Title: OPTIMIZING LOCATION AND LENGTH OF PASSING SIDINGS ON SINGLE-TRACK LINES FOR LONG HEAVY-HAUL FREIGHT TRAINS
Abstract: Operation of long freight trains in heavy haul service can help improve the operation efficiency and reduce the unit cost, but the current rail infrastructure in North American can’t fully support this type of operation. In North American, which the majority of rail network is single-track lines, the potential benefits of long freight trains are constrained due to the insufficient length of many passing sidings on many existing single-track lines. As a response to the infrastructure condition, railroads can operate long trains in a single direction [1] or fleet the long freight trains. However, increasing the length of existing short sidings is a more fundamental solution for the growing number of long freight trains. Constructing additional sidings with sufficient length is also a solution to facilitate the long freight operation. The trade-off between extending lengths of existing sidings and constructing new sidings with sufficient length could be very complicated when the budget is limited and alternatives are numerous. This study proposed an Optimal Project Selection Model (OPSM) to help the railroad planners select the most effective combination of available projects in order to maximize the return from the investment of railroads. Moreover, the developed tool is demonstrated by a hypothetical single-track scenario in the case study. The result of case study also proved the benefits from operation of long freight trains.
Publication Year: 2015
Publication Date: 2015-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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