Coordinated Rescheduling of Train Timetable and Crew Scheme for Passenger-Freight Collinear Railway

Rui Wang, Min Zhou, Hongwei Wang, Bo Yang, Hairong Dong, Fei-Yue Wang

Abstract: On a passenger-freight collinear railway, the freight train operation level is comparatively low, frequently resulting in significant deviations from the original timetable and crew plan in the presence of various interferences. This article focuses on the problem of coordinated rescheduling of train timetable and crew scheme in the presence of disruptions on a double-track passenger-freight collinear railway. We develop a mixed-integer linear program (MILP) model considering the distinct priorities of passenger and freight trains, as well as crew operations, thereby surpassing the current practice of independently adjusting train timetable and crew plan to achieve a collaborative solution. The objective is to minimize delays for passenger trains and deviations in crew schedule, while maximizing the delivery rate of freight trains at railway Bureau boundary stations prior to the settlement time. Furthermore, for large-scale delays, we design a solution algorithm based on the rolling horizon approach to enhance computational efficiency. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed model, simulation experiments are conducted using actual running data from the Beijing–Shanghai railway. The experimental results illustrate that our coordinated model enhances the feasibility of adjustment outcomes during emergencies, in contrast to the model that neglects crew connections. Additionally, our proposed algorithm guarantees a solving error of under 5% and reduces solving time by over 60% compared with the results obtained by CPLEX. Moreover, three additional comparison experiments are conducted to further demonstrate the impact of crew activities on train operation adjustments, which also indicate that our approach can provide dispatchers with more feasible train operation adjustment schemes in terms of crew utilization.