Budget-Constrained Rail Electrification Modeling Using Symmetric Traffic Assignment: A North American Case Study

AbstractWe consider a budget-constrained rail network electrification problem with associated changes in costs of energy usage (via path gradient and curvature), operations, and long-term maintenance. In particular, we consider that freight flows on such a network form a user equilibrium. Interactio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of infrastructure systems 2022-06, Vol.28 (2)
Main Authors: Patil, Priyadarshan, Walthall, Rydell, Boyles, Stephen D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Budgets
Corridors
Decision analysis
Decision making
Electrification
Energy consumption
Energy costs
Energy usage
Genetic algorithms
Infrastructure
Operating costs
Rail transportation
Technical Papers
Traffic assignment
Traffic models
Trains
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Summary:AbstractWe consider a budget-constrained rail network electrification problem with associated changes in costs of energy usage (via path gradient and curvature), operations, and long-term maintenance. In particular, we consider that freight flows on such a network form a user equilibrium. Interactions between electric and diesel trains on the same corridor are represented with nonseparable link performance functions that nevertheless have a symmetric Jacobian. This bilevel formulation is solved for the North American railroad network using a genetic algorithm (GA), incorporating domain-specific insights to reduce the number of solutions that must be considered. We analyze solution characteristics and decision-making implications. Results show that broad connectivity would be beneficial for the most impact. Increasing demand shifts electrified corridors toward the more populous east and gulf coasts, while increased operational costs results in the electrification of routes through mountainous terrains.
ISSN:1076-0342
1943-555X
DOI:10.1061/(ASCE)IS.1943-555X.0000682