Investing in Mobility: Freight Transport in the Hudson Region

Proposes a framework for assessing alternative investments in freight rail, highway, and transit capacity that would increase the ability to improve mobility and air quality in the New York metropolitan area

Multi-Column Generation Model for the Locomotive Assignment Problem

We propose a new decomposition model and a multi-column generation algorithm for solving the Locomotive Assignment Problem (LAP). The decomposition scheme relies on consist configurations, where each configuration is made of a set of trains pulled by the same set of locomotives. We use the concept of conflict graphs in order to reduce the number of trains to be considered in each consist configuration generator problem: this contributes to significantly reduce the fraction of the computational times spent in generating new potential consists. In addition, we define a column generation problem for each set of variables, leading to a multi-column generation process, with different types of columns. Numerical results, with different numbers of locomotives, are presented on adapted data sets coming from Canada Pacific Railway (CPR). They show that the newly proposed algorithm is able to solve exactly realistic data instances for a timeline spanning up to 6 weeks, in very reasonable computational times

The Role and Possibilities of Hungarian Narrow-Gauge Railways in Tourism

Since the 1980’s almost all of the the Hungarian narrow-gauge railway lines made a complete change of function. In the following decade with a few exceptions the freight was completely abolished and replaced by tourism. We need to address several factors if we want to determine the tourism potential of a particular narrow-gauge railway. One of these is accessibility, which shows what extra effort a tourist needs to make to get to a particular attraction. It is not enough just to look at accessibility, we also need to look how narrow-gauge railways can get involved in the tourism system. In a tourism approach we can examine points of interest from several perspectives. The interdependent material conditions of tourism include basic infrastructure, attraction and tourism infrastructure. The basic infrastructure in tourism means the existence of conditions that are essential to see the attraction. Several narrow-gauge railways also play a role in the basic infrastructure, however, their most significant role is the dynamic infrastructure. The narrow-gauge railway transports tourists to the tourist attraction, or due to its nature, attracts tourists. Most of the Hungarian narrow-gauge railway fall into the category of dynamic infrastructure. Attraction is difficult to define, because there are a lot of subjective elements, but most of the Hungarian narrow-gauge railways we can definitely highlight and call as real attractions. It is important to talk about seasonality. Not all of them offer the same experience in summer as in winter, they are not the same attractions in all seasons. By tourist milieu we mean the attraction of the destination, the totality of the experiences gained there

Freight and passenger railway optimization

Das Ziel dieser Arbeit war es, einen Überblick über die aktuellen Beiträge der Literatur in den Bereichen der Eisenbahnlogistik sowohl im Güter- als auch im Personenverkehr zu geben. Während sich der Güterverkehr mit Problemen der Zusammenstellung der Züge und Waggons beziehungsweise der Verteilung der Leerfahrzeuge auseinander setzte, beschäftigte sich die Eisenbahnlogistik im Bereich des Personenverkehrs mit Optimierungsmodellen bezüglich Eisenbahnlinienplanung, Erstellung eines Fahrplanes, Inbetriebnahme von Fahrzeugen und Besatzungs- und Einsatzplanung. Die Bereiche der Eisenbahnlogistik haben in der Literatur eindeutig an Aufmerksamkeit gewonnen. In der Folge war es schwierig eine Auswahl aus dieser Vielfalt an Beiträgen zu treffen. Deshalb versucht diese Arbeit nur einen kurzen Einblick über einige wichtige Beiträge der letzten Jahre im Bereich der Eisenbahnlogistik zu geben. Aufgrund hochentwickelter mathematischer Techniken und deren Lösungsmöglichkeiten, die in den letzten Jahren aufgekommen sind, war es nun möglich die komplizierten Modelle der Eisenbahnlogistik in einer vernünftigen Zeit zu lösen. Darüber hinaus wurde ein Trend zur Entwicklung effizienterer entscheidungsunterstützender Hilfsprogramme für reale Gegebenheiten der Eisenbahnlogistik beobachtet. Im Großen und Ganzen sollten in Zukunft stärker integrierte Modelle der Eisenbahnplanung und Routenplanung entwickelt werden um robuste Lösungen und Methoden zu fördern.The aim of this work was to provide a survey of recent contributions about freight and passenger transportation. Whereas passenger optimization models considered problems such as line planning, train timetabling, platforming, rolling stock circulation, shunting and crew scheduling, freight transportation dealt with issues concerning car blocking, train makeup, routing, and empty car distribution. The field of rail transportation has clearly received attention resulting in a diversity of literature contribution. As it was difficult to handle the large amount of papers, this work is trying to give a short review of some important contributions made in recent years. Due to the increase in more sophisticated mathematical techniques, constant refinements in development of the models were made that were able to deal with larger problems. In addition, a trend towards more efficient transportation support systems was observed taking robustness into account. In addition, solution approaches that can deal with larger disturbances of the rail environment in a considerable speed and time, have received attention. Thus, future research can be done to develop more integrated models of scheduling and routing problems of train and passenger transportation to provide robust solutions and problem solving methods that handle disturbances of rail environment

Modeling and Solving of Railway Optimization Problems

The main aim of this work is to provide decision makers suitable approaches for solving two crucial planning problems in the railway industry: the locomotive assignment problem and the crew scheduling problem with attendance rates. On the one hand, the focus is on practical usability and the necessary integration and consideration of real-life requirements in the planning process. On the other hand, solution approaches are to be developed, which can provide solutions of sufficiently good quality within a reasonable time by taking all these requirements into account

Identification of Timetable Attractiveness Parameters by an International Literature Review

Timetable attractiveness is influenced by a set of key parameters which are described in this article. Regarding the superior structure of the timetable, the trend in Europe goes towards periodic regular interval timetables. Regular departures and focus on optimal transfer possi- bilities make these timetables attractive. The travel time in the timetable depends on charac- teristics of the infrastructure and rolling stock, heterogeneity of the planned train traffic and the necessary number of transfers on the passenger’s journey. Planned interdependencies be- tween trains, such as transfers and heterogeneous traffic, add complexity to the timetable. The risk of spreading initial delays to other trains and parts of the network increases with the level of timetable complexity

Identification of Timetable Attractiveness Parameters by an International Literature Review

Timetable attractiveness is influenced by a set of key parameters which are described in this article. Regarding the superior structure of the timetable, the trend in Europe goes towards periodic regular interval timetables. Regular departures and focus on optimal transfer possi- bilities make these timetables attractive. The travel time in the timetable depends on charac- teristics of the infrastructure and rolling stock, heterogeneity of the planned train traffic and the necessary number of transfers on the passenger’s journey. Planned interdependencies be- tween trains, such as transfers and heterogeneous traffic, add complexity to the timetable. The risk of spreading initial delays to other trains and parts of the network increases with the level of timetable complexity

Short Line Railroading in the Northeastern United States: Its Relevance and Future in Connecting Industry to the North American Rail Network

Short line railroads are vital links in the North American rail network. To remain profitable and viable they must keep abreast of technological advancement and increase cooperation both amongst themselves and with large railroads. Short line railroads fulfill a need in the market place: efficiently distributing and collecting freight transferred locally, nationally, and abroad. Their health and success are a vital component to the continued economic viability of industry in the American northeast. This paper examines short line railroading in the northeastern United States and its relevance and future in connecting industry to the North American Rail Network. To determine a quality background of the short line railroad industry, extensive research was conducted using a variety of sources. The author’s long time enthusiasm for and knowledge of the railroad industry aided in having a substantial understanding from the beginning. Armed with a decade long accumulated knowledge base allowed for immediate immersion, and knowledge gathering from industry magazines, trade journals, textbooks, databases, websites, insider PowerPoint presentations, and personal interviews with short line railroad executives expanded this knowledge base. Industry executive interviews provided pivot points for continued research, guiding the author further. Research confirmed again and again the importance of short line railroads to industry in the northeastern United States. Faced with road congestion, increased costs, and degraded service levels from large railroads, industry needs short lines to provide access to the North American Rail Network. It also distinctly outlined the importance of entrepreneurial spirit and creativity among short line operators as methods to continued growth. The short line railroad industry materially contributes to the economy of the northeastern United States. Preservation of active freight moving companies is important to industry, and ultimately the public. Growth of short line railroads creates increased competition with trucking companies and provides shippers, even ones not located along a railroad, with alternatives to moving freight. Increased freight transportation efficiencies are important for industry, especially if competitors move to right-to-work states, or overseas, where labor costs are generally lower. The short line railroad industry is substantial and worth studying in an effort to sustain and grow the success. This research provides a clear purpose for local, state, and government funding, private investment, and public support for the continued short line railroad activity in the American northeast

Operations research in passenger railway transportation

In this paper, we give an overview of state-of-the-art OperationsResearch models and techniques used in passenger railwaytransportation. For each planning phase (strategic, tactical andoperational), we describe the planning problems arising there anddiscuss some models and algorithms to solve them. We do not onlyconsider classical, well-known topics such as timetabling, rollingstock scheduling and crew scheduling, but we also discuss somerecently developed topics as shunting and reliability oftimetables.Finally, we focus on several practical aspects for each of theseproblems at the largest Dutch railway operator, NS Reizigers.passenger railway transportation;operation research;planning problems