When delays occur in a railway network, train dispatchers need an answer to the question: ‘How to get the train service back to the scheduled situation?’. This research project is aimed at the development of a tool that helps the dispatcher answer this question quickly by evaluating the effectiveness of dispatching actions, such as changing the sequence order of two trains. Approach: · Algorithms able to evaluate dispatching actions on a network-wide level have been developed using the timed event graph representation of a max-plus model. · The implications of dispatching actions on such a model have been studied, described and implemented in these algorithms. · Furthermore, an optimization algorithm has been implemented to show that the developed theory can be used to find effective combinations of dispatching actions for a given network with delayed trains. · Application to a testing network shows the consistency of the developed theory.