Virtual Coupling Trains Based on Multi-Agent System Under Communication Delay

With the rapid development of railway transportation, virtual coupling (VC) has become a popular research topic. VC can greatly reduce tracking distance and increase the line capacity. Under VC control, the train formation control not only considers the behavior and speed adjustment strategy of the leader train but also the communication delays between trains. The quality of data communication between trains is an important aspect of train tracking control. We consider a virtually coupled train set (VCTS) as a multi-agent system. The Luenberger observer is introduced to estimate the real-time state of the train, based on the estimation, the train control consistency protocol is designed to account for communication delays. The stability of the error system is proven by constructing a Lyapunov function. The consistency of the coordinated train control is verified through simulation.