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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: GR/S20949/01
Title: Robust rail driver schedules planning and delay recovery
Principal Investigator: Kwan, Professor RSK
Other Investigators:
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Ricardo Group
Department: Sch of Computing
Organisation: University of Leeds
Scheme: Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts: 01 October 2003 Ends: 30 September 2006 Value (£): 207,617
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Intelligent & Expert Systems Transport Ops & Management
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Transport Systems and Vehicles
Related Grants:
Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
This project aims at improving the reliability of the UK rail services through a comprehensive model of rail driver delays and a new class of scheduling algorithms that would optimise on robustness against delays and adapt the driver schedules to recover when delays have actually occurred. Prototype systems will be built and tested to validate and evaluate the model and the algorithms developed. Extensive collaboration with the rail industry will be pursued. There are three main types of rail driver scheduling scenario to be considered: advanced medium-term planning (e.g. schedules to be operated regularly for the next six months); advanced short-term schedule revision (e.g. schedules to cover a period of engineering work); and on-theday recovery from major delays. Mainly local search heuristics incorporating fuzzy theory techniques will be used for the new algorithms, and delay situations will be simulated to estimate the robustness achieved. Intelligent and optimised distribution of affordable slack time allowances in the schedule, minimum change, and assessment and prediction of the effects of delays are the main features in the scheduling methods to be developed. A PhD studentship will complement the main programme focussing on how the algorithms may exploit the presence of time windows for changing drivers.
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Organisation Website: http://www.leeds.ac.uk