Real-time railway traffic management under moving-block signalling: A literature review and research agenda

Railway traffic management is responsible for the detection and resolution of conflicts in case of disturbed operations. To minimise delay propagation, rescheduling decisions are taken by human dispatchers, possibly supported by mathematical models. Existing conflict detection and resolution (CDR) models mostly refer to conventional fixed-block multi-aspect signalling systems, in which minimum train headways are determined based on a preset number of blocks considering worst-case braking distances and number of signal aspects. In moving-block signalling systems, minimum headways are based on absolute braking distances. This paper reviews literature on CDR with the aim to identify gaps and to propose next steps in the research on CDR under moving-block signalling. A research agenda presents various modelling options, for which modelling approaches are proposed based on a comparative analysis.