Modeling and Verification of Train Operation in Stations and Block Sections Using Petri Nets

The feasibility of train operation plans is an important issue in the field of railway transportation. The train operation plan provides departure, arrival and passing time of the train at each station. This paper not only studies the feasibility of train operation plans, but also considers dispatching operations in stations. Based on a given track layout including stations and block sections, its Petri net model is constructed to verify the feasibility of block section operations and station dispatch. According to the time constraints of the train operation, time factors are assigned to corresponding transitions in the Petri net model. We have further developed a feasibility verification algorithm. Petri net simulation tool TINA is used to verify the feasibility of the proposed train operation plan. We have shown that the proposed feasibility verification algorithm can identify the faults and provide amendments if a train operation plan is not feasible.