Institute of Transportation, MOTC

　　The paper presents a simulation model to investigate the rescheduling operation of a rail transit line with a disturbance, such as the technical failure of an operation device. Rescheduling operation is vital for a rail line under abnormal condition, because a primary delay of one train may cause severe consequent delays for the following trains. This study develops an event-oriented model to simulate the flows of train traffic and passenger traffic, under either the normal operation condition or the abnormal condition with rescheduling operation. Three types of rescheduling operations are considered: (1) speed and time control to reduce regular dwell time and/or running time; (2) holding the preceding and/or succeeding train to regulate headway; and (3) cancellation the operation of delayed trains. Four criteria are used to evaluate the performance of rescheduling operation: (1) the average travel time; (2) the load factor difference; (3) the number of delayed trains; and (4) the total delay time of system. A case study of Tamshui line with a primary delay is conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the model and to show various observations for the rescheduling operation.