Searching for optimal routes for mixed road-rail freight transportation

Abstract

The main direction for improving the efficiency of cargo transportation is the implementation of combined road-rail transportation. The difficulty in of solving this problem arises from the various conditions that occur when transporting goods by different modes of transport. There are several options for organizing transportation, namely: Option 1 - transporting goods to the railroad, transshipment and further transportation by rail, Option 2 - transportation by road in parallel with rail. The aim of this research is to develop a mathematical model for combined transportation on the transport network, using both road and rail transport with transshipment from one type of transport to another. The research was conducted using the methodology for dual problems of linearly constrained optimization, makes it possible to establish the existence and finding a solution to the stated problem. The results of this work can be used in information systems for decision-making by cargo shippers regarding route selection in the field of cargo transportation under conditions of competition or interaction between different modes of transport.