The Optimisation of Driving Speed Profiles for Minimising Energy Consumptions in Metro Lines

In this paper, we propose a model for the optimisation of driving speed profiles on metro lines, to reduce overall energy consumption. The proposed model optimises the maximum speed to be maintained on each section between two stations; the functions that link this maximum speed to the travel time on the section and the corresponding energy consumption are built using a microscopic railway simulation software. The results obtained are promising and show how it is possible to achieve traction energy savings of over 25% compared to non-optimised operations.