Periodic capacitated arc routing problem applied in a real context

Abstract

A good inspection and maintenance planning in railways is essential to ensure the flow of trains and avoid possible accidents. This inspection should be performed periodically by vehicle traveling on rails collecting data and identifying gaps that need to be corrected. The aim of this paper is to present a mathematical model based on binary linear programming, capable of solving this problem, which is a real application of Periodic Capacitated Arc Routing Problem (PCARP). In the PCARP each arc of a network has a demand over a well-defined time horizon and routes must be created for each car so that it covers all the requests in the best way possible without exceeding the vehicles capacity at service. The proposed application has different characteristics to those already proposed in the literature because the vehicle does not need to come back to the depot at the end of the day and the service can be delayed if necessary. The result is satisfactory, covering the demands with a synchronized movement of vehicles.