Transport Capacity Maximization in Rail Mass Transit Stations Under Uncertainty

Urban railways play a critical role in promoting sustainable transportation by providing high-capacity, efficient, and low-emission alternatives to road-based travel. As cities continue to grow, the demand for mass transit rail transport is steadily increasing, posing significant challenges to exist...

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Main Authors: Adrian Fernandez-Rodriguez, Maria Dominguez, Asuncion P. Cucala, Antonio Fernandez-Cardador
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2025-01-01
Series:IEEE Access
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11079974/
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author Adrian Fernandez-Rodriguez
Maria Dominguez
Asuncion P. Cucala
Antonio Fernandez-Cardador
author_facet Adrian Fernandez-Rodriguez
Maria Dominguez
Asuncion P. Cucala
Antonio Fernandez-Cardador
author_sort Adrian Fernandez-Rodriguez
collection DOAJ
description Urban railways play a critical role in promoting sustainable transportation by providing high-capacity, efficient, and low-emission alternatives to road-based travel. As cities continue to grow, the demand for mass transit rail transport is steadily increasing, posing significant challenges to existing infrastructure, particularly at terminal stations, which often become bottlenecks due to their complex operations. Addressing these capacity limitations is essential not only for improving the quality of service but also for supporting the broader goals of urban sustainability. This paper introduces a two-level optimization model designed to maximize the practical transport capacity of mass transit railway stations. At the upper level, a genetic algorithm determines the optimal sequence of train services and platform assignments. These solutions are then evaluated by a linear programming model at the lower level to estimate the resulting transport capacity. For a more realistic assessment of practical capacity, fuzzy modelling is employed to manage uncertainties in train delays and operational variations. The model incorporates critical operational constraints of urban railways, including minimum turn-around times, track occupancy, and constant headways between train services of the same type. A detailed simulation model is used to evaluate route intervals based on train dynamics and signalling systems. Simulation results based on real-world data demonstrate the model’s effectiveness in maximizing capacity under uncertain conditions and different operational schemes, contributing to more efficient and sustainable mass transit railway systems. This research highlights the importance of optimizing rail transport capacity as a key component of sustainable urban development.
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spelling doaj-art-c7434bbbfa15486aad8612def0e4a3e42025-08-20T03:13:36ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362025-01-011312622712624410.1109/ACCESS.2025.358900911079974Transport Capacity Maximization in Rail Mass Transit Stations Under UncertaintyAdrian Fernandez-Rodriguez0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1615-5819Maria Dominguez1https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0137-2445Asuncion P. Cucala2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1899-6892Antonio Fernandez-Cardador3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0231-4233Institute for Research in Technology, ICAI School of Engineering, Comillas Pontifical University, Madrid, SpainInstitute for Research in Technology, ICAI School of Engineering, Comillas Pontifical University, Madrid, SpainInstitute for Research in Technology, ICAI School of Engineering, Comillas Pontifical University, Madrid, SpainInstitute for Research in Technology, ICAI School of Engineering, Comillas Pontifical University, Madrid, SpainUrban railways play a critical role in promoting sustainable transportation by providing high-capacity, efficient, and low-emission alternatives to road-based travel. As cities continue to grow, the demand for mass transit rail transport is steadily increasing, posing significant challenges to existing infrastructure, particularly at terminal stations, which often become bottlenecks due to their complex operations. Addressing these capacity limitations is essential not only for improving the quality of service but also for supporting the broader goals of urban sustainability. This paper introduces a two-level optimization model designed to maximize the practical transport capacity of mass transit railway stations. At the upper level, a genetic algorithm determines the optimal sequence of train services and platform assignments. These solutions are then evaluated by a linear programming model at the lower level to estimate the resulting transport capacity. For a more realistic assessment of practical capacity, fuzzy modelling is employed to manage uncertainties in train delays and operational variations. The model incorporates critical operational constraints of urban railways, including minimum turn-around times, track occupancy, and constant headways between train services of the same type. A detailed simulation model is used to evaluate route intervals based on train dynamics and signalling systems. Simulation results based on real-world data demonstrate the model’s effectiveness in maximizing capacity under uncertain conditions and different operational schemes, contributing to more efficient and sustainable mass transit railway systems. This research highlights the importance of optimizing rail transport capacity as a key component of sustainable urban development.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11079974/Mass transit railwaytransport capacityfuzzy logicgenetic algorithmbi-level optimization
spellingShingle Adrian Fernandez-Rodriguez
Maria Dominguez
Asuncion P. Cucala
Antonio Fernandez-Cardador
Transport Capacity Maximization in Rail Mass Transit Stations Under Uncertainty
IEEE Access
Mass transit railway
transport capacity
fuzzy logic
genetic algorithm
bi-level optimization
title Transport Capacity Maximization in Rail Mass Transit Stations Under Uncertainty
title_full Transport Capacity Maximization in Rail Mass Transit Stations Under Uncertainty
title_fullStr Transport Capacity Maximization in Rail Mass Transit Stations Under Uncertainty
title_full_unstemmed Transport Capacity Maximization in Rail Mass Transit Stations Under Uncertainty
title_short Transport Capacity Maximization in Rail Mass Transit Stations Under Uncertainty
title_sort transport capacity maximization in rail mass transit stations under uncertainty
topic Mass transit railway
transport capacity
fuzzy logic
genetic algorithm
bi-level optimization
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11079974/
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AT mariadominguez transportcapacitymaximizationinrailmasstransitstationsunderuncertainty
AT asuncionpcucala transportcapacitymaximizationinrailmasstransitstationsunderuncertainty
AT antoniofernandezcardador transportcapacitymaximizationinrailmasstransitstationsunderuncertainty