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Improving Intermodal Train Operations in Indian Railways

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  • Amit Upadhyay

    (Vinod Gupta School of Management, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, 721302 West Bengal, India)

Abstract

In Indian Railways, container train operators (CTOs) run intermodal trains. The success of a CTO depends on it providing timely delivery of containers at low haulage cost. The CTO must utilize its rolling stock efficiently, select containers, and assign these containers to wagons optimally considering multiple conflicting requirements. I discuss a mathematical programming–based approach we developed for a major CTO for train-load planning, which reduces the average cost of container haulage and increases the timeliness desired by customers. After being used to plan more than 1,000 trains, my model has been estimated to save about 2% in rail haulage cost, which corresponds to an annual saving of more than 300 million Indian rupees for Indian Railways trains. This study has led to a remarkable turnaround in the operations strategy of the operator, with a shift in emphasis from increasing train utilization to maximizing the contribution to profit.

Suggested Citation

  • Amit Upadhyay, 2020. "Improving Intermodal Train Operations in Indian Railways," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 50(4), pages 213-224, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:orinte:v:50:y:2020:i:4:p:213-224
    DOI: 10.1287/inte.2020.1035
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Yung-Cheng Lai & Yanfeng Ouyang & Christopher P. L. Barkan, 2008. "A Rolling Horizon Model to Optimize Aerodynamic Efficiency of Intermodal Freight Trains with Uncertainty," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 42(4), pages 466-477, November.
    2. Nils Boysen & Malte Fliedner & Florian Jaehn & Erwin Pesch, 2013. "A Survey on Container Processing in Railway Yards," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 47(3), pages 312-329, August.
    3. Katta G. Murty & Yat-wah Wan & Jiyin Liu & Mitchell M. Tseng & Edmond Leung & Kam-Keung Lai & Herman W. C. Chiu, 2005. "Hongkong International Terminals Gains Elastic Capacity Using a Data-Intensive Decision-Support System," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 35(1), pages 61-75, February.
    4. Upadhyay, Amit & Gu, Weihua & Bolia, Nomesh, 2017. "Optimal loading of double-stack container trains," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 1-22.
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    Cited by:

    1. Amit Upadhyay, 2021. "Pricing Anomalies and Arbitrage in Container Transport in India," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 51(6), pages 422-434, November.
    2. Amir Gharehgozli & Debjit Roy & Suruchika Saini & Jan-Kees Ommeren, 2023. "Loading and unloading trains at the landside of container terminals," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 25(3), pages 549-575, September.
    3. Roy, Debjit & van Ommeren, Jan-Kees & de Koster, René & Gharehgozli, Amir, 2022. "Modeling landside container terminal queues: Exact analysis and approximations," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 73-102.
    4. Zhongbin Zhao & Xifu Wang & Suxin Cheng & Wei Liu & Lijun Jiang, 2022. "A New Synchronous Handling Technology of Double Stack Container Trains in Sea-Rail Intermodal Terminals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1, September.

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