Assess performance of train services (timetable) over a prescribed period of time addressing infrastructure and train reliability, maintenance and logistics strategy and operation strategy.

TRAIL is a life-cycle simulator designed specifically for the railway industry. TRAIL uses discrete event technology to represent the life cycle operation of railway infrastructure systems.

A TRAIL simulation requires the items of infrastructure to be divided into sections. Each section is generally defined as a continuous piece of track with no interchanges, or a set of points or switched diamonds. Each section is described in terms of its components and their failure and repair characteristics.

Each train journey must be defined within the simulation; this involves detailing the:

• Routes in terms of their connecting sections and time to traverse each section.

• Timetable for all journeys, in addition penalties for delays are described. Allowance can be made for different penalty levels at different times of the day.

• Any alternative paths available in the event of failure must be detailed.

TRAIL can apply fiscal rules to determine revenue, punitive charges and operating costs. Losses in performance are equated to equipment failure (including maintenance response). This allows bottlenecks to be identified and quantified, and provides a basis for evaluating design, maintenance and operating changes, with a view to optimising overall business performance.

Infrastructure details are held in a simulation model along with a proposed timetable of services. TRAIL can handle timetables up to 1 year and a model can contain an unlimited amount of infrastructure detail (it is possible to model any rail network in its entirety). Typical model details comprise equipment failure and repair distributions; maintenance resources, logistics and their constraints; fault consequences (slowdowns/stoppages) etc. Most of this data is sourced from existing reliability databases.