Optimal rail route energy management under constraints and fixed arrival time

The problem of energy-optimal control for rail vehicles under constraints and fixed arrival time is considered. The nonlinear train model with quadratic overall resistance force is approximated with a piecewise affine model. The optimal control law - train traction/braking force as a function of train speed and traversed path - is pre-computed off-line with the dynamic programming procedure. The optimal controller performance is verified in simulations.