Av Andersson, Jonas
The project ‘Working with quality measures in train timetable planning’ (Swedish acronym ARKA) has investigated how quality measures for timetables can be used in the Swedish Transport Administration's long-term planning of the Swedish railway system. The project builds on previous research results from the Timetable Quality (TTK) project, which developed a framework for measuring various aspects of timetable quality. The ARKA project has focused on making these quality measures understandable and useful in the daily work of planners by developing digital decision support and visualisations. The aim has been to facilitate and improve decision-making in timetable planning and thus contribute to more robust and efficient rail traffic.The project has been conducted using a use-centred methodology, with 13 long-term planners, capacity experts and national coordinators participating in interviews, workshops and providing feedback on prototypes. Through this iterative approach, several types of visualisations were developed and evaluated that can be integrated into the planning process. The results from interviews and workshops show that visualising quality metrics has the potential to make it easier for planners to see and compare quality deficiencies in different solutions to a timetable. The ability to see the quality of the timetable also enables new systematic working methods to improve a timetable. The project created and evaluated prototypes for visualising theoretical feasibility, robustness, conflicts and application fulfilment. These measures were selected based on analyses of planners' needs. In addition to these quality measures, the progress of the planning work was also visualised in relation to adjacent geographical areas in order to determine how the work is affected by other planning areas. Appropriate visualisations also proved to facilitate communication with railway companies, as the advantages and disadvantages of the solutions can be easily shown and different planning decisions can be justified. In addition, it was pointed out that thistype of tool can help inexperienced planners to more quickly understand what characterises a good timetable, making the tacit knowledge of experienced employees more accessible. At the same time, the report emphasises the importance of developing these digital aids in collaboration with users and of taking organisational changes and training needs into account when introducing them. The conclusion is that effective and easy-to-use visualisations have the potential to improve planning work. For future development, continued use-centred design and a holistic perspective that also encompasses how this type of tool affects working methods and competence requirements are recommended. In the long term, decision support based on quality measures can contribute to more transparent, efficient and uniform processes for capacity planning in the railway sector