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Highlights • We study high-speed rail travelers' train choices for revenue management purposes using online booking data. • A new metric for quantifying a transport product's attractiveness is proposed incorporating booking lead time. • We apply two nonparametric machine learning methods requiring no utility maximization assumption. • Performances of SVR and ANN are comparable, and both methods clearly outperform the benchmark method. • Choice preferences of travelers in the Shanghai-Beijing rail market in China are revealed for the first time. Abstract This study explores two nonparametric machine learning methods, namely support vector regression (SVR) and artificial neural networks (ANN), for understanding and predicting high-speed rail (HSR) travelers' choices of ticket purchase timings, train types, and travel classes, using ticket sales data. In the train choice literature, discrete choice analysis is the predominant approach and many variants of logit models have been developed. Alternatively, emerging travel choice studies adopt non-utility-based methods, especially nonparametric machine learning methods including SVR and ANN, because (1) those methods do not rely on assumptions on the relations between choices and explanatory variables or any prior knowledge of the underlying relations; (2) they have superb capabilities of iteratively identifying patterns and extracting rules from data. This paper thus contributes to the HSR train choice literature by applying and comparing SVR and ANN with a real-world case study of the Shanghai-Beijing HSR market in China. A new normalized metric capturing both the load factor and the booking lead time is proposed as the target variable and several train service attributes, such as day of week, departure time, travel time, fare, are identified as input variables. Computational results demonstrate that both SVR and ANN can predict the train choice behavior with high accuracy, outperforming the linear regression approach. Potential applications of this study, such as rail pricing reform, have also been identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • We propose an effective way of managing reliever gateways when catastrophe occurs. • We deal with the case where the airports are connected by the high speed rail. • The fare restriction of HSR is needed to regain sufficient passenger flow. • The fare support is effective to regain the passenger flow using reliever gateways. Abstract On the basis of model analysis, this study proposes an effective method for managing reliever gateway airports when the main gateway airport is completely dysfunctional owing to a catastrophe. In particular, we deal with the case where the main and reliever airports are connected by high-speed rail (HSR), and we discuss a desirable and effective support policy for regaining passenger flow from/to the affected area. First, we analyze the market behavior under the usual condition as the base case by adopting the bi-level model, which is a supply-demand interaction model. Second, under the supposition of a catastrophe, we set up some scenarios of management policies, i.e. (i) no special policy and (ii) providing support to HSR passengers to induce them to the reliever gateways. Through such scenario analyses, we show that (i) HSR fare restriction is required to regain sufficient passenger flow and (ii) providing fare support to HSR passengers is an effective way to regain passenger flow using reliever gateways, which can contribute toward building a robust air transport network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper quantifies the substitution and complementary effects of high-speed rail (HSR) on air travel demand in terms of both route traffic and airport enplanement. Employing the difference-in-differences (DID) method, the first part of the analysis measures the effect of new HSR routes on parallel air route traffic with a focus on East Asian regions (Mainland China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan). The second part examines the effect of air-HSR integration on passenger enplanement at East Asian airports and compares with that in the Central European market. We find that in general the airport's access cost (reflected by the distance from central city) has a negative impact on the air traffic. The substitution effects of HSR are the most significant on short- and medium-haul (below 1000 km) air routes while introducing HSR services has encouraged long distance (over 1000 km) air travels in Mainland China. The complementary effect is investigated in the context of air-HSR integration, which has significantly positive impacts on airport enplanement at primary hub airports when fitted with on-site HSR links. The benefit is limited at secondary hubs and regional airports possibly by locations and HSR service frequencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of high-speed rail (HSR) networks is leading to a very complex situation in terms of network configuration and the variety of services. This new panorama presents very different feasible connections between city-pairs, multiplying the possibilities of travelling. This paper evaluates the characteristics of all city-pairs served by HSR in Spain through a clustering analysis, with the goal of deriving an HSR city-pair link typology. This assessment offers a new perspective on the HSR network as a multi-role system encompassing eight types of links with very different characteristics. Identifying these types of HSR links will be a useful transport-planning tool for emerging HSR networks to anticipate the different kinds of links they will encompass and for future HSR cities to foresee the possibility of benefiting from one or another type of link and adapting their policies and strategies according to their potential services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eco-driving is a traffic operation measure that may lead to important energy savings in high speed railway systems. Eco-driving optimization has been applied offline in the design of commercial services. However, the benefits of the efficient driving can also be applied on-line in the regulation stage to recover train delays or in general, to adapt the driving to the changing conditions in the line. In this paper the train regulation problem is stated as a dynamic multi-objective optimization model to take advantage in real time of accurate results provided by detailed train simulation. If the simulation model is realistic, the railway operator will be confident on the fulfillment of punctuality requirements. The aim of the optimization model is to find the Pareto front of the possible speed profiles and update it during the train travel. It continuously calculates a set of optimal speed profiles and, when necessary, one of them is used to substitute the nominal driving. The new speed profile is energy efficient under the changing conditions of the problem. The dynamic multi-objective optimization algorithms DNSGA-II and DMOPSO combined with a detailed simulation model are applied to solve this problem. The performance of the dynamic algorithms has been analyzed in a case study using real data from a Spanish high speed line. The results show that dynamic algorithms are faster tracking the Pareto front changes than their static versions. In addition, the chosen algorithms have been compared with the typical delay recovery strategy of drivers showing that DMOPSO provides 7.8% of energy savings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the analysis of site monitoring results from a high-speed railway tunnel excavated in shallowly buried soft ground with irregular surface topography using the cross diaphragm method. The surface and subsurface settlements, the normal pressures between surrounding ground and primary lining and between primary and secondary linings were systematically monitored at three tunnel cross sections. The specific surface settlement characteristics associated with tunnelling under irregular surface topography conditions in comparison to those under horizontal surface conditions are illustrated. The “rebound” phenomenon of a relative settlement curve from the intermediate anchor to the top of the access tube is observed, which can be introduced to determine the stability of a tunnel project during construction. The normal pressures measured between the soft ground and the primary lining show close agreement with the theoretical analysis results. The normal pressures measured between the primary lining and the secondary lining should be used before the influences of cell installation effects and other related factors have been considered. But the pressure measurements can still provide valuable information of a tunnel project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of a nation-wide high-speed rail (HSR) network has emerged as a hugely expensive and ambitious infrastructure project in China. As of December 2012, some 8,800 kilometers (km) of double-track HSR lines came into service in the country, accounting for 40% of the total HSR length in the world. The network is expected to expand to 34,000 km or longer in around two decades. As the first HSR system specially built and operated in an economically developing country, it helps integrate the sprawling economy and lift the quality of life of the increasing urban population. China's experiences in HSR are expected to be of value to other countries aiming to adopt bullet train systems, especially those at a similar level of industrialization and urbanization. This work specifically examines material stocks and flows associated with the HSR infrastructure construction in China. A major distinction from the construction of HSR tracks in Europe is that nearly 70% of the HSR tracks in China are laid upon bridges or inside tunnels, which are structures that demand great amounts of raw materials. The entire network, once completed by 2030, will cumulatively require 83 to 137 million tonnes (Mt) of steel and 560 to 920 Mt of cement. This is still a small share of China's use of material resources. Nonetheless, the massive application of the steel- and cement-intensive structures deserves consideration when assessing the environmental performance of HSR over its entire life cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Slipstream wake structures generated by the passing of high-speed rail vehicles represent a hazard to passengers and workers in close proximity. In this article, the possibility of reducing peak slipstream velocities through the implementation of angled fins or swirling flow injection is assessed on the basis of improved delayed detached eddy simulations (IDDES). The key to improving slipstream velocities involves redirecting and/or reducing the internal energy, a pair of meandering counter-rotating vortex cores that are associated with large wake slipstream deviations. It is demonstrated that the danger imposed by slipstream wake structures, as measured by the induced velocity measures recorded at a series of test points adjacent to the passing train, could be significantly reduced, with decreases from 10% up to 23%, recorded across a range of sampling locations. The means by which these reductions are generated and the corresponding changes in the flow are also explored through analysis of the modified wakes. As such, these devices show promise at improving the operational safety of high-speed rail vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rail transportation has experienced a rebirth in the last few decades, and a very large investment will certainly be made in new railway lines in the years to come--especially in high-speed rail lines. The success of such investment is heavily dependent on rail ridership, which in turn is dependent on the location of railway stations. In this paper, we present a mixed-integer optimization model that determines the optimal location (and number) of stations along a railway line that will be introduced over an existing transportation network. The stations are chosen within a set of possible locations defined a priori according to the objective of maximizing travel cost savings. The model takes into account the sensitivity of rail ridership to time losses because of stops at intermediate stations, as well as (static) competition from other modes. The practical usefulness of the model is illustrated with a case study involving a high-speed rail line expected to be built in Portugal in the future: the Lisbon-Porto line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method is presented for global optimization of a dispatch plan assuming perfect information over a given time horizon. An example problem is solved for the North American case of a single dominant high-speed train sharing a network with a majority low of slower trains. Initial dispatch priority and speed changes to selected trains consume network capacity, but incremental speed increases of these trains, combined with appropriate dispatch strategies, are beneficial to the network as a whole. Further, specific siding enhancements demonstrate measureable improvements in network low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the impact on local communities of the shinkansen high-speed railway in Japan. Established in 1964 as a route between Tokyo and Osaka, the shinkansen has evolved over a 40-year period into a nationwide network of rapid rail service. Moreover, it has become a symbol of development in Japan, a reflection of changes in transportation, and an augury of change. The author examines both favorable and adverse changes that have accompanied the shinkansen, with a special emphasis on its operations in Hokuriku and Kyūshū.

The external shape of a high-speed train nose is usually designed according to the aerodynamic considerations and to minimise the drag forces and noises. Crashworthiness of the nose is another aspect that is important from the passive-safety point of view. To improve the crashworthiness characteristics, usually there are not many options for changing the external shape of a high-speed train nose; therefore, a systematic study has been conducted to examine possible strategies in order to design crashworthy external and internal structures for a high-speed train nose. It is observed that the longer and slender noses show better crashworthiness characteristics. In addition, various multi-layer noses are studied, and the best internal-layer geometry is proposed. At the last step the effects of foam usage in different spaces between internal and external layers of the nose are shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional electric trains have a low power factor, high loading variation change and inefficiency, generating both negative sequence current and the imaginary part of positive sequence current. Delta type Load Balancer associated with specially connected transformers is generally adopted to correct power factor and voltage imbalance. However, the modern trains used in High Speed Railway (HSR) have a power factor approximately close to unity, and therefore only need voltage imbalance correction. This study presents novel Load Balancer schemes, which are a modification of the Delta-type Load Balancer, with various connected transformers to correct imbalance. The symmetric component method is also adopted to determine the installation capacity of the proposed Load Balancer schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modern high-speed train, developed in Japan from 1964, spread widely in Europe from the end of the 1970s. It has taken different forms in various European countries, reflecting different national approaches but also the realities of different national geographies, which make integration into a single European network difficult. Nonetheless such a network will be virtually complete in the urban core of North West Europe, as well as France, Spain and Italy, by 2009 and more widely across Europe about a decade later. The spatial impacts of the new lines will be complex. They will favour the large central cities they connect, especially their urban cores, and this may threaten the position of more peripheral cities. Within large metropolitan areas they will favour zones close to traditional central stations, but interesting possibilities exist for edge-city locations which may assist local urban regeneration. The UK's Thames Gateway is the most ambitious attempt in the world to achieve this on a sub-regional scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper reports on research to determine the impact of the high-speed train (HST) network made possible by the Channel Tunnel on socio-economic development in South East England. A detailed literature review has been carried out assessing the impacts of HST, which includes reviewing computable general equilibrium models, accessibility and ex-post monitoring studies. Data on economic activity rates, population changes, planning consents and land values are collated and related to changes in accessibility. Detailed case studies are provided for one location with long established HST services for which ex-post analysis is possible (Ashford), and for locations where HST services are being planned, or have recently been opened, and ex-ante analysis can be undertaken (e.g. Stratford and St Pancras, respectively). The case studies show that the wider economic benefits of HST are difficult to detect, as they are swamped by external factors, but they are more likely when large changes in accessibility are complemented by supportive planning policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the strain rate effect of energy absorption members in rolling stock is studied using the virtual testing model (VTM) for Korean high speed train (KHST). The VTM of KHST was simulated for two different strain rate conditions. The VTM is composed of FE models for structures, and nonlinear spring/damper models for dynamic components. To simplify numerical model for the full rake KHST, the first three units consist of full flexible multi-body dynamic models, and the remainder does 1-D spring/damper/mass models. To evaluate the strain rate effect of KHST, the crash simulation was performed under the accident scenario for a collision with a rigid mass of 15 tons at 110kph. The numerical results show that the overall crash response of the train is not largely affected as much as expected, but individual components have some different deformations according to strain rate. The deformation of the front end structure without strain rate effect is larger than that with it. However, the deformation of the rear end structure without strain rate effect is smaller than that with it. Finally, the intrusion of the driver's cabin is overestimated for no strain rate effect when compared to the case with it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses how the application of high-speed rail transit will serve as an attractive transportation alternative. It argues that despite the challenges in managing high-speed rail transit, the political will and growing public-private partnerships are fueling improvements in rail transit to better serve commuters. Advantages of high-speed transit are discussed, notably its environmental benefits. The economics behind high-speed rail system and the role of feasibility research and public-private partnership in the development of high-speed rail system are also discussed.

The scheduling of vehicle movement activities is an important component in highspeed railway transit operations planning process. This paper presents a mathematical programming approach to vehicle routing for the Pennsylvania Transrapid Maglev Train System. A mathematical model of the routing procedure is first derived. Based on this model, the vehicle routing problem is formulated into a constrained optimization problem, in which the train miles travelled are maximized subject to various operational and safety requirements. This large scale non-linear optimization problem is then solved by a genetic algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the introduction of a high speed rail (HSR) provides passengers with another more environmentally friendly, convenient, and time-saving transport option, it also disrupts the existing passenger transport market. This study adopts time series analysis to model the dynamic competition in a regional passenger transport market when an HSR is introduced. The analyses include examining the long-run equilibrium and causal relationships, and the short-run causality and dynamic relationships between transport modes. In addition, based on the model we conduct impulse response tests and variance decomposition tests to further interpret the interactions between two transport modes. An empirical study is carried out, and the findings indicate that the HSR has a negative impact on conventional rail and air transport in the long-run. In the short-run dynamics, the air passenger transport volume could be regarded as a good predictor of HSR passenger volume. In turn, the HSR passenger volume could be used to predict conventional rail transport volume. The operations of HSR and conventional rail are complementary in the short term. From the short-run market viewpoint, the HSR and conventional rail meet different kinds of passenger demand. Therefore, a previous increased passenger volume for the HSR implies an overall increasing demand for regional transport. Consequently, the past increased HSR passenger volume could be used to predict the growth of conventional rail transport. Through the impulse response test, we can further track the responses of the three transport modes to the shocks from themselves and each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the concept of dynamic active sensing and its possible use on a high-speed bullet train. It elaborates on the utility of high-speed vision in detecting tiny vibrations and cracks in a tunnel as a result of the piston effect of a bullet train's entry. The author believes that the development of high-speed vision at the level of 100,000 to 1,000,000 frames per second will be beneficial to many other applications such as ultra-high-speed parts-inspection equipment.

The article reports on the quantification of aeroacoustic and rolling noise sources emitted by high-speed trains in Great Britain. Various studies investigating on these issues include DEUFRANKO Annex K, K2 and NOEMIE projects focuses on the acoustic emission of different rolling stock traveling at 250, 300 and 320 kilometer per hour. These projects presents detailed analysis of their findings as well as complementary measurements.