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The load planning problem for double-stack intermodal trains

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  • Mantovani, Serena
  • Morganti, Gianluca
  • Umang, Nitish
  • Crainic, Teodor Gabriel
  • Frejinger, Emma
  • Larsen, Eric

Abstract

This paper presents a general methodology that addresses the load planning problem for intermodal trains. We propose a model that can deal with single- or double-stack railcars as well as arbitrary containers-to-cars matching rules. Moreover, we model weight and center of gravity constraints, stacking rules and technical loading restrictions associated with specific container types and/or contents. We propose an integer linear programming (ILP) formulation whose objective is to choose the optimal subset of containers and the optimal way of loading them on outbound railcars so as to minimize the resulting loading cost. An extensive numerical study is conducted. It shows that ignoring center of gravity constraints and containers-to-cars matching rules may lead to an overestimation of the train capacity and to select load plans that are not feasible in practice. We also show that we can solve realistic instances to optimality in reasonable computational time using a commercial ILP solver.

Suggested Citation

  • Mantovani, Serena & Morganti, Gianluca & Umang, Nitish & Crainic, Teodor Gabriel & Frejinger, Emma & Larsen, Eric, 2018. "The load planning problem for double-stack intermodal trains," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 267(1), pages 107-119.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ejores:v:267:y:2018:i:1:p:107-119
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ejor.2017.11.016
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    2. Song, Zhuzhu & Tang, Wansheng & Zhao, Ruiqing, 2020. "A simple game theoretical analysis for incentivizing multi-modal transportation in freight supply chains," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 283(1), pages 152-165.
    3. Eric Larsen & Sébastien Lachapelle & Yoshua Bengio & Emma Frejinger & Simon Lacoste-Julien & Andrea Lodi, 2022. "Predicting Tactical Solutions to Operational Planning Problems Under Imperfect Information," INFORMS Journal on Computing, INFORMS, vol. 34(1), pages 227-242, January.
    4. Turkay Yildiz, 2019. "Design and Analysis of a Lightweight Composite Shipping Container Made of Carbon Fiber Laminates," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 3(3), pages 1-20, July.
    5. Daniela Ambrosino & Claudia Caballini, 2019. "New solution approaches for the train load planning problem," EURO Journal on Transportation and Logistics, Springer;EURO - The Association of European Operational Research Societies, vol. 8(3), pages 299-325, September.
    6. Roy, Debjit & van Ommeren, Jan-Kees & de Koster, René & Gharehgozli, Amir, 2022. "Modeling landside container terminal queues: Exact analysis and approximations," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 73-102.

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