Three-stage optimization method for the problem of scheduling additional trains on a high-speed rail corridor

When scheduling additional trains into a busy timetable, the arrival and departure times of existing trains may have to be adjusted. Taking a high-speed rail corridor as the research object, we formulate a bi-objective mixed integer linear programming model to generate a new timetable for both of the additional trains and the existing trains, which minimizes the total travel time of the additional trains and minimizes the adjustment on the existing trains at the same time. In order to better model the operations of trains on the high-speed rail line, the capacities of the stations and the acceleration/deceleration times are all taken into account. Furthermore, we propose a three-stage optimization method to solve the bi-objective model. Based on the real data of the Hangzhou–Ningbo–Wenzhou high-speed rail corridor in China, computational experiments are carried out to test the proposed model and optimization method.