The time slot allocation problem in liberalised passenger railway markets: a multi-objective approach

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Nikola Besinovic - , Chair of Railway Operations (Author)
  • Ricardo Garcia-Rodenas - , University of Castilla-La Mancha (Author)
  • Maria Luz Lopez-Garcia - , University of Castilla-La Mancha (Author)
  • Julio Alberto Lopez-Gomez - , University of Castilla-La Mancha (Author)
  • Jose Angel Martin-Baos - , University of Castilla-La Mancha (Author)

Abstract

The liberalisation of the European passenger railway markets recently promoted by the entry into force of the 4th railway package states a new scenario where different Railway Undertakings compete with each other in a bidding process for time slots. The infrastructure resources are provided by the Infrastructure Manager, who analyses and assesses the bids received, allocating the resources to each Railway Undertaking. Time slot allocation is a fact that drastically influences the market equilibrium. In this paper, we address the time slot allocation problem within the context of a liberalised passenger railway market as a multi-objective model. The Infrastructure Manager is tasked with selecting a point from the Pareto front as the solution to the time slot allocation problem. We propose two criteria for making this selection: the first one allocates time slots to each company according to a set of priorities, while the second one introduces a criterion of fairness in the treatment of companies to incentive competition. The assessment of the impact of these rules on market equilibrium has been conducted on a liberalised high-speed corridor within the Spanish railway network.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number2535750
Number of pages26
Journal Transportmetrica : B, Transport dynamics
Volume13
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - 31 Dec 2025
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 105012199865
ORCID /0000-0003-4111-2255/work/194826438

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • Liberalised passenger railway markets, Multi-objective optimisation, Railway operations, Time slot allocation problem, liberalised passenger railway markets, railway operations, multi-objective optimisation