Implementation of a rapid metro system utilizing the existing infrastructures and high-performance trains

초록

The demand for rapid metro systems has been increasing steadily because of the continuous need to increase the scheduled speed of trains. However, some metro routes currently operating in South Korea were built a long time ago, without considering the requirements of a rapid metro system. In a general rapid metro system, additional sidetracks are required to avoid possible collisions between express and local trains. However, due to the high cost of new sidetrack construction on existing metro lines, an effective method for the implementation of a rapid metro system in terms of construction cost and operation time is essential. A new concept for rapid metro system operation is thus proposed by modifying existing Y-branch lines and utilizing high-performance trains as local trains and the existing trains as express trains. The high-performance train provides improved acceleration and deceleration, as well as wider doors to reduce boarding and alighting time. The sum of the acceleration and deceleration of the high-performance local train is then minimized according to the constraints of the minimum time gap between express and local trains and the need to enhance the scheduled speed of all trains. Finally, the optimization results are applied to a simulation of Seoul Metro line no. 5 as a case study. The results show that the use of express and local trains in the proposed rapid metro system achieves operation times reductions of 25.6% and 10%, respectively, compared to the present metro system.

키워드