Multi-objective model for optimizing railway infrastructure asset renewal

Abstract

Multiobjective model for optimizing railway infrastructure asset renewal A multiobjective model for managing railway infrastructure asset renewal is presented. The model aims at optimizing three objectives, while respecting operational constraints: leveling investment throughout multiple years, minimizing total cost, minimizing work start postponements. Its output is an optimized intervention schedule. The model is based on a case-study from a Portuguese infrastructure management company, who specified the objectives and constraints, and reflects management practice on railway infrastructure. Results show that investment leveling greatly influences the other objectives and that total cost fluctuations may range from insignificant to important, depending on infrastructure condition. The results structure is argued to be general and suggests a practical methodology for analyzing trade-offs and selecting a solution for implementation.

Optimization of annual planned rail maintenance

“…Rail maintenance scheduling is a broad field where different types of problems are considered. First, the temporal granularity varies, from short to medium term maintenance planning to longer term where strategic and investment decisions are relevant (Simson et al., 2000; Sousa et al., 2019). Second, the geographic granularity varies, from taking into account individual tracks and switches to looking at a higher level network of, for example, an entire city.…”