SIMULATION OF RAILWAY STATIONS BASED ON HYBRID PETRI NETS

The purpose of this paper is to present a simulation model for Railway Stations (RS). Firstly, through a systemic description, we have shown that a RS can be considered as a Hybrid Dynamical System (HDS). Then, in order to represent the main intrinsic characteristics of RS, we have built a hybrid Petri net-based model. This model has been analyzed for i) checking purposes, and ii) evaluating some qualitative properties of the system. Finally, for illustrating the suggested methodology of study, a typical subway station has been simulated through a rush period scenario. Owing to a quantitative analysis of the marking evolution of the hybrid model, it is possible to make a performance evaluation of the station facilities and to underline some structural and functional limits of the studied station.