An integrated simulation model and evolutionary algorithm for train timetabling problem with considering train stops for praying

This paper presents a simulation-based optimization approach for railway timetabling, which is made interesting by the need for trains to stop periodically to allow passengers to pray. The developed framework is based on integration of a simulation model and an evolutionary path re-linking algorithm with the capability of scheduling trains, subject to the capacity constraints in order to minimize the total waiting times. A customized deadlock avoidance method has been developed which is based on a conditional capacity allocation. The proposed look-ahead deadlock avoidance approach is effective and easy to implement in the simulation model. A case study of the Iranian Railway (RAI) is selected for examining the efficiency of the meta-heuristic algorithm. The result shows that proposed algorithm has the capability of generating good quality solution in real-world problems.