Reasonable scheduling for arrival–departure track operations in railway stations

We analyze the train types handled at a section station and the factors affecting the scheduling of the arrival--departure track operation, using the following conditions as our optimization goals: operating the arrival--departure tracks in accordance with a fixed operation scheme, and reducing the influence which the departing--receiving operations impose on shunting operations. We establish a 0--1 integer programming model for formulating a track operation plan. By applying modern sequencing theory, this is transformed into a fixed sequencing model of special parallel machines. We then design a heuristic algorithm to solve the model. Finally, the example of Yiyang railway station is used to verify the advantages of the model and the algorithm. A better operation plan is obtained using MATLAB 7.0 by applying the model and the algorithm provided in the paper, indicating the superiority of our study’s approach.