Li, Yike (University of Cagliari), Tong, Yin (Southwest Jiaotong University), Giua, Alessandro (University of Cagliari)

Virtual Coupling Train Following Control Using High Order Control Barrier Functions

Scheduled for presentation during the Regular Session "S33c-Intelligent Control for Next-Generation Railway Systems" (FR-LA-T33), Friday, November 21, 2025, 16:40−17:00, Southport 3

2025 IEEE 28th International Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSC), November 18-21, 2025, Gold Coast, Australia

This information is tentative and subject to change. Compiled on October 18, 2025

Abstract

Virtual Coupling (VC) has gained increasing attention as a next-generation railway signaling solution. Its implementation, however, poses critical control challenges, as following trains must maintain small inter-train spacing under dynamic operating conditions. This paper proposes a decentralized control framework for VC followers, where safety is defined by the relative braking distance (RBD) principle and enforced through High Order Control Barrier Functions (HOCBFs). An adaptive switching heuristic is introduced to compute the reference control force while accounting for potential Train-to-Train (T2T) communication delays. The HOCBF constraints and reference control are embedded into a sequence of Quadratic Programs (QPs) solvable in real time. The proposed method guarantees safety for VC followers without requiring centralized coordination or full trajectory prediction of the preceding trains.