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A column generation approach to train timetabling on a corridor

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Abstract

We propose heuristic and exact algorithms for the (periodic and non-periodic) train timetabling problem on a corridor that are based on the solution of the LP relaxation of an ILP formulation in which each variable corresponds to a full timetable for a train. This is in contrast with previous approaches to the same problem, which were based on ILP formulations in which each variable is associated with a departure and/or arrival of a train at a specific station in a specific time instant, whose LP relaxation is too expensive to be solved exactly. Experimental results on real-world instances of the problem show that the proposed approach is capable of producing heuristic solutions of better quality than those obtained by these previous approaches, and of solving some small-size instances to proven optimality.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. D.E.I.S., University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 2, 40136, Bologna, Italy

    Valentina Cacchiani, Alberto Caprara & Paolo Toth

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  1. Valentina Cacchiani
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  2. Alberto Caprara
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  3. Paolo Toth
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Correspondence to Valentina Cacchiani.

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Cacchiani, V., Caprara, A. & Toth, P. A column generation approach to train timetabling on a corridor. 4OR 6, 125–142 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10288-007-0037-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10288-007-0037-5

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