We believe our capability in this area is unique and the most comprehensive and accurate available in the market. Using our proprietary software TRAIL and our skilled railway consultants, we can offer the most comprehensive assessment of the operational performance of any railway and identify and test improvement options at any project stage.
TRAIL
(Track/Train Reliability Availability Infrastructure Logistics) is a life-cycle simulator designed specifically for the railway. Infrastructure and operational failures are simulated with an accurate, fully pathed timetable and the impact on services and delay minutes is considered. This produces a detailed picture of the performance of the railway.
Approach
A TRAIL model contains details of the infrastructure layout and reliability, timetable, rolling stock and maintenance for the system being considered. TRAIL simulates all rail traffic over a prescribed period of time and predicts the overall performance of each service and the railway as a whole. Losses in performance are equated to equipment failure. This allows the main contributors to delays to be identified and quantified and provides a basis for evaluating design, maintenance and operating changes, with a view to optimising overall business performance.
TRAIL model
Within a TRAIL model it is possible to simulate:
• Equipment reliability
• Timetable and journey performance
• Equipment maintenance
• High level maintenance logistics
• Rolling stock performance
• Operating strategies
Benefits
• Carry out “What-If?” analysis
• Realistic analysis of future trends in performance
• Identify critical and poorly performing assets
• Forms part of the decision making process for infrastructure upgrades, timetable changes and operational initiatives
• Measure punctuality performance and delay minutes
• Carry out internal benchmarking
• Allows informed and reasoned judgement
Example outputs
A punctuality performance graph or S-Curve can be produced which shows the cumulative percentage of services arriving within one minute bands between -30 minutes and 60 minutes. The graph can show both delay and lateness where lateness incorporates engineering and pathing allowance. This is used to assess punctuality performance targets.
The top causes of average delay minutes per annum can be obtained. The equipment delays can also be categorised by type (eg, points, signal, and permanent way), by responsibility category (rail infrastructure owner or train operating company) and by whether they are technical or operational. This allows the most critical causes of delay to be identified.
Our experience
TRAIL has been used to support decision making on numerous projects over the last 10 years, including Thameslink, East London Line, Crossrail, West Coast Mainline, Wessex and West Anglia. It has been used to model London Underground lines including the Metropolitan Line and Northern Line and has recently been successfully piloted in Sydney, Australia by RailCorp.
Contact us to find out more about TRAIL.