TY - JOUR A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Hoppmann, Heide A1 - Karbstein, Marika A1 - Lindner, Niels T1 - Separation of cycle inequalities in periodic timetabling JF - Discrete Optimization N2 - Cycle inequalities play an important role in the polyhedral study of the periodic timetabling problem in public transport. We give the first pseudo-polynomial time separation algorithm for cycle inequalities, and we contribute a rigorous proof for the pseudo-polynomial time separability of the change-cycle inequalities. Moreover, we provide several NP-completeness results, indicating that pseudo-polynomial time is best possible. The efficiency of these cutting planes is demonstrated on real-world instances of the periodic timetabling problem. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.disopt.2019.100552 IS - 35 SP - 100552 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Lindner, Niels A1 - Roth, Sarah T1 - A Concurrent Approach to the Periodic Event Scheduling Problem JF - Journal of Rail Transport Planning & Management N2 - We introduce a concurrent solver for the periodic event scheduling problem (PESP). It combines mixed integer programming techniques, the modulo network simplex method, satisfiability approaches, and a new heuristic based on maximum cuts. Running these components in parallel speeds up the overall solution process. This enables us to significantly improve the current upper and lower bounds for all benchmark instances of the library PESPlib. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrtpm.2019.100175 SN - 2210-9706 IS - 15 SP - 100175 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Schiewe, Philine A1 - Goerigk, Marc A1 - Lindner, Niels T1 - Introducing TimPassLib - A library for integrated periodic timetabling and passenger routing N2 - Classic models to derive a timetable for public transport often face a chicken-and-egg situation: A good timetable should offer passengers routes with small travel times, but the route choice of passengers depends on the timetable. While models that fix passenger routes were frequently considered in the literature, integrated models that simultaneously optimize timetables and passenger routes have seen increasing attention lately. This creates a growing need for a set of instances that allows to test and compare new algorithmic developments for the integrated problem. Our paper addresses this requirement by presenting TimPassLib, a new benchmark library of instances for integrated periodic timetabling and passenger routing. T3 - ZIB-Report - 23-06 KW - periodic timetabling KW - optimization in public transport KW - data sets KW - benchmarking Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-89741 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Prause, Felix A1 - Hoppmann-Baum, Kai A1 - Defourny, Boris A1 - Koch, Thorsten T1 - The maximum diversity assortment selection problem JF - Mathematical Methods of Operations Research N2 - In this article, we introduce the Maximum Diversity Assortment Selection Problem (MDASP), which is a generalization of the two-dimensional Knapsack Problem (2D-KP). Given a set of rectangles and a rectangular container, the goal of 2D-KP is to determine a subset of rectangles that can be placed in the container without overlapping, i.e., a feasible assortment, such that a maximum area is covered. MDASP is to determine a set of feasible assortments, each of them covering a certain minimum threshold of the container, such that the diversity among them is maximized. Thereby, diversity is defined as the minimum or average normalized Hamming distance of all assortment pairs. MDASP was the topic of the 11th AIMMS-MOPTA Competition in 2019. The methods described in this article and the resulting computational results won the contest. In the following, we give a definition of the problem, introduce a mathematical model and solution approaches, determine upper bounds on the diversity, and conclude with computational experiments conducted on test instances derived from the 2D-KP literature. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s00186-021-00740-2 VL - 93 SP - 521 EP - 554 PB - Mathematical Methods of Operations Research ER - TY - GEN A1 - Lindner, Niels A1 - Reisch, Julian T1 - Parameterized Complexity of Periodic Timetabling N2 - Public transportation networks are typically operated with a periodic timetable. The Periodic Event Scheduling Problem (PESP) is the standard mathematical modelling tool for periodic timetabling. Since PESP can be solved in linear time on trees, it is a natural question to ask whether there are polynomial-time algorithms for input networks of bounded treewidth. We show that deciding the feasibility of a PESP instance is NP-hard even when the treewidth is 2, the branchwidth is 2, or the carvingwidth is 3. Analogous results hold for the optimization of reduced PESP instances, where the feasibility problem is trivial. To complete the picture, we present two pseudo-polynomial-time dynamic programming algorithms solving PESP on input networks with bounded tree- or branchwidth. We further analyze the parameterized complexity of PESP with bounded cyclomatic number, diameter, or vertex cover number. For event-activity networks with a special -- but standard -- structure, we give explicit and sharp bounds on the branchwidth in terms of the maximum degree and the carvingwidth of an underlying line network. Finally, we investigate several parameters on the smallest instance of the benchmarking library PESPlib. T3 - ZIB-Report - 20-15 KW - Parameterized complexity KW - Periodic timetabling KW - Treewidth KW - Branchwidth KW - Carvingwidth KW - Periodic Event Scheduling Problem Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-78314 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Riedmüller, Stephanie A1 - Lindner, Niels T1 - Column Generation for Periodic Timetabling N2 - Periodic timetabling for public transportation networks is typically modelled as a Periodic Event Scheduling Problem (PESP). Solving instances of the benchmark library PESPlib to optimality continues to pose a challenge. As a further approach towards this goal, we remodel the problem by a time discretization of the underlying graph and consider arc-based as well as path-based integer programming formulations. For the path-based case, we use cycles on the graph expansion of the operational lines as variables and, therefore, include more of the problem inherent structure into the model. A consequence is the validity of several known inequalities and a lower bound on the LP-relaxation, that is the best known to date. As an extension we integrate passenger routing into the new model. The proposed models have an advantage in the linear programming relaxation, on the one hand, but have an increased problem size, on the other hand. We define the corresponding pricing problems for the use of column generation to handle the size. Both models are practically tested on different problem instances. Y1 - 2025 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Löbel, Fabian A1 - Lindner, Niels ED - Sauer, Jonas ED - Schmidt, Marie T1 - A Geometric Approach to Integrated Periodic Timetabling and Passenger Routing T2 - 25th Symposium on Algorithmic Approaches for Transportation Modelling, Optimization, and Systems (ATMOS 2025) N2 - We offer a geometric perspective on the problem of integrated periodic timetabling and passenger routing in public transport. Inside the space of periodic tensions, we single out those regions, where the same set of paths provides shortest passenger routes. This results in a polyhedral subdivision, which we combine with the known decomposition by polytropes. On each maximal region of the common refinement, the integrated problem is solvable in polynomial time. We transform these insights into a new geometry-driven primal heuristic, integrated tropical neighborhood search (ITNS). Computationally, we compare implementations of ITNS and the integrated (restricted) modulo network simplex algorithm on the TimPassLib benchmark set, and contribute better solutions in terms of total travel time for all but one of the twenty-five instances for which a proven optimal solution is not yet known. KW - Periodic Timetabling KW - Passenger Routing KW - Polyhedral Complexes Y1 - 2025 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-247580 SN - 978-3-95977-404-8 SN - 2190-6807 VL - 137 SP - 2:1 EP - 2:19 PB - Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik CY - Dagstuhl, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - van Lieshout, Rolf A1 - Lindner, Niels T1 - A Compact Cycle Formulation for the Multiperiodic Event Scheduling Problem N2 - The Periodic Event Scheduling Problem (PESP) is a fundamental model in periodic timetabling for public transport systems, assuming a common period across all events. However, real-world networks often feature heterogeneous service frequencies. This paper studies the Multiperiodic Event Scheduling Problem (MPESP), a generalization of PESP that allows each event to recur at its own individual period. While more expressive, MPESP presents new modeling challenges due to the loss of a global period. We present a cycle-based formulation for MPESP that extends the strongest known formulation for PESP and, in contrast to existing approaches, is valid for any MPESP instance. Crucially, the formulation requires a cycle basis derived from a spanning tree satisfying specific structural properties, which we formalize and algorithmically construct, extending the concept of sharp spanning trees to rooted instances. We further prove a multiperiodic analogue of the cycle periodicity property. Our new formulation solves nearly all tested instances, including several large-scale real-world public transport networks, to optimality or with small optimality gaps, dramatically outperforming existing arc-based models. The results demonstrate the practical potential of MPESP in capturing heterogeneous frequencies without resorting to artificial event duplication. Y1 - 2025 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Maristany de las Casas, Pedro A1 - Sedeño-Noda, Antonio A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf T1 - New Dynamic Programming Algorithm for the Multiobjective Minimum Spanning Tree Problem JF - Computers & Operations Research N2 - The Multiobjective Minimum Spanning Tree (MO-MST) problem is a variant of the Minimum Spanning Tree problem, in which the costs associated with every edge of the input graph are vectors. In this paper, we design a new dynamic programming MO-MST algorithm. Dynamic programming for a MO-MST instance leads to the definition of an instance of the One-to-One Multiobjective Shortest Path (MOSP) problem and both instances have equivalent solution sets. The arising MOSP instance is defined on a so called transition graph. We study the original size of this graph in detail and reduce its size using cost dependent arc pruning criteria. To solve the MOSP instance on the reduced transition graph, we design the Implicit Graph Multiobjective Dijkstra Algorithm (IG-MDA), exploiting recent improvements on MOSP algorithms from the literature. All in all, the new IG-MDA outperforms the current state of the art on a big set of instances from the literature. Our code and results are publicly available. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cor.2024.106852 VL - 173 SP - 106852 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Masing, Berenike A1 - Lindner, Niels A1 - Bortoletto, Enrico T1 - Computing All Shortest Passenger Routes with a Tropical Dijkstra Algorithm JF - EURO Journal on Transportation and Logistics N2 - Given a public transportation network, which and how many passenger routes can potentially be shortest paths, when all possible timetables are taken into account? This question leads to shortest path problems on graphs with interval costs on their arcs and is closely linked to multi-objective optimization. We introduce a Dijkstra algorithm based on polynomials over the tropical semiring that computes complete or minimal sets of efficient paths. We demonstrate that this approach is computationally feasible by employing it on the public transport network of the city of Wuppertal and instances of the benchmarking set TimPassLib, and we evaluate the resulting sets of passenger routes. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejtl.2025.100163 VL - 14 ER -