Block-Layout Design Using MAX–MIN Ant System for Saving Energy on Mass Rapid Transit Systems

This paper presents a method of block-layout design between successive stations for mass rapid transit systems (MRTSs). The aim is to save energy under the framework of the fixed-block signaling (FBS) system and the equi-block principle. Unlike past research regarding the energy savings of train operation, this paper proposes a combinatorial optimization model to reduce the computation time. In the presented approach, the problem of minimizing the energy consumption between successive stations is first formulated as a combinatorial optimization problem. Then, the train-speed trajectory for saving energy is optimized by a MAX-MIN ant system (MMAS) of ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithms. Finally, the block layout is designed in accordance with the shortest block length under the equi-block principle. It is shown that the method presents a significant improvement for the reduction of computational burden on the block-layout design. The feasibility and benefits are verified via simulation study. Analyses and discussions are also given.