A time-space network-based model for transportation service optimization of China Railway Express

Abstract

This paper describes the development and optimization plans for the China Railway Express (CR Express). As a new type of international land transport organization, CR Express has emerged with the continuous expansion of China toward European investment and trade, and in particular, has expanded with the continuous progress of the One Belt and One Road (OBOR) initiative. In addition to improving the service quality of CR Express, the operating costs must be reduced for developing “smart railways” that serve “smart cities”. We propose a dual-objective-based function mathematical optimization model; the satisfaction of the cargo owner is considered, and the timeliness, transportation capacity, and goods category constraints of CR Express transportation are designed. Moreover, we present the normalized equivalent method of the two-objective function of the model. Finally, a case study is conducted against the background of certain trains in the western corridor of CR Express to validate the effectiveness of the model and research methods proposed in this study.

Keywords

One Belt and One Road / China Railway Express / Transportation service / Mathematical optimization / Time-space network

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests. Weichuan Yin reports financial support was provided by Beijing Union University. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 62102032), the R&D Program of Beijing Municipal Education Commission (Grant No. KM202211417010).

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