TY - JOUR A1 - Schlechte, Thomas A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Erol, Berkan A1 - Graffagnino, Thomas A1 - Swarat, Elmar T1 - Micro–macro transformation of railway networks JF - Journal of Rail Transport Planning & Management N2 - In this paper a bottom-up approach of automatic simplification of a railway network is presented. Starting from a very detailed, microscopic level, as it is used in railway simulation, the network is transformed by an algorithm to a less detailed level (macroscopic network), that is sufficient for long-term planning and optimization. In addition running and headway times are rounded to a pre-chosen time discretization by a special cumulative method, which we will present and analyse in this paper. After the transformation we fill the network with given train requests to compute an optimal slot allocation. Then the optimized schedule is re-transformed into the microscopic level and can be simulated without any conflicts occuring between the slots. The algorithm is used to transform the network of the very dense Simplon corridor between Swiss and Italy. With our aggregation it is possible for the first time to generate a profit maximal and conflict free timetable for the corridor across a day by a simultaneously optimization run. Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrtpm.2011.09.001 VL - 1 IS - 1 SP - 38 EP - 48 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schlechte, Thomas A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Denißen, Jonas A1 - Heller, Simon A1 - Klug, Torsten A1 - Küpper, Michael A1 - Lindner, Niels A1 - Reuther, Markus A1 - Söhlke, Andreas A1 - Steadman, William T1 - Timetable Optimization for a Moving Block System JF - Journal of Rail Transport Planning & Management N2 - We present an optimization model which is capable of routing and ordering trains on a microscopic level under a moving block regime. Based on a general timetabling definition (GTTP) that allows the plug in of arbitrarily detailed methods to compute running and headway times, we describe a layered graph approach using velocity expansion, and develop a mixed integer linear programming formulation. Finally, we present promising results for a German corridor scenario with mixed traffic, indicating that applying branch-and-cut to our model is able to solve reasonably sized instances with up to hundred trains to optimality. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrtpm.2022.100315 SN - 2210-9706 VL - 22 SP - 100315 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schlechte, Thomas T1 - Railway Track Allocation - Simulation and Optimization JF - Proceedings of 4th International Seminar on Railway Operations Modelling and Analysis (IAROR) N2 - Today the railway timetabling process and the track allocation is one of the most challenging problems to solve by a railway infrastructure provider. Especially due to the deregulation of the transport market in the recent years several suppliers of railway traffic have entered the market. This leads to an increase of slot requests and then it is natural that conflicts occur among them. Furthermore, railway infrastructure networks consist of very expensive assets, even more they are rigid due to the long-term upgrade process. In order to make best use of these valuable infrastructure and to ensure economic operation, efficient planning of the railway operation is indispensable. Mathematical optimization models and algorithmic methodology can help to automatize and tackle these challenges. Our contribution in this paper is to present a renewed planning process due to the liberalization in Europe and a general framework to support the integration of simulation and optimization for railway capacity allocation. Y1 - 2011 VL - 4 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sahin, Guvenc A1 - Ahmadi, Amin A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Schlechte, Thomas T1 - Multi-period line planning with resource transfers JF - Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies N2 - Urban transportation systems are subject to a high level of variation and fluctuation in demand over the day. When this variation and fluctuation are observed in both time and space, it is crucial to develop line plans that are responsive to demand. A multi-period line planning approach that considers a changing demand during the planning horizon is proposed. If such systems are also subject to limitations of resources, a dynamic transfer of resources from one line to another throughout the planning horizon should also be considered. A mathematical modelling framework is developed to solve the line planning problem with a cost-oriented approach considering transfer of resources during a finite length planning horizon of multiple periods. We use real-life public transportation network data for our computational results. We analyze whether or not multi-period solutions outperform single period solutions in terms of feasibility and relevant costs. The importance of demand variation on multi-period solutions is investigated. We evaluate the impact of resource transfer constraints on the effectiveness of solutions. We also study the effect of period lengths along with the problem parameters that are significant for and sensitive to the optimality of solutions. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trc.2020.102726 VL - 119 SP - 102726 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Raack, Christian A1 - Raymond, Annie A1 - Schlechte, Thomas A1 - Werner, Axel T1 - Standings in sports competitions using integer programming JF - Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1515/jqas-2013-0111 VL - 10 IS - 2 SP - 131 EP - 137 PB - De Gruyter ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Heinz, Stefan A1 - Schlechte, Thomas A1 - Stephan, Rüdiger A1 - Winkler, Michael T1 - Solving steel mill slab design problems JF - Constraints N2 - The steel mill slab design problem from the CSPLIB is a combinatorial optimization problem motivated by an application of the steel industry. It has been widely studied in the constraint programming community. Several methods were proposed to solve this problem. A steel mill slab library was created which contains 380 instances. A closely related binpacking problem called the multiple knapsack problem with color constraints, originated from the same industrial problem, was discussed in the integer programming community. In particular, a simple integer program for this problem has been given by Forrest et al. (INFORMS J Comput 18:129–134, 2006). The aim of this paper is to bring these different studies together. Moreover, we adapt the model of Forrest et al. (INFORMS J Comput 18:129–134, 2006) for the steel mill slab design problem. Using this model and a state-of-the-art integer program solver all instances of the steel mill slab library can be solved efficiently to optimality. We improved, thereby, the solution values of 76 instances compared to previous results (Schaus et al., Constraints 16:125–147, 2010). Finally, we consider a recently introduced variant of the steel mill slab design problem, where within all solutions which minimize the leftover one is interested in a solution which requires a minimum number of slabs. For that variant we introduce two approaches and solve all instances of the steel mill slab library with this slightly changed objective function to optimality. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10601-011-9113-8 VL - 17 IS - 1 SP - 39 EP - 50 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Harrod, Steven A1 - Schlechte, Thomas T1 - A Direct Comparison of Physical Block Occupancy Versus Timed Block Occupancy in Train Timetabling Formulations JF - Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review N2 - Two fundamental mathematical formulations for railway timetabling are compared on a common set of sample problems, representing both multiple track high density services in Europe and single track bidirectional operations in North America. One formulation, ACP, enforces against conflicts by constraining time intervals between trains, while the other formulation, RCHF, monitors physical occupation of controlled track segments. The results demonstrate that both ACP and RCHF return comparable solutions in the aggregate, with some significant differences in select instances, and a pattern of significant differences in performance and constraint enforcement overall. Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tre.2013.04.003 VL - 54 SP - 50 EP - 66 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gilg, Brady A1 - Klug, Torsten A1 - Martienssen, Rosemarie A1 - Paat, Joseph A1 - Schlechte, Thomas A1 - Schulz, Christof A1 - Seymen, Senan A1 - Tesch, Alexander T1 - Conflict-free railway track assignment at depots JF - Journal of Rail Transport Planning & Management N2 - Managing rolling stock with no passengers aboard is a critical component of railway operations. One aspect of managing rolling stock is to park the rolling stock on a given set of tracks at the end of a day or service. Depending on the parking assignment, shunting may be required in order for a parked train to depart or for an incoming train to park. Given a collection of tracks M and a collection of trains T with a fixed arrival-departure timetable, the train assignment problem (TAP) is to determine the maximum number of trains from T that can be parked on M according to the timetable and without the use of shunting. Hence, efficiently solving the TAP allows to quickly compute feasible parking schedules that do not require further shunting adjustments. In this paper, we show that the TAP is NP-hard and present two integer programming models for solving the TAP. We compare both models on a theoretical level. Moreover, to our knowledge, we consider the first approach that integrates track lengths along with the three most common types of parking tracks FIFO, LIFO and FREE tracks in a common model. Furthermore, to optimize against uncertainty in the arrival times of the trains we extend our models by stochastic and robust modeling techniques. We conclude by giving computational results for both models, observing that they perform well on real timetables. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrtpm.2017.12.004 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Breugem, Thomas A1 - Schlechte, Thomas A1 - Schulz, Christof A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf T1 - A three-phase heuristic for the Fairness-Oriented Crew Rostering Problem JF - Computers & Operations Research N2 - The Fairness-Oriented Crew Rostering Problem (FCRP) considers the joint optimization of attractiveness and fairness in cyclic crew rostering. Like many problems in scheduling and logistics, the combinatorial complexity of cyclic rostering causes exact methods to fail for large-scale practical instances. In case of the FCRP, this is accentuated by the additionally imposed fairness requirements. Hence, heuristic methods are necessary. We present a three-phase heuristic for the FCRP combining column generation techniques with variable-depth neighborhood search. The heuristic exploits different mathematical formulations to find feasible solutions and to search for improvements. We apply our methodology to practical instances from Netherlands Railways (NS), the main passenger railway operator in the Netherlands Our results show the three-phase heuristic finds good solutions for most instances and outperforms a state-of-the-art commercial solver. Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cor.2023.106186 VL - 154 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Schlechte, Thomas A1 - Swarat, Elmar T1 - Railway Track Allocation -- Simulation, Aggregation, and Optimization JF - Proc. 1st International Workshop on High-speed and Intercity Railways (IWHIR 2011) N2 - Today the railway timetabling process and the track allocation is one of the most challenging problems to solve by a railway company. Especially due to the deregulation of the transport market in the recent years several suppliers of railway traffic have entered the market in Europe. This leads to more potential conflicts between trains caused by an increasing demand of train paths. Planning and operating railway transportation systems is extremely hard due to the combinatorial complexity of the underlying discrete optimization problems, the technical intricacies, and the immense size of the problem instances. In order to make best use of the infrastructure and to ensure economic operation, efficient planning of the railway operation is indispensable. Mathematical optimization models and algorithms can help to automatize and tackle these challenges. Our contribution in this paper is to present a renewed planning process due to the liberalization in Europe and an associated concept for track allocation, that consists of three important parts, simulation, aggregation, and optimization. Furthermore, we present results of our general framework for real world data. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27963-8 VL - 2 IS - 148 SP - 53 EP - 70 ER -