Integrated Planning of Circulations and Shifts in Railway Systems

Railways have established themselves as one of the most sustainable and environmentally friendly means of transport when powered vehicles are considered. However, the increased number of passengers and trains also poses increasing challenges. The design of rail systems needs to become more efficient, faster, and more resilient to disruptions to cope with increasing complexity and demand.

In this context, the dissertation focuses on two critical planning tasks: circulation planning for traction units and shift planning for traction unit drivers. The first step is to solve these tasks sequentially. Due to the mutual influence of these subtasks, an integrated view within the framework of a combined approach is then aimed at. Another significant goal is the robustness of the obtained planning results. This is to be taken into account to a high degree in evaluating circulation and shift plans. Due to the practical nature of these problems, the developed algorithms are tested using real application scenarios.