A column generation based approach for the Train Network Design Optimization problem

Jian Gang Jin, Jun Zhao and Der-Horng Lee

Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 2013, vol. 50, issue C, 1-17

Abstract: This paper investigates the Train Network Design Optimization problem arising from railroad industry which involves the integration of three inter-related decision sub-problems: train routing which is to identify origin, destination and itinerary for individual trains; block-to-train assignment detailing the block movements with trains and swaps between trains; and crew-to-train assignment specifying the crew services for train routes. A column generation based hierarchical approach with two stages is designed: the first stage generates a pool of promising train routes iteratively based on the crew segments by the column generation technique; and the second stage develops an integer linear programming model for the subsequent decisions including train route selection and block-to-train assignment. Numerical experiments with realistic test instances are conducted and the outcome demonstrates the capability of the proposed approach in solving the Train Network Design Optimization problem competently.

Keywords: Column generation; Train routing; Block-to-train assignment; Crew-to-train assignment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.tre.2012.11.004

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