Rail platooning: Scheduling trains along a rail corridor with rapid-shunting facilities

Stefan Schwerdfeger, Alena Otto and Nils Boysen

European Journal of Operational Research, 2021, vol. 294, issue 2, 760-778

Abstract: Several technological developments are on the way to substantially impact future railway operations. Distributed traction power enables operating longer and heavier trains. The use of automatic couplings allows to quickly join formerly separately operated trains to longer units. Such a platooning on rails promises a much better utilization of congested rail corridors, but requires some upgrades of classical rail infrastructure as well. Rapid shunting tracks are necessary to form platoons and the railway lines have to be prepared to accommodate longer trains. This paper evaluates the rail platooning concept for German railway operator Deutsche Bahn and one of its most-frequented rail corridors. To do so, we formulate the rail platooning problem, which schedules the traversal of freight trains and their assignment to rail platoons along a rail corridor equipped with rapid-shunting facilities. To solve the resulting optimization problem, we apply a three-layered time-space network approach. Our solution procedure optimizing platoon building is benchmarked with conventional (non-platooned) solutions and our results show that considerably more trains can be channeled through a congested rail corridor.

Keywords: Scheduling; Rail transportation; Rapid-shunting facilities; Platooning; Train scheduling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ejores:v:294:y:2021:i:2:p:760-778

DOI: 10.1016/j.ejor.2021.02.019

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