Simultaneous disruption recovery of a train timetable and crew roster in real time

This paper describes the development and implementation of an optimization model used to resolve disruptions to an operating schedule in the rail industry. Alterations to the existing train timetable and crewing roster are made simultaneously in real time – previous treatments in the literature have always decoupled these two problems and solved them in series. An integer programming model is developed that constructs a train timetable and crew roster. This model contains two distinct blocks, with separate variables and constraints for the construction of the train timetable and crew roster, respectively. These blocks are coupled by piece of work sequencing constraints and shift length constraints, which involve variables from both blocks. This unique parallel construction process is then used as the basis of a method to deal with the resolution of train disruptions in real-time. Favourable results are presented for both the combined train/driver scheduling model and the real-time disruption recovery model.