Transformer-Based Macroscopic Regulation for High-Speed Railway Timetable Rescheduling

Unexpected delays in train operations can cause a cascade of negative consequences in a high-speed railway system.In such cases,train timetables need to be rescheduled.However,timely and efficient train timetable rescheduling is still a challenging problem due to its modeling difficulties and low optimization efficiency.This paper presents a Transformer-based macroscopic regulation approach which consists of two stages including Transformer-based modeling and policy-based decisionmaking.Firstly,the relationship between various train schedules and operations is described by creating a macroscopic model with the Transformer,providing the better understanding of overall operation in the high-speed railway system.Then,a policy-based approach is used to solve a continuous decision problem after macro-modeling for fast convergence.Extensive experiments on various delay scenarios are conducted.The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in comparison to other popular methods.

Last train timetable optimization for metro network to maximize the passenger accessibility over the end-of-service period

Purpose-This study aims to improve the passenger accessibility of passenger demands in the end-ofoperation period.Design/methodology/approach-A mixed integer nonlinear programming model for last train timetable optimization of the metro was proposed considering the constraints such as the maximum headway,the minimum headway and the latest end-of-operation time.The objective of the model is to maximize the number of reachable passengers in the end-of-operation period.A solution method based on a preset train service is proposed,which significantly reduces the variables of deciding train services in the original model and reformulates it into a mixed integer linear programming model.Findings-The results of the case study of Wuhan Metro show that the solution method can obtain highquality solutions in a shorter time;and the shorter the time interval of passenger flow data,the more obvious the advantage of solution speed;after optimization,the number of passengers reaching the destination among the passengers who need to take the last train during the end-of-operation period can be increased by 10%.Originality/value-Existing research results only consider the passengers who take the last train.Compared with previous research,considering the overall passenger demand during the end-of-operation period can make more passengers arrive at their destination.Appropriately delaying the end-of-operation time can increase the proportion of passengers who can reach the destination in the metro network,but due to the decrease in passenger demand,postponing the end-of-operation time has a bottleneck in increasing the proportion of passengers who can reach the destination.

A train timetable rescheduling approach based on multi-train tracking optimization of high-speed railways

Purpose–This paper aims to propose a train timetable rescheduling(TTR)approach from the perspective of multi-train tracking optimization based on the mutual spatiotemporal information in the high-speed railway signaling system.Design/methodology/approach–Firstly,a single-train trajectory optimization(STTO)model is constructed based on train dynamics and operating conditions.The train kinematics parameters,including acceleration,speed and time at each position,are calculated to predict the arrival times in the train timetable.A STTO algorithm is developed to optimize a single-train time-efficient driving strategy.Then,a TTR approach based on multi-train tracking optimization(TTR-MTTO)is proposed with mutual information.The constraints of temporary speed restriction(TSR)and end of authority are decoupled to calculate the tracking trajectory of the backward tracking train.The multi-train trajectories at each position are optimized to generate a timeefficient train timetable.Findings–The numerical experiment is performed on the Beijing-Tianjin high-speed railway line and CR400AF.The STTO algorithm predicts the train’s planned arrival time to calculate the total train delay(TTD).As for the TSR scenario,the proposed TTR-MTTO can reduce TTD by 60.60%compared with the traditional TTR approach with dispatchers’experience.Moreover,TTR-MTTO can optimize a time-efficient train timetable to help dispatchers reschedule trains more reasonably.Originality/value–With the cooperative relationship and mutual information between train rescheduling and control,the proposed TTR-MTTO approach can automatically generate a time-efficient train timetable to reduce the total train delay and the work intensity of dispatchers.

A Multiple-Neighborhood-Based Parallel Composite Local Search Algorithm for Timetable Problem

This paper presents a parallel composite local search algorithm based on multiple search neighborhoods to solve a special kind of timetable problem. The new algorithm can also effectively solve those problems that can be solved by general local search algorithms. Experimental results show that the new algorithm can generate better solutions than general local search algorithms.

Timetable optimization for single bus line based on hybrid vehicle size model

This study proposes a flexible timetable optimization method based on hybrid vehicle size model to tackle the bus demand fluctuations in transit operation. Three different models for hybrid vehicle, large vehicle and small vehicle are built in this study, respectively. With the operation data of Shanghai Transit Route 55 at peak and off-peak hours, a heuristic algorithm was proposed to solve the problem. The results indicate that the hybrid vehicle size model excels the other two modes both in the total time and total cost. The study verifies the rationality of the strategy of hybrid vehicle size model and highlights the importance of the adaptive vehicle size in dealing with the bus demand fluctuation. The main innovation of the study is that unlike traditional timetables, the arrangement of the scheduling interval and the corresponding bus type or size are both involved in the timetable of hybrid vehicle size bus mode, which will be more effective to solve the problem of passenger demand fluctuation. Findings from this research would provide a new perspective to improve the level of regular bus service.

MOHURD: Household Garbage Sorting Accelerated, Timetables for 46 Key Cities Clarified

MOHURD released the Notice on Accelerating the Household Garbage Sorting in Certain Key Cities,requiring pushing forward the household garbage sorting in 46 key cities such as Beijing,Tianjin,Shanghai,etc.,and establishing demonstration areas for garbage sorting in these cities for 2018.

Real-time high-speed train rescheduling based on a Human-Computer Interaction framework

During railway operations,trains normally run as scheduled,but the occurrence of unexpected events will disrupt traffic flow and cause train deviation from the original timetable.In order to assist dispatchers in rescheduling trains,this paper introduces an innovative Human-Computer Interaction framework.This framework enables train dispatchers to propose different timetable adjustment instructions to the original or adjusted timetable.These instructions will be processed,stored,analyzed,and digested by computer program,which finally lead to the modification and calculation of the embedded mathematical model,then a new adjusted timetable will be produced and provided to dispatchers for checking and modifying.This framework can iterate for unlimited times based on dispatchers'intentions,until the final results satisfy them.A demonstration system named RTARS(Real-time Timetable Automatic Rescheduling System)is developed based on this framework and it has been applied in Beijing Railway Administration,which shows its effectiveness in reality.

Optimization Techniques in University Timetabling Problem:Constraints,Methodologies,Benchmarks,and Open Issues

University timetabling problems are a yearly challenging task and are faced repeatedly each semester.The problems are considered nonpolynomial time(NP)and combinatorial optimization problems(COP),which means that they can be solved through optimization algorithms to produce the aspired optimal timetable.Several techniques have been used to solve university timetabling problems,and most of them use optimization techniques.This paper provides a comprehensive review of the most recent studies dealing with concepts,methodologies,optimization,benchmarks,and open issues of university timetabling problems.The comprehensive review starts by presenting the essence of university timetabling as NP-COP,defining and clarifying the two formed classes of university timetabling:University Course Timetabling and University Examination Timetabling,illustrating the adopted algorithms for solving such a problem,elaborating the university timetabling constraints to be considered achieving the optimal timetable,and explaining how to analyze and measure the performance of the optimization algorithms by demonstrating the commonly used benchmark datasets for the evaluation.It is noted that meta-heuristic methodologies are widely used in the literature.Additionally,recently,multi-objective optimization has been increasingly used in solving such a problem that can identify robust university timetabling solutions.Finally,trends and future directions in university timetabling problems are provided.This paper provides good information for students,researchers,and specialists interested in this area of research.The challenges and possibilities for future research prospects are also explored.

A Hybrid Heuristic Algorithm for Solving COVID-19’s Social Distancing at Universities Campus

Social distancing during COVID-19 has become one of the most important measures in reducing the risks of the spread of the virus. Implementing thesemeasures at universities is crucial and directly related to the physical attendance ofthe populations of students, professors, employees, and other members on campus. This research proposes an automated scheduling approach that can help universities and schools comply with the social distancing regulations by providingassistance in avoiding huge assemblages of people. Furthermore, this paper proposes a novel course timetable-scheduling scheme based on four main constraints.First, a distance of two meters must be maintained between each student inside theclassroom. Second, no classrooms should contain more than 20% of their regularcapacity. Third, there would be no back-to-back classes. Lastly, no lectures shouldbe held simultaneously in adjacent classrooms. The proposed approach wasimplemented using a variable neighborhood search (VNS) approach with an adaptive neighborhood structure (AD-NS) to resolve the problem of scheduling coursetimetables at Al-Ahlyyia Amman University. However, the experimental resultsshow that the proposed techniques outperformed the standard VNS tested on university course timetabling benchmark dataset ITC2007-Track3. Meanwhile, theapproach was tested using datasets collected from the faculty of information technology at Al-Ahlyyia Amman University (Jordan). Where the results showed that,the proposed technique could help educational institutes to resume their regularoperations while complying with the social distancing guidelines.

颗粒增强低成本钛基复合材料

采用TiC颗粒和熔铸法制备TiCp/TIMETAL 62S复合材料 ,研究了钛基复合材料的显微组织和室温力学性能。结果表明 :TiCp/TIMETAL 62S复合材料的组织由针状α相、少量 β相和TiC颗粒组成 ;TiC颗粒改变了基体合金原有组织 ,促进了复合材料组织的细化 ;钛基复合材料具有良好的室温强度和塑性 ,复合效果良好。

一种亚稳β钛合金中疲劳短裂纹穿晶扩展晶体学特征的EBSD研究

简单介绍一种疲劳短裂纹扩展跨越晶界的晶体学模型和利用EBSD技术判定活动滑移系的简便方法.作为实际应用的示例,利用EBSD技术应用晶体学模型研究了一种亚稳β钛合金--TIMETAL LCB中疲劳短裂纹穿晶扩展的晶体学特征.实现了穿晶裂纹活动滑移系的判定.结果表明:除在试样表面晶粒两侧的裂纹走向偏折因素外,裂纹面(活动滑移面)间角是更重要的控制短裂纹穿晶扩展的晶体学因素.

Combined Timetabling Procedure and Complete Local Search for No-Wait Job Shop Scheduling with Total Tardiness

The strong non-deterministic polynomial-hard( NP-hard)character of job shop scheduling problem( JSSP) has been acknowledged widely and it becomes stronger when attaches the nowait constraint,which widely exists in many production processes,such as chemistry process, metallurgical process. However,compared with the massive research on traditional job shop problem,little attention has been paid on the no-wait constraint.Therefore,in this paper, we have dealt with this problem by decomposing it into two sub-problems, the timetabling and sequencing problems,in traditional frame work. A new efficient combined non-order timetabling method,coordinated with objective of total tardiness,is proposed for the timetabling problems. As for the sequencing one,we have presented a modified complete local search with memory combined by crossover operator and distance counting. The entire algorithm was tested on well-known benchmark problems and compared with several existing algorithms.Computational experiments showed that our proposed algorithm performed both effectively and efficiently.

新的低成本钛合金——TIMETAL 62S

水流携带的固体磨粒的碰撞引起的水力磨蚀可导致材料表面损坏，为了改善磨蚀部件的设计，很多水力机械制造厂主要依靠试验和经验数据来预估有可能由靡起的损坏，确定技术检查间隔，估计部件的耐磨强度。本文介绍的数值分析法可以使人更尽地了解磨蚀机理，并了一种改善机器在磨蚀环境中运行的设计方法。

Closing the loop between data mining and fast decision support for intelligent train scheduling and traffic control

The existing Big Data of transport flows and railway operations can be mined through advanced statistical analysis and machine learning methods in order to describe and predict well the train speed, punctuality, track capacity and energy consumption. The accurate modelling of the real spatial and temporal distribution of line and network transport, traffic and performance stimulates a faster construction and implementation of robust and resilient timetables, as well as the development of efficient decision support tools for real-time rescheduling of train schedules. In combination with advanced train control and safety systems even (semi-.) automatic piloting of trains on main and regional railway lines will become feasible in near future.

An Enhanced Particle Swarm Optimization for ITC2021 Sports Timetabling

Timetabling problem is among the most difficult operational tasks and is an important step in raising industrial productivity,capability,and capacity.Such tasks are usually tackled using metaheuristics techniques that provide an intelligent way of suggesting solutions or decision-making.Swarm intelligence techniques including Particle Swarm Optimization(PSO)have proved to be effective examples.Different recent experiments showed that the PSO algorithm is reliable for timetabling in many applications such as educational and personnel timetabling,machine scheduling,etc.However,having an optimal solution is extremely challenging but having a sub-optimal solution using heuristics or metaheuristics is guaranteed.This research paper seeks the enhancement of the PSO algorithm for an efficient timetabling task.This algorithm aims at generating a feasible timetable within a reasonable time.This enhanced version is a hybrid dynamic adaptive PSO algorithm that is tested on a round-robin tournament known as ITC2021 which is dedicated to sports timetabling.The competition includes several soft and hard constraints to be satisfied in order to build a feasible or sub-optimal timetable.It consists of three categories of complexities,namely early,test,and middle instances.Results showed that the proposed dynamic adaptive PSO has obtained feasible timetables for almost all of the instances.The feasibility is measured by minimizing the violation of hard constraints to zero.The performance of the dynamic adaptive PSO is evaluated by the consumed computational time to produce a solution of feasible timetable,consistency,and robustness.The dynamic adaptive PSO showed a robust and consistent performance in producing a diversity of timetables in a reasonable computational time.

Pareto-Based Complete Local Search and Combined Timetabling for Multi-objective Job Shop Scheduling Problem with No-Wait Constraint

Job shop scheduling has become the basis and core of advanced manufacturing technology. Various differences exist between academic research and practical production. The majority of previous researches on job shop scheduling problem (JSSP)describe the basic production environment, which have a single objective and limited constraints. However,a practical process of production is characterized by having multiple objectives,no-wait constraint,and limited storage. Thus this research focused on multiobjective,no-wait JSSP. To analyze the problem,it was further divided into two sub-problems, namely, sequencing and timetabling. Hybrid non-order strategy and modified complete local search with memory were used to solve each problem individually. A Pareto-based strategy for performing fitness assessment was presented in this study. Various experiments on benchmark problems proved the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Annealing Harmony Search Algorithm to Solve the Nurse Rostering Problem

A real-life problem is the rostering of nurses at hospitals.It is a famous nondeterministic,polynomial time(NP)-hard combinatorial optimization problem.Handling the real-world nurse rostering problem(NRP)constraints in distributing workload equally between available nurses is still a difficult task to achieve.The international shortage of nurses,in addition to the spread of COVID-19,has made it more difficult to provide convenient rosters for nurses.Based on the literature,heuristic-based methods are the most commonly used methods to solve the NRP due to its computational complexity,especially for large rosters.Heuristic-based algorithms in general have problems striking the balance between diversification and intensification.Therefore,this paper aims to introduce a novel metaheuristic hybridization that combines the enhanced harmony search algorithm(EHSA)with the simulated annealing(SA)algorithm called the annealing harmony search algorithm(AHSA).The AHSA is used to solve NRP from a Malaysian hospital.The AHSA performance is compared to the EHSA,climbing harmony search algorithm(CHSA),deluge harmony search algorithm(DHSA),and harmony annealing search algorithm(HAS).The results show that the AHSA performs better than the other compared algorithms for all the tested instances where the best ever results reported for the UKMMC dataset.

A simulation-based optimization approach for passenger train timetabling with periodic track maintenance and stops for praying

This paper presents two optimization methods for solving the passenger train timetabling problem to minimize the total delay time in the single track railway networks. The goal of the train timetable problem is to determine departure and arrival times to or from each station in order to prevent collisions between trains and effective utilization of resources. The two proposed methods are based on integration of a simulation and an optimization method to simulate train traffic flow and generate near optimal train timetable under realistic con- straints including stops for track maintenance and praying. The first proposed method integrates a cellular automata （CA） simulation model with genetic algorithm optimiza- tion method. In the second proposed approach, a CA simulation model combines with dynamically dimensioned search optimization method. The proposed models are applied to hypothetical case study to demonstrate the merit of them. The Islamic Republic of Iran Railways （IRIR） data and regulations have been used to optimize train timetable. The results show the first method is more effi- cient than the second method to obtain near optimal train timetabling.

Parallel Multiple Tabu Search for Multiobjective Urban Transit Scheduling Problem

Urban Transit Scheduling Problem (UTSP) is concerned with determining reliable transit schedules for buses and drivers by considering the preferences of both passengers and operators based on the demand and the set of transit routes. This paper considered a UTSP which consisted of frequency setting, timetabling, and simultaneous bus and driver scheduling. A mixed integer multiobjective model was constructed to optimize the frequency of the routes by minimizing the number of buses, passenger’s waiting times and overcrowding. The model was further extended by incorporating timeslots in determining the frequencies during peak and off-peak hours throughout the time period. The timetabling problem studied two different scenarios which reflected the preferences of passengers and operators to assign the bus departure times at the first and last stop of a route. A set covering model was then adopted to minimize the number of buses and drivers simultaneously. A parallel tabu search algorithm was proposed to solve the problem by modifying the initialization process and incorporating intensification and diversification approaches to guide the search effectively from the different feasible domain in finding optimal solutions with lesser computational effort. Computational experiments were conducted on the well-known Mandl’s and Mumford’s benchmark networks to assess the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. Competitive results are reported based on the performance metrics, as compared to other algorithms from the literature.