Timetable Optimization Potential

Analysis of operational data, bottleneck analysis, and timetable optimization

OpenTimeTable (OTT) enables a wide range of operating data to be displayed and corresponding key figures to be calculated. Statistical analyses can be used to draw conclusions about potential improvements to the timetable. For example, recurring delays can be identified, and planning parameters can be checked for their practical suitability. Aside from evaluating actual traffic data, OTT can also be used to visualize the simulation results obtained with LUKS® and can therefore support the entire timetabling process. OTT only requires recorded or simulated traffic data as input data, but not infrastructure data.

The first version of OTT was developed by ETH Zürich together with the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB, CFF, FFS) and re-implemented in Java by SBB in 2007. In order to make OTT accessible to other users (e.g. railway infrastructure companies, rail transport companies, public transport authorities) outside Switzerland, the partnership with VIA-Con was established in 2012. Now that the software code has been handed over to VIA-Con, existing activities can be continued and new developments can begin. There are over 100 users of OTT at the Swiss Federal Railways, and it is now also used by the German DB Netz AG, the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) and Israel Railways.