Timetable optimization for maximum usage of regenerative energy of braking in electrical railway systems

Research projects in urban transportation systems require proper simulation softwares. Such softwares are the basic requirements of any kind of study in electrical transportation systems. Due to high energy consumption of these systems, studies for its optimization are challenging and necessary. In this paper an optimized timetable of trains´ movement is proposed in order to completely utilize the regenerative energy of trains´ braking in stations. A sample subway system is simulated and Genetic algorithm is used as an optimization method. The effect of headway and reserve times on the amount of energy consumption is studied and an optimized reserve time set is found for the sample system. The reserve times are determined to optimize the total consumed energy of metro. Eventually, the results of the optimized cases are compared with conventional ones to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.