Method for platooning of vehicles in an automated vehicle system

A control system for increasing track capacity in an automated vehicle system, the automated vehicle system comprising a network of tracks along which vehicles are adapted to travel, the network comprising at least one merge point at which at least two upstream tracks merge to form a downstream track, at least one diverge point at which one upstream track diverges to form at least two downstream tracks and a plurality of stations at which passengers may board and/or disembark from the vehicles;

• wherein the control system comprises:
• means for controlling vehicles so as to cause empty vehicles to travel as at least one sequence of empty vehicles;
• and
• means for controlling the empty vehicles of the at least one sequence to travel with a first safety distance between each other, the first safety distance being shorter than a second safety distance between vehicles being at least partially loaded;
• wherein means for controlling the empty vehicles comprises means dynamically forming said sequence of vehicles;
• means for defining a merge control zone associated with the merge point, the merge control zone defining at least respective sections of the upstream tracks;
• means for detecting a vehicle entering the merge control zone on a first one of the upstream tracks, the vehicle being a vehicle of a sequence of one or more vehicles approaching the merge point on said first upstream track;
• means for allocating a passage time to the detected vehicle, the passage time being indicative of a time at which the vehicle is scheduled to pass the merge point;
• allocating the passage time is based on a merge priority assigned to the vehicle according to a predetermined set of merge priority rules;
• and
• means for controlling a speed of the vehicle responsive to the allocated passage time.