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Adaptive railway traffic control using approximate dynamic programming

Ghasempour, T; Heydecker, B; (2019) Adaptive railway traffic control using approximate dynamic programming. In: (Proceedings) 23rd International Symposium on Transportation and Traffic Theory, ISTTT 2019. (pp. pp. 201-221). Elsevier Green open access

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Abstract

This study presents an adaptive railway traffic controller for real-time operations based on approximate dynamic programming (ADP). By assessing requirements and opportunities, the controller aims to limit consecutive delays resulting from trains that entered a control area behind schedule by sequencing them at critical locations in a timely manner, thus representing the practical requirements of railway operations. This approach depends on an approximation to the value function of dynamic programming after optimisation from a specified state, which is estimated dynamically from operational experience using reinforcement learning techniques. By using this approximation, the ADP avoids extensive explicit evaluation of performance and so reduces the computational burden substantially. In this investigation, we explore formulations of the approximation function and variants of the learning techniques used to estimate it. Evaluation of the ADP methods in a stochastic simulation environment shows considerable improvements in consecutive delays by comparison with the current industry practice of First-Come-First-Served sequencing. We also found that estimates of parameters of the approximate value function are similar across a range of test scenarios with different mean train entry delays.

Type: Proceedings paper
Title: Adaptive railway traffic control using approximate dynamic programming
Event: 23rd International Symposium on Transportation and Traffic Theory, ISTTT 2019
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.trpro.2019.05.012
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trpro.2019.05.012
Language: English
Additional information: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Keywords: Approximate Dynamic Programming, Railway Traffic Management, Adaptive Control, Reinforcement Learning
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Civil, Environ and Geomatic Eng
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10086637
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