Cooperative Optimal Control of the Following Operation of High-Speed Trains

The following operation of multiple high-speed trains (HSTs) with high speed and great density based on the moving block and virtual coupling control system can significantly improve the performance of railway systems concerning operation safety and line capacity. However, it is difficult for HST’s conventional control approach to satisfy the service demand, including safety, energy-saving, and ride comfort, due to the significantly increasing longitudinal interaction between adjacent trains in the following operating conditions. In this paper, the characteristic model of multiple HSTs’ following operation was formulated to effectively and accurately describe train control constraints derived from the coupling relationship among adjacent trains’ operation states. Then, the cooperative model predictive control (CMPC) strategy with a multiobjective rolling optimization scheme is developed. The overall line capacity, energy consumption, and ride comfort of train platoons in the railway section are defined as optimization indexes. Furthermore, some sufficient conditions for the consensus stability of the CMPC of HST are given, based on the proposed multiple HSTs following characteristic model and cooperative optimal control strategy. Simulation experiments are carried out by using HST’s operation data collected from real-world runs. Results demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed modeling and control method.