ZLR Running time calculator and Toolbox
SMA has developed the ZLR running time calculator (“ZugLaufRechnung” in German) service as an enterprise level solution for train performance calculations. Determining technical running times is a core task in railway operations and service planning. It is vital for the production and delivery of effective timetables as well as optimised operations.
A companion application, the ZLR Toolbox has been developed allowing detail design analysis of signalling design and rolling stock performance to be modelled. This highly technical challenge is vital for the safe implementation of signalling systems and the assessment of rolling stock.
ZLR
The ZLR running-time calculation system is different from all other running time calculators on the market today because it has been designed as a consistent service provider that can be integrated platform independently for all traffic management and timetabling systems, and it is fully scalable to provide calculation power for real-time predictions. Originally deployed for traffic management and timetable planning in Switzerland, the ZLR service is also used by the traffic-management system in Belgium.
The ZLR is developed using the high performance and cross platform .NET Core technological framework allowing an optimal fit with the user's IT infrastructure configuration.
ZLR takes rail-industry standard information formatted using XML and calculates all of the data needed to make accurate predictions of where each train will be. At the simplest level, this can be the calculation of the technical running times that will be used in a future timetable. However, when it is integrated with a Traffic Management System (TMS) the real potential of such a system can be realised.
The use of ZLR within a TMS allows the data to be constantly updated and highly accurate delay and conflict forecasts to be made on the basis of the actual performance of the train. As the data changes (for example the train is slowed by a restrictive signal aspect, or it is re-platformed because of another service) the running time can be instantly recalculated, and the traffic plan amended.
In addition to technical running times, ZLR can provide train paths that emulate different driving modes such as realistic, energy optimised and driving profiles where the driver only sees green signals. The last one is used in energy saving modules of traffic management systems.
ZLR toolbox
Based on the ZLR running-time calculation service, the ZLR Toolbox allows the analysis and optimisation of driving dynamics. The three main fields of application of the ZLR Toolbox are:
Signal planning
- Capacity maximisation by optimising signal positions for given train speeds and vice versa
- Planning of temporary speed restrictions and analysis of their impacts
- Planning of ETCS line sections
Infrastructure analysis
- Calculation of the maximal speeds for given infrastructure properties
- Identification of critical infrastructure limitations
Running time calculation
- Visualisation and comparison of running time calculations
- Calculation of separation times between trains
The ZLR Toolbox can be integrated with existing sources of microscopic infrastructure data. For study cases, it allows full manipulation of infrastructure data through its user interface without affecting the source data. Rolling stock information is either used in its original format or transferred to a proprietary database solution supplied with the Toolbox. Train paths can be built within the Toolbox or supplied from external systems.