Improved railway service by shared traffic information

Many different actors have to collaborate in order to guarantee efficient railway traffic that is safe, on time, comfortable, eco-friendly and economic. Appropriate planning is necessary: The transport company has to provide rolling stock and personnel, the traffic controllers have to solve perturbations proficiently, and the train drivers have to drive in a way, as far as the traffic plan allows, that saves energy and reduces wearing on rolling stock and infrastructure. In order to find a globally optimal solution, all actors need optimal access to information on the current traffic situation. In reality, the situation in European railway traffic is far from optimal: The traffic controllers have limited or delayed knowledge about perturbations and disruptions occurring at tracks, trains, or platforms, while train drivers often have limited or outdated information about the actual traffic plan and the surrounding traffic situation. Information exchange can only happen via telephone. There is a clear need for systems allowing efficient information exchange. We have developed a completely new strategy for train traffic control that focuses on continuous re-planning. This strategy is implemented and evaluated in Sweden. The new system allows sharing the updated traffic plan automatically and it is even connected to a driver advisory system. Combined, these systems clearly improve information exchange between train drivers and traffic controllers. Both systems are designed according to the identified needs of professional traffic controllers and train drivers. This paper presents the problem of insufficient information exchange and our findings in form of design concepts for systems supporting collaboration between train drivers and traffic control.