Technology Selection For Right Of Way User Management At Railway Crossings

I have developed a tool to assist decision makers in understanding the impact of changes to the level crossing system in Great Britain. The inputs are level crossing data such as type, rail traffic, road traffic, location etc. I have developed algorithms based on studying the ways the parameters interrelate and the tool uses these algorithms to allow the user to change key parameters in order to see what the impact would be on a country-wide scale. My tool has the ability to place additional parameters alongside the typical cost and safety considerations for direct comparison. Much of the research in the literature focusses on safety and cost but I use a systems engineering approach to consider a larger whole which includes other factors such as road-user delay for example.
To demonstrate the utility of the tool I have focussed on a number of key examples. Firstly, I have studied the effect of increasing the number of trains on level crossings by up to 20%. There are currently level crossings which are closed for more than 50 minutes per hour and with an increase in rail traffic this will become more of a concern and the societal costs need to be considered alongside the capacity benefits for the railway. Secondly I have studied the effects of changing the level crossing type from signal-protected to treadle operated (this is a crossing type where there is no signal protection to stop a train before it reaches the crossing). By changing to treadle operated crossings there will be a likely decrease in safety but an increase in time saved for road users. My study will quantify this change and draw conclusions based on the output data.
The key novelties are;
1. Development of a tool which can place parameters alongside cost and safety. This has never been done before and allows researchers to frame systems in a new light which may lead to novel outcomes.
2. An explicit consideration of road user delay on equal footing with cost and safety. By converting the value or cost of all parameters into currency I can compare them directly and draw conclusions based on those comparisons to aid in "systems thinking" decision making.
3. My tool can be used to quickly determine the potential for a new technology. The user can change the inputs to reflect the changes brought about by a new technology and then see how it could impact level crossings.
4. In order to facilitate a systems engineering approach, I have developed a visualiser for the output data which plots information onto a Google Map of Great Britain. Plotting on Google Maps is not novel but what is novel is using this method as a way to facilitate systems thinking because it demonstrates the effect of changes much more effectively than a large table of numbers or a graph showing these values, especially considering there are more than 6000 level crossings to assess.