Passenger centric train timetabling problem

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze and to improve the current planning process of the passenger railway service in light of the recent railway market changes. In order to do so, we introduce the Passenger Centric Train Timetabling Problem. The originality of our approach is that we account for the passenger satisfaction in the design of the timetable. We consider both types of timetable(s): cyclic and non-cyclic. The problem is modeled as a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) problem with an objective of maximizing the train operating company's profit while maintaining ε level of passenger satisfaction. By solving the model for various values of ε, the Pareto frontier is constructed. The analysis, based on an experiment using realistic data, shows that an improvement of passenger satisfaction while maintaining a low profit loss for the railway company can be achieved. A sensitivity analysis on passenger congestion illustrates a quantitative evidence that the non-cyclic timetables can account better for high density demand in comparison to cyclic timetables.

The multi-objective railway timetable rescheduling problem

“…We associate a utility function with every alternative (i.e., path) and assume that each passenger group chooses the one with the highest utility. The utility function of every alternative i 2 P {og,dg} for passenger group g depends on the following attributes (see Robenek et al, 2016):…”

Optimization-Based Methods for Revising Train Timetables with Focus on Robustness

“…one day (Vromans, 2005;Erol, 2009 Caprara et al (2007), Kroon et al (2008a), Liebchen et al (2010), Heydar et al (2013). We also refer to Robenek et al (2014) for a literature review on cyclic and non-cyclic models. However, Robenek et al (2014) consider TTP from a passengers perspective while we consider it from network management perspectives.…”

“…We also refer to Robenek et al (2014) for a literature review on cyclic and non-cyclic models. However, Robenek et al (2014) consider TTP from a passengers perspective while we consider it from network management perspectives.…”

Metro Timetabling for Time-Varying Passenger Demand and Congestion at Stations

“…To meet travel demand and passenger satisfaction, a timetable should be as compact and flexible as possible. Meanwhile, since many metro systems need government subsidies to cover operating expenses, the planners focus more on operating cost than on passenger factors when designing a timetable [2]. This motivates some recent studies to combine these two conflicting objectives in the train timetabling problem [3,4].…”

“…The noncyclic timetables are more flexible regarding time-varying passenger demand, especially when the demand is large [2]. Thus, the noncyclic timetabling problem is worth exploring [2,3,7].…”