Dealing with conflicting trains: Effectively avoiding and resolving conflicts during shunting

A shunting yard is used to store trains between arrival and departure. A conflict arises in a shunting yard when one train obstructs another from leaving. Resolving a conflict is done by re-allocating the trains obstructing the departing train to other tracks in the shunting yard. However, these re-allocations complicate the problem at hand and...

Contextual Hyperparameter Optimization for the Train Unit Shunting Problem

One of the planning problems encountered by the Dutch Railways (NS) at shunting yards is the train unit shunting problem (TUSP). This problem considers idle train units that have to be parked, be cleaned, undergo regular maintenance, and be reconfigured into the scheduled departing train compositions. A local search algorithm is being developed...