Optimal network configuration and capacity expansion of railroads

Liu, Jian and Ahuja, Ravindra K. and Şahin, Güvenç (2008) Optimal network configuration and capacity expansion of railroads. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 59 . pp. 911-920. ISSN 0160-5682

This is the latest version of this item.

[thumbnail of 2008_JORS_LiuAhujaSahin.pdf] PDF
2008_JORS_LiuAhujaSahin.pdf
Restricted to Repository staff only

Download (230kB) | Request a copy

Abstract

Railroads ship individual cars according to blocking plans that route the cars in groups (blocks) that share common intermediate stops. An individual shipment is regrouped (reclassified) two to three times along the way from its origin to destination. Yards are crucial facilities of the rail network where cars are reclassified according to such blocking plans. Therefore, yard locations and the blocking plan impose the detour and classification of cars over the physical network. Yards are capacitated with respect to number of blocks made and number of cars classified; rail lines between major stations are capacitated with respect to number of cars that pass through. These restrictions are accounted for in designing the blocking plans. Changing the yard locations and expanding associated capacities may result in dramatic changes in blocking plans saving tens of millions of dollars in railroad transportation costs. We develop a mathematical programming formulation and propose solution methods for the yard location problem and the capacity expansion problems. We demonstrate that the railroads can save significantly by reconfiguring their networks.
Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: rail transport, strategic planning, location, heuristics
Subjects: T Technology > TF Railroad engineering and operation > TF501-668 Railway operation and management
T Technology > T Technology (General) > T055.4-60.8 Industrial engineering. Management engineering > T57.6-57.97 Operations research. Systems analysis
Divisions: Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences
Depositing User: Güvenç Şahin
Date Deposited: 06 Nov 2008 20:59
Last Modified: 22 May 2019 12:16
URI: https://research.sabanciuniv.edu/id/eprint/10121

Available Versions of this Item

Actions (login required)

View Item
View Item