Formulation of train routing selection problem for different real-time traffic management objectives

Abstract

The train routing selection problem (TRSP) addresses the optimized selection of alternative routes as a preliminary step for real-time railway traffic management problem (rtRTMP). In the TRSP, route selection relies on estimating potential delays resulting from scheduling decisions. The selected routes are then exclusively applied in the rtRTMP. While prior research established the mathematical model and solution algorithms for the TRSP, its practical application in real-time rail traffic management remains limited. The existing TRSP model focuses on a single objective function for the rtRTMP. However, in practice, various stakeholders may prioritize different objectives, leading to diverse objective functions employed in the rtRTMP. This paper extends the TRSP model by considering a range of suitable objectives for the rtRTMP. We formulate the TRSP for each objective function and enhance the cost estimation model to evaluate the correspondence between the TRSP and rtRTMP objective functions. We then assess the overall effectiveness of the TRSP for the rtRTMP through an evaluation that takes into account several configurations of the model and the rtRTMP solution approach used. Our purpose is to enlarge the applicability of the TRSP and enhance the efficiency of the rtRTMP for real-world systems. The paper includes an in-depth computational analysis of two French case studies to investigate the performance of the TRSP across different rtRTMP configurations.