Research on Signaling System of City (Suburban) Railway Cross-line Operation to Intercity Railway

Abstract

Objective City (suburban) railways are a weak link in the four-network integrated development of rail transit system in China. There is currently no unified understanding regarding their functional positioning and passenger flow demands. This lack of consensus leads to difficulties and issues in selecting formats for city (suburban) railway signaling system, calling for in-depth research. Method By elucidating the integration and operation requirements of city (suburban) railways in a multi-level rail transit system, the problems existing in operation management and equipment type selection are analyzed. Using the Wuxi-Yixing Intercity Rail Transit project as a study case, the characteristics of China Railway CTCS-2 (China Train Control System level 2)+ATO (automatic train operation) system and the urban rail CBTC (communication-based train control) system are compared. The adaptability of these systems in city (suburban) railways is analyzed. Based on the demand for cross-line operation with Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou intercity railways, the signaling system design scheme for Wuxi-Yixing Intercity Rail Transit is investigated. Result & Conclusion The signaling system scheme based on CBTC system, with compatibility for CTCS-2+ATO system is suitable for the case line. This scheme ensures the city (suburban) railways capabilities for mass-transit type operation and a high level of automation, but also meeting the compatibility requirements for the signaling system when trains operating across lines to national railways.

Keywords

• city (suburban) railway
• signaling system
• operation requirement
• cross-line operation
• mass-transit type operation