A Short Turning Strategy for Train Scheduling Optimization in an Urban Rail Transit Line: The Case of Beijing Subway Line 4

Abstract

In urban rail transit systems, train scheduling plays an important role in improving the transport capacity to alleviate the urban traffic pressure of huge passenger demand and reducing the operation costs for operators. This paper considers the train scheduling with short turning strategy for an urban rail transit line with multiple depots. In addition, the utilization of trains is also taken into consideration. First, we develop a mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model for the train scheduling, where short turning train services and full-length train services are optimized based on the predefined headway obtained by the passenger demand analysis. The MINLP model is then transformed into a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model according to several transformation properties. The resulting MILP problem can be solved efficiently by existing solvers, e.g., CPLEX. Two case studies with different scales are constructed to assess the performance of train schedules with the short turning strategy based on the data of Beijing Subway line 4. The simulation results show that the reduction of the utilization of trains is about 20.69%.

Urban Rail Transit Rolling Stock Scheduling Optimization with Shared Depot

“…Cadarso et al discussed the optimization of the marshaling and operation plan under the condition of the shared depot of multiple suburban railway lines [11,12], but the empty running line under the train operation is the pre-defined input condition and the departure frequency of suburban railway is far lower than that of urban rail transit system. Researches focused on urban rail transit systems mostly discuss the rolling stock scheduling optimization under the condition of single or multiple lines [13][14][15][16][17]. Placido and D'Acierno promoted a decision support system for assessing the feasibility of fleet compositions with dynamic demand and an Italy metro line was used to demonstrate the usage of this method [18].…”

Research on Line Planning and Timetabling Optimization Model Based on Passenger Flow of Subway Network

“…Among tactical planning, line planning such as capacity, frequency and routing scheme should be considered, and timetabling including the planned arrival time and departure time of trains at each station should be considered. Numerous studies have proposed optimal models and algorithms for line planning [5][6][7][8] and timetabling [9][10][11][12] based on a single line and rarely considered the impact of passenger transfer for the whole network. In recent years, several subway operational companies have studied the overall optimization of metro network operation organization gradually to realize multiple operation indicators' optimization through multidimensional decision making.…”

Minimum Viable Model (MVM) Methodology for Integration of Agile Methods into Operational Simulation of Logistics

“…Mixed-integer linear programming is a prevalent mathematical optimisation method that includes objective functions and constraints. This method is frequently applied to transportation problems; e.g., in multimodal transport [16,17], scheduling [18,19], rail transport systems [20], and transport energy analysis [21]. Although analytical models can be quickly developed, there are several limitations of these models.…”