Traffic management system for the energy-efficiency improvement of automatically operated metro trains

In this project we have created an automatic underground train simulator for the Barcelona Metro Line 9 to achieve minimum energy consumption in this line.

Line 9 has an expected final length of 54 km and a total of 51 stations, and will be one of the longest automatic metro lines in the world.

L9 trains use the regenerative brake technology to accumulate energy when the train is stopping. This energy is transferred to the overhead line for other trains in the same line to use. If not used, this energy will be lost. Since the moment of maximum consumption of energy is when the train accelerates, by synchronizing the acceleration and stopping of two different trains, the accelerating train will use the energy generated by the other and the total energy consumption of the metro network will significantly be reduced. Our optimizer generates timing schedules that increase the moments of synchronization and reduce the energy consumption of this line.