Potentials of Flexible Production Schemes in Single Wagonload Traffic

New hardware and software-based technologies open up promising levers to address inefficiencies in Single Wagon Load Traffic of the European Rail Freight System. We present a mathematical model using a Large Neighborhood Search heuristic, which is validated using real wagon flow data from the Austrian Federal Railways. Results demonstrate a substantial opportunity to reduce train kilometers by strategically hitching and unhitching wagons along their routes. These findings underscore the potential of substantial efficiency gains in rail freight transportation, which can strategically support decision-making for streamlined railroad operations.