Collaborative Optimisation of High-Speed Rail Express Line Planning and Freight Flow Allocation Considering Multiple Transportation Modes and Products

Abstract

With the development of high-speed railway (HSR) systems, high-speed rail express delivery (HSReD) is currently the growing trend in railway cargo transport. The decisions on line planning and freight flow allocation are two of the main problems for the practical operation of HSReD. This paper focuses on integrating the above issues, considering differentiated transportation modes and products. A collaborative optimisation model is developed to maximise the benefits of freight transport. Numerical experiments are conducted based on the Beijing-Shanghai HSR. The results show that the collaborative optimisation model gets a 7.96% higher freight-demand fulfilment rate and an 18.64% increase in the profit rate, compared with the two-stage model under the same network conditions and parameter settings. Some operational implications are also obtained based on the sensitivity analysis, which is potentially useful for optimising the daily operation management of HSReD.