01045991

Component

Railroads have been using wayside inspection technologies for many years and recently new technologies are proliferating. Efficient deployment of these technologies is important if railroads are to derive the maximum benefit from their investment. This paper presents a network optimization model that selects cost-effective installation sites for wayside defect detection system over a railroad network. The objective is to maximize the total inspection benefits possible under any given investment budget. We develop efficient solution techniques based on Lagrangian Relaxation to solve the problem. The paper also presents a case study using empirical data to illustrate the technique. The computational results show that the model can be solved efficiently, and hence has the capability of being applied to full-scale railroad networks at either regional or national levels. There are a variety of ways that railroads can use this model to help them more efficiently invest in wayside inspection technology so as to maximize the safety and economic benefits of these technologies.

01042056

07-3422

English

17p

2007

Transportation Research Board 86th Annual Meeting

CD-ROM

Figures (4) ; References (10) ; Tables (1)

Defects; Defects; Detection and identification; Inspection; Inspection equipment; Optimization; Railroad transportation; Railroads; Technological innovations; Wayside signals

Lagrangian relaxation approach

Operations and Traffic Management; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2007 Paper #07-3422

TRIS, TRB

Feb 8 2007 8:07PM