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Capacity Management on Long-Distance Passenger Trains of Indian Railways

Author

Listed:
  • Raja Gopalakrishnan

    (Western Railway, Churchgate, Mumbai 400020, India)

  • Narayan Rangaraj

    (Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, IIT Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India)

Abstract

In this paper, we discuss a model to allocate train capacity among multiple travel segments on an Indian Railways train route with several stops. We use a linear programming model and data preprocessing and postprocessing to determine the optimal capacity allocation on multiple travel legs. The model uses a simple, effective capacity management tool. For historical and social reasons, Indian Railways splits its train capacity based on user and type of travel. Determining the optimal split of such capacity is nontrivial. We deal with the specific issue of the spatial split of seats in an end-to-end travel segment within a given travel class. This addresses the needs of end-to-end and en route travelers. When we applied our model to 17 Indian Railways trains, we achieved increases of 2.6 to 29.3 percent in revenue, 6.7 to 30.8 percent in load factors, and 8.4 to 29 percent in passengers carried.

Suggested Citation

  • Raja Gopalakrishnan & Narayan Rangaraj, 2010. "Capacity Management on Long-Distance Passenger Trains of Indian Railways," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 40(4), pages 291-302, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:orinte:v:40:y:2010:i:4:p:291-302
    DOI: 10.1287/inte.1100.0495
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Dror, Moshe & Trudeau, Pierre & Ladany, Shaul P., 1988. "Network models for seat allocation on flights," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 239-250, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Yu Wang & Xinghua Shan & Hongye Wang & Junfeng Zhang & Xiaoyan Lv & Jinfei Wu, 2022. "Ticket Allocation Optimization of Fuxing Train Based on Overcrowding Control: An Empirical Study from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-12, June.
    2. Haque, Md Tabish & Hamid, Faiz, 2022. "An optimization model to assign seats in long distance trains to minimize SARS-CoV-2 diffusion," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 104-120.
    3. Haque, Md Tabish & Hamid, Faiz, 2023. "Social distancing and revenue management—A post-pandemic adaptation for railways," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).

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