Current rail traffic management systems (TMS) consist of planning and control systems operating at different levels – from single stations to operational areas spanning multiple stations and hundreds of track kilometers. These systems primarily differ in their capacity to implement system modifications within limited scopes (e.g., national timetable planning vs. platform changes at a single station).

During active operations, such modifications are typically time-critical, require high computational speed, and can reach significant complexity depending on scope. Consequently, optimizations are divided into 50 distinct zones. While this zoned approach enables rapid local optimizations, it creates the new challenge of cross-regional optimization, where conventional control systems prove inadequate for addressing passenger and rail operator needs during incidents affecting multiple zones.

An adapted timetable generated by the planning system could resolve many event-induced inefficiencies and provide user information. However, current computation times remain prohibitively long for real-time demand fulfillment. This project therefore aims to:

• Automatically generate adapted timetables (daily plans)
• Develop methods for scaling railway operation simulation/optimization models to cross-regional levels

Key Requirements
Adapted timetables must:

1. Maintain non-discrimination criteria across service types (IC, S-Bahn) and train operators
2. Deliver consolidated solutions within 24 hours of incident occurrence

Test Case
The Gotthard Base Tunnel incident serves as the primary scenario for project validation.