Modeling and Control of Heavy-Haul Trains [Applications of Control]

This article aims to provide an overview of the modeling and control of heavy-haul trains from an energy efficiency viewpoint. For this purpose, a unifying classification of energy efficiency in terms of performance, operation, equipment, and technology (POET) is presented and then applied to heavy-haul train control problems. A heavy-haul train is an energy system, and its cruise control can be viewed as an energy-efficiency control under this classification of energy-efficiency components. As shown in this article, heavy-haul train control technologies can be included in POET-based energy-efficiency control for operational performance improvement of a heavy-haul train.