Dependence of railway lines carrying capacity by signalling systems and track geometry

The carrying capacity is the index measuring the maximum number of trains enabled to go along tracks or across stations within a certain time. It is therefore an elementary indicator but its value depends on different parameters, among which the most important are: geometry of the tracks (straight, curves, etc); characteristics of the signalling system (type of block system, number and length of block sections, etc); layout of stations and characteristics of the control system (stations, junctions, communication places); operation model (passengers, goods, long distance traffic, etc.). The knowledge of the relationship between carrying capacity and system characteristics of railway lines is very important and useful in many fields of the railway sector. For example typical problems are related to the use of the technological innovations that lead to the adoption of new systems for traffic control, to the available capacity in the operation with different types of services (passengers, goods, high speed, local, etc.) and to the change of the management in the whole railway system (separate management of infrastructure and train operation).