Robust optimization of train timetables with short-length and full-length services considering uncertain passenger volume and service choice behavior

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Fangsheng Wang - , Tongji University, TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)
  • Pengling Wang - , Tongji University, RWTH Aachen University (Author)
  • Zixuan Zhu - , Tongji University (Author)
  • Ruihua Xu - , Tongji University (Author)
  • Hanchuan Pan - , Shanghai University of Engineering Science (Author)
  • Nikola Bešinović - , Chair of Railway Operations (Author)

Abstract

Train timetables with a combination of short-length and full-length services can adapt to spatial and temporal variations in demand. However, with such timetables, some passengers may choose to catch an earlier short-length service and then transfer to a full-length service to reach their destinations rather than waiting for a crowded full-length service. This uncertain service choice behavior frequently occurs, which, however, was not well considered in most studies on demand-oriented timetabling. Therefore, this study presents a robust timetabling approach based on the scenario-based method considering uncertain passenger volumes and service choice behavior for choosing different types of train services. A customized decomposition-based method with an iterative solution procedure is designed to solve the proposed model. In each iteration, a multi-agent-based simulation algorithm is developed to update passengers’ travel utility and the service choice preference proportion based on the previous iteration's timetabling results. To obtain high-quality solutions in an acceptable computing time, a hybrid “ALNS + GUROBI” algorithm is developed to handle the timetabling problems for large-scale cases. The proposed method optimizes the train timetables for Xi'an Metro Line 3 in China. Our results indicate that the proposed method can account for uncertain passenger volumes and service choice behavior by adjusting the short-length plans and train headways to match the transport capacity to passenger demand.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number104855
JournalTransportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies
Volume169
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2024
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0003-4111-2255/work/171066055

Keywords

Keywords

  • Robust optimization, Service choice behavior, Short-length service, Train timetabling, Uncertain passenger volume