A study of homogeneity of operating programs on operation quality considering the occupancy of infrastructure

This article defines the homogeneity of operating programs from the perspective of the occupancy of infrastructure which can be characterized by variations in blocking time, buffer time and running direction. Based on this definition, a new occupancy based method to evaluate homogeneity of operating programs is presented in this paper. By this method, the homogeneity of operating programs can be calculated based on the blocking times, buffer times and running directions without identifying other factors such as the speed or length of a train. The occupancy based methodology is successfully used to quantify the homogeneity of railway operations, not only for track sections but for an entire network, which contributes significantly to the efficient utilization of complex infrastructure. Finally, the interrelationship between homogeneity of operating programs and operation quality is investigated.