Control rules for dispatching trains on general networks with multiple train speeds

The most popular dispatching rule for double-track segments is to dedicate one track for trains traveling in one direction. However, today passenger trains are able to travel at a much faster speed compared to freight trains, but the limitation of the rail infrastructure makes it more cost effective to allow the passenger trains to share some portions of the railway tracks with the slower freight trains. The drawback of this dedicated rule is that a fast train can be caught behind a slow train and experience significant knock-on delay. The new dispatching rules enable the fast train to pass the slow train by using the track travelled by trains in the opposite direction if the track is empty. Simulation experiments show that a switchable policy can reduce the average train delay by 21% over a dedicated track policy and with the existence of crossovers the reduction in the average train delay can be as high as 41.9%.