The multiple bottleneck transportation problem

Abstract

An extension to the Bottleneck Transportation Problem (BTP) is considered wherein a bottleneck is computed for each demand point. Due to the existence of local optima, solution procedures that have been developed for BTP do not readily apply to the Multiple Bottleneck Problem (MTP). An effective solution technique that uses Lagrangean relaxation methods is described and tested. One of the keys to the algorithm is a unique “double bounding” technique derived from the special structure of MTP.