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Train Dispatching Strategies

Background

This application explores the effect of dynamic dispatching strategies and new rail technology across demand scenarios. For this application, ALTRIOS simulated the centrally controlled single-vehicle battery electric technology proposed by Parallel Systems, referred to in this application as Self-Propelled Autonomous Railcars (SPARCs), and compared it to conventional systems. Given an hourly demand distribution for intermodal containers (uniformly spaced or time-varying) and an overall number of containers to move per week, ALTRIOS simulates multi-train operations and estimates resulting energy use, emissions, container processing times, and number of containers waiting for dispatch at each terminal.

700

Route Comparison

Route Port of Long Beach to Barstow, CA Port of Savannah to Cordele, GA
Distance 162 miles 160 miles
Max elevation 3775 feet 455 feet
Min elevation 25 feet 15 feet
Ruling Grade 2.2% 1.99%
Assumed battery capacity of SPARC 375 kWh 300 kWh

Train Configuration Comparison

Train Configuration Conventional Self-Propelled Autonomous Railcars (SPARCs)
Container loading Double-stacked Single-stacked
Target containers per train 200 Between 20–50 depending on container demand

Other Notes

Note: All results are shown for the "inbound" direction of travel (i.e. from the port inland).

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