Optimal Pacing of Trains in Freight Railroads: Model Formulation and Solution

David Kraay, Patrick T. Harker and Bintong Chen
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David Kraay: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Patrick T. Harker: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Bintong Chen: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Operations Research, 1991, vol. 39, issue 1, 82-99

Abstract: Recent developments in location systems technology for railroads provide a train dispatcher with the capability to improve the operations of a rail line by pacing trains over a territory; i.e., to permit trains to travel at less than maximum velocity to minimize fuel consumption while maintaining a given level of performance. Traditional railroad dispatching models assume that the velocities of the trains moving over a dispatcher's territory are fixed at their maximum value and, thus, are incapable of dealing with a pacing situation. This paper presents a mathematical programming model for the pacing problem and describes alternative solution procedures for this model. Analytical and numerical evidence are presented that confirm the applicability of a heuristic solution procedure for this problem, as well as providing evidence that a pacing approach versus the traditional dispatching approach is an efficient and potentially cost effective method for the control of train movements.

Keywords: production/scheduling: scheduling of rail traffic; programming; nonlinear applications: heuristic for large-scale; mixed integer convex programs; transportation: control of freight railroad traffic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1991
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (21)

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