[cesarbl]

We have been trying to setup a timetable for Madrid's underground railway, and we are having trouble with the train's stop positions.
Platforms have the same length as trains, and all of them have exit signals close to the end of platform, so AI trains must stop very close to the signal (around 5m). Trains stop at the correct place in all stations, except at the terminal station. We tried many commands ($keepclear, $terminal, $closeupsignal, $extendplatformtosignal, ...) and none of them worked.

Since this is the last station, the path ends at this platform, and the exit signal is at danger. I suspect there is some part of the code forcing the train to stop well in advance of that stop signal. If I change this signal so it always stays clear, the train stops at the right position.


Due to the short platforms, this causes an undershoot, and the train hardly releases the entry points.


The weird thing is that the train correctly stops at the other terminal station, which has a similar platform length and track layout.


Is there something that I'm missing?

[roeter]

On approaching a signal at danger, trains will keep a safety margin of 30m from the signal to avoid slipping passed the signal at danger which would cause a SPAD situation (Signal Passed At Danger). Another contributing factor could be the actual positions of the platform markers - the stop position at a platform is calculated such that the middle of the train stops in the middle between the two signal markers.
If the path can be extended beyond the signal such that the signal would clear, the stop position can be forced closer to or even beyond the signal if required by setting the following command for the station stop :

$keepclear /rear=1 /force $endstop

Explanation :
$keepclear /rear=1 will set the stop position such that the rear of the train is 1m. inside of the rear platform marker.
/force will force the train close to or even beyond the signal if that is required to stop at the required position.
$endstop will set the station stop as end of route, otherwise the train would continue to the end of its path (which, of course, now extends beyond the station).

I have used the above command on locations which similar problems as detailed here, and that worked as intended.

Regards,
Rob Roeterdink

[cesarbl]

Hi Rob,
Thanks for your answer. Unfortunately it is not working for me. I extended the path beyond the signal, but $endstop is being ignored. The train correctly stops at the station, but then continues up to the end of the path.

I forgot mentioning that this train forms another one, which then travels in the opposite direction. I tried adding /atstation, but this causes the exit signal to close, and the original problem appears again.

Thanks for your great work on timetables!

[roeter]

cesarbl, on 18 October 2023 - 08:09 AM, said:

Hi Rob,
Thanks for your answer. Unfortunately it is not working for me. I extended the path beyond the signal, but $endstop is being ignored. The train correctly stops at the station, but then continues up to the end of the path.

Strange. I checked the code and it is quite straigthforwards, I can't see any reason why it would be ignored. What version are you using?

Regards,
Rob Roeterdink

[cesarbl]

It's working now. I got confused by a mistake in the manual. It says that $endstop has to be inserted after the station name (section 12.4.7.4. Station Commands), but the right place is the timing cell.

Thanks for your help.