Optimization on the Decoupling Process of Train Platoon Based on an MILP Approach

Up to now, the urban rail transit of China has been developing rapidly. Urban rail transit has brought great convenience to passengers. However, it cannot meet the increasing passenger demand, so it is necessary to shorten the tracking interval of the trains further. Virtual Coupling technology provides a solution. It includes coupling, tracking, decoupling and other essential processes. However, the definition of coupling and decoupling is still vague. In this paper, the process of decoupling is focused on. The decoupling problem is transformed into a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) problem. The arrival time is chosen as the optimization objective. The final result is not only the coupled trains have the longest time in coupling state but decouple in a short time. Finally, some simulation cases are conducted, and the sensitiveness of the parameters are analyzed.