Estimating the load weight of freight trains using machine learning

Abstract: Accurate estimation of the load weight of freight trains is crucial for ensuring safe, efficient and sustainable rail freight transports. Traditional methods for estimating load weight often suffer from limitations in accuracy and efficiency. In recent years, machine learning algorithms have gained significant attention and use cases within the railway industry due to their strong predictive capabilities for classification and regression tasks. This study aims to present a proof of concept in the form of a comparative analysis of five machine learning regression algorithms: Polynomial Regression, K-Nearest Neighbors, Regression Trees, Random Forest Regression, and Support Vector Regression for estimating the load weight of freight trains using simulation data. The study utilizes two comprehensive datasets derived from train simulations in GENSYS, a simulation software for modeling rail vehicles. The datasets encompasses various driving condition factors such as train speed, track conditions and running gear configurations. The algorithms are trained and evaluated on these datasets and their performance is evaluated based on the root mean squared error and R2 metrics. Results from the experiments demonstrate that all five machine learning algorithms show promising performance for estimating the load weight. Polynomial regression achieves the best result for both of the datasets when using many features of the datasets are considered. Random forest regression achieves the best result for both of the data sets when a small number features of the datasets are considered. Furthermore, it is suggested that the methodical approach of this study is examined on real world data from operating freight trains to assert the proof of concept in a real world setting.