Train path

As a regularly scheduled train path allocation sequence of sections of track is designated by a train in railway operations. Will guide you from a starting to a target operating point (usually starting and destination station). It is the basic unit in the timetable planning a schedule is constructed.

Description

Through the path is defined in time and space exactly which Zugfolgeabschnitt may be at what time occupied by a particular train. A section may be done with reference to the rule of no more than one train at the same time to complete, and these so-called blocking time in addition to occupancy of the portion as preliminary and trailing time elements (for example, switching from turnouts, for pioneering Announce signals and for the complete evacuation of the section ) are taken into account.

Forms of representation

Dominated in the timetable construction, the representation of the route in time -way lines as so-called train graph, it is usually communicated to the train drivers in the form of a Buchfahrplan simplified and amended representation in text form.

Path capacity

The maximum number of possible train paths in a section ( line capacity ) depends on many factors. These include, among others:

Award

Train paths are of a railway undertakings (RUs ) in a railway infrastructure company (EIU, mostly DB Netz in Germany ) ordered. The EIU designed the route in the days road structure and sells them to the RU. In rail network of Deutsche Bahn train paths are thereby classified according to the pricing system.

The desired from the RU departures and arrival times may vary due to competing lines of other utilities. The RU may also reject the route with larger deviations. After EIBV, EU directives and AEG access to the network ( path allocation ) must be non-discriminatory.

Stability

The delay susceptibility of a schedule depends crucially on how well the corresponding train paths reality. Especially in densely populated routes involve constructed with only minor buffer times routes a high risk of delays. So it was, for example, through 2002 provide that the NRW - Express was overtaken by a delayed long-distance train. On the basis of this overhaul, the RE dropped at the next node from its train path and punctual trains had to give priority, which often led to late arrivals of 30 minutes and more.