On solving multi-type railway line planning problems

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2004.04.036 Byline: Jan-Willem Goossens (a), Stan van Hoesel (a), Leo Kroon (b) Keywords: Integer programming; Combinatorial optimisation; Railway transportation Abstract: An important strategic element in the planning process of a railway operator is the development of a line plan, i.e., a set of routes (paths) on the network of tracks, operated at a given hourly frequency. The models described in the literature have thus far considered only lines that halt at all stations along their route. In this paper we introduce several models for solving line planning problems in which lines can have different halting patterns. Correctness and equivalence proofs for these models are given, as well as an evaluation using several real-life instances. Author Affiliation: (a) Department of Quantitative Economics, University of Maastricht, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands (b) Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, P.O. Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands Article History: Received 14 May 2003; Accepted 19 April 2004