Railway simulation is a powerful tool for answering numerous questions in railway network planning and analysing. The aim of this article is to show the importance of railway simulation used for analysing different design solutions. Special focus in this article is given to the gradient design of existing train station exits. The main question is, whether structural changes result in a significant advantage in running time and capacity, compared to the existing track. The results of the simulation shall confirm the expected anticipation that can be applied in future railway route design. Without running a simulation it is not possible to prove the assumptions before investing huge amounts into the infrastructure.
To perform the simulation, a graph model of a typical train station exit was developed based on a real case study in co–operation with Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), using the software programme OpenTrack (by OpenTrack Railway Technology Ltd., Switzerland). OpenTrack has three input components: infrastructure, rolling stock and timetable. All these three components varied to various test gradients, freight trains and operation modes in order to identify the most suitable gradient transition form out of different variants. The results show that depending on the operation mode and the position of the signals, opposing variants have to be preferred although there are only minor differences in running time between the structural variants. In conclusion, railway simulation is a suitable method to compare different variants and especially in this case a study to confirm the expected results.

railway simulation, gradient design, running time analysis, minimum headway time, maximum drawbar force