Strategic timetable

A first phase of the transportation plan design process starts very early: Y-10 of the day the train is to run and aims to propose several traffic scenarios on existing or prospective rail infrastructure. In this phase, SNCF Réseau, the French railway infrastructure manager and responsible for the allocation and sale of train paths, collects requests from OA (Organizing Authorities) and RC (Railway Companies) in terms of mobility. The requests will be transmitted in the form of service plans. A service plan is a way of representing the requested trains, their route and the stops to be served.

The OSRD Strategic Schedules product has been designed to build an operating plan from the service diagrams, based on rail infrastructure modeling, running calculation and simulation. Building an operating plan means scheduling the trains presented on the service diagrams in a way that best meets the mobility needs. The OSRD tool provides a database with a micro-model of the French railway infrastructure as well as the rolling stock already in use in France. Moreover, an interface to modify the existing infrastructure or to design a new part of the infrastructure is proposed. The output products of the “OSRD Strategic Schedules” process are timetables where the train schedules are displayed. A graphical representation of the timetables is thus proposed.

A comprehensive and strategic view of the timetable planning is crucial to improve rail performance. The ultimate goal is to meet mobility needs by optimizing line capacity utilization, station track occupancy and material turnover. To meet this optimization requirement, we are working to implement mathematical modeling and resolution modules coupled with the simulator.