EURO 2024 Copenhagen
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2207. The Green Locomotive Assignment Problem with Deadheading on Trains

Invited abstract in session WC-56: Railway Applications, stream Transportation.

Wednesday, 12:30-14:00
Room: S04 (building: 101)

Authors (first author is the speaker)

1. Gislind Stefan
Business Decisions and Analytics, University of Vienna
2. Fatih Kocatürk
Business Decisions and Analytics, University of Vienna
3. Ninja Scherr
University of Vienna
4. Jan Fabian Ehmke
Business Decisions and Analytics, University of Vienna

Abstract

Reducing energy consumption has become an important goal in all sectors of the economy and especially in transportation. Our goal is to examine potentials for energy reduction in railway operations.
We propose the Green Locomotive Assignment Problem (GLAP) which aims at minimizing overall energy consumption through efficiently allocating locomotives to scheduled trains. The objective covers all key aspects of locomotive scheduling, with energy consumption during light-traveling trips standing out as the primary cost driver. Light-traveling occurs when a locomotive needs to relocate to a different station and therefore moves without any train attached. The Davis equation, a physical model that factors in the resistance encountered by a moving train, is augmented with track gradients to accurately compute energy consumption during light-traveling trips.
We directly minimize energy consumption and compare this to the conventional approach of minimizing light-traveling distance. Additionally, we propose a model variation of the GLAP, which incorporates the practice of deadheading on trains. Deadheading on trains refers to the attachment of locomotives to trains for repositioning purposes without utilizing their engines and has the potential to reduce energy consumption.
We propose mixed integer programs and test them on small and medium sized real-world instances using historical planning data and detailed gradient information from the Austrian Railway network.

Keywords

Status: accepted

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