WHAT ROLE CAN A DRIVER INFORMATION SYSTEM PLAY IN RAILWAY CONFLICTS?

Because of unavoidable random disturbances, conflict situations frequently occur in railway systems. They often lead to unplanned stops of trains, which cause additional delays and a higher energy consumption.ProRail, the Dutch railway infrastructure manager, has developed and tested a Driver Information System (DIS) that gives online information of the current situation on the track to the train driver. With his professional skills, he should be able to anticipate possible conflicts from this additional information and forecome their negative consequences.The effects of this tool have been examined in simulator trials in cooperation with Delft University of Technology and drivers from NS Reizigers, the biggest operator of passenger trains in the Netherlands. Several scenarios had to be driven by the drivers with different trains and different conflict situations, with and without additional information.It is shown that the DIS helped the driver to realize a smoother ride, avoiding unplanned stops and reducing energy consumption. The still existing gap to optimal driving can only be closed by more sophisticated means of driver assistance or fully automatic train control.