An optimal strategy for the control of a train

Abstract

A train travels from one station to the next along a level track. The journey must be completed within a given time and it is desirable to minimise the energy required to drive the train. It has been shown with an appropriate formulation of the problem that an optimal strategy exists and that this strategy must satisfy a Pontryagin type criterion. In this paper the Pontryagin principle will be used to find the nature of the optimal strategy and this information will then be used to determine the precise optimal strategy.