train s movement. The signaling system of the railway network poses constraints. Occupied tracks and restrictive signal aspects may impede a train s progress. During the simulation, every train continuously stores its speed, acceleration, position, power consumption and other data. This data can be evaluated after the simulation as shown in Figures 3 to 7. The user can watch the simulation in an animation mode, which shows the trains running and lets the user analyze occupied tracks, reserved tracks and signal aspects. TH GW SP REIK WEN FR FRSP FRD 10.00 10.00 44153 1824 4737 53045.10.10 53836 826 94038 44038 STGE VI 36 831 1942 BR 53837 1822 51342 SGAA 3945 53944 IS 51439 43946 VAR MOGN 43835 PRE DO 44148 53025 DOII 43855.20.20 833.30.30 940.40.40 53857.50.50 1826 11.00 11.00 44063.10.10 43065 941 4748 4747 951 43045 43834 1825.20.20 2133 51349 1941 37 44043 2144 1952 2154 4921 4924 1827 9653 4923 832 3846 51452 43854 53856 44058 835.30.30 950.40.40 53065.50.50 1828 4758 12.00 12.00 2143 51459 830 1951 4926 1829 3965 9664 38 51362 53964 43966 44168 Figure 3: Train graph (train diagram)
4 Output data After a simulation, offers output data in a number of forms. Evaluations of a train, line or station are possible. For a train, offers diagrams such as acceleration vs. distance, speed vs. distance (Figure 4), and obstructions. For a line, there are evaluations in the form of diagrams of train movements (Figure 3), track occupation (Figure 5) and line profiles. Every station produces output about all the trains that used it, including arrival, stopping and departure times. The user can view output data in either a diagram or an Excel table, or export it as a readable ASCII table. [km/h] 150 140 130 120 110 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 0 10 20 [km] Station Z Station Y Stop Q Station P Station V Figure 4: Speed/distance diagram LZ Track 2 LZ Track 3 LZ Track E4 LZ Track E6 22001 22003 22005 22007 22009 22011 3551 3553 3555 3557 3559 3561 2300 2301 2303 2305 2307 2309 2311 2313 2315 2317 2319 2321 2323 2502 2504 2506 2508 2510 2512 LZ Track E7 LAB2150 LAB2151 21602 LAB667 667 LAN667 2150 21603 21604 2151 LAN2150 LAN2151 LAB670 LAB671 LAB2154 670 21605 21606 671 2154 21607 LAN670 LAN671 LAN2154 LAB2155 21608 2155 LAN2155 LAB674 LAB675 674 21609 LAN674 21610 675 LAN675 LAB2158 LAB2159 2158 21611 21612 2159 LAN2158 LAN2159 LAB678 678 21613 LAN678 LZ Track E8 LZ Track 9 LZ Track 10 LZ Track 11 21202 21103 21204 21107 21206 21111 21208 21115 21210 21119 21212 21123 22100 22101 22103 22104 22105 22106 22107 22108 22109 22110 22111 21100 21201 21101 21203 21203 21105 21205 21205 21109 21207 21207 21113 21209 21209 21117 21211 21211 21121 22301 22351 22303 22353 22305 22355 22307 22357 22309 22359 22311 22361 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 Figure 5: Occupation of selected platform tracks
5 [s] 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 IC4005 IC4003 IC4005 IC4003 IC4005 IC4003 IC4001 IC4001 IC4001 IC4007 FR35001 IC4007 FR35000 FR35001 FR35001 RE10001 RE10003 STATU STATU Figure 6: Delay statistics Figure 7: All outputs can be viewed in Excel The application The application is avaliable for the following operating systems: Windows (2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8) and Mac OS X. The application is available in two versions. The full version of offers an unlimited number of running trains per simulation. The limit of the Light version is two trains per simulation. Figure 8 shows an example of the application during a simulation run. animates the running trains on the screen.
6 Figure 8: Screenshot ( for Windows XP) For more information For more information, please contact: Railway Technology Ltd. Gubelstr. 28 CH - 8050 Zurich Switzerland Phone: + 41-44- 310 19 90 Fax: + 41-86- 044 310 19 90 E-mail: info@opentrack.ch WWW: http://www.opentrack.ch