A review of artificial intelligence applications in high-speed railway systems

Abstract

In recent years, the global surge of High-speed Railway (HSR) revolutionized ground transportation, providing secure, comfortable, and punctual services. The next-gen HSR, fueled by emerging services like video surveillance, emergency communication, and real-time scheduling, demands advanced capabilities in real-time perception, automated driving, and digitized services, which accelerate the integration and application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the HSR system. This paper first provides a brief overview of AI, covering its origin, evolution, and breakthrough applications. A comprehensive review is then given regarding the most advanced AI technologies and applications in three macro application domains of the HSR system: mechanical manufacturing and electrical control, communication and signal control, and transportation management. The literature is categorized and compared across nine application directions labeled as intelligent manufacturing of trains and key components, forecast of railroad maintenance, optimization of energy consumption in railroads and trains, communication security, communication dependability, channel modeling and estimation, passenger scheduling, traffic flow forecasting, high-speed railway smart platform. Finally, challenges associated with the application of AI are discussed, offering insights for future research directions.