An object-oriented, constraint-based heuristic for a class of passenger-train scheduling problems

Author

Isaai, Mohammad T. ; Singh, Madan G.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Comput., Manchester Univ., UK

Volume

30

Issue

1

fYear

2000

fDate

2/1/2000 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

12

Lastpage

21

Abstract

A constraint-based heuristic technique for predictive scheduling of passenger trains is presented in this paper. The algorithm, which is lookahead, has been designed using an object-oriented methodology and is suitable for a single-track railway with some double-track sections. It is shown that the heuristic tends to minimize total waiting time of the trains concerned. Simulation experiments with real data show the superiority of the schedules created to those by human experts with reference to data provided from predictive timetables and specifications of Iran Railways

Keywords

constraint theory; digital simulation; heuristic programming; object-oriented programming; optimisation; railways; scheduling; traffic engineering computing; Iran Railways; double-track sections; lookahead algorithm; object-oriented constraint-based heuristic; passenger-train scheduling problems; predictive scheduling; predictive timetables; simulation experiments; single-track railway; total waiting time minimization; Algorithm design and analysis; Analytical models; Constraint optimization; Humans; Object oriented modeling; Predictive models; Processor scheduling; Rail transportation; Rain; Scheduling algorithm;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, Part C: Applications and Reviews, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1094-6977

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/5326.827450

Filename

827450