Handling Equipment Allocation Optimization of Railroad-highway Combined Transportation: Bi-Objective Model and MEACO Algorithm

Abstract

Coordinating connection between railroad and highway in multimodal transportation is very complex and important. It is concerned with the time and cost consuming of containers, the operation efficiency, and resources allocation of railroad and highway. This paper studies the equipment allocation optimization in railway container center station. It establishes a bi-objective optimization model to solve the problem. The two objectives of the model are getting the minimum daily comprehensive costs of equipments, and getting the minimum dwelling time of railway container flatcars on loading and unloading line. Allocating more equipment will reduce the dwelling time obviously. But there are some risks of idle equipment and high costs, too. These are two irreconcilable objectives. The MEACO algorithm is used to solve this problem making Chongqing container center station as an example. The model is verified by actual data. The results suggest the optimal allocation of the handling equipments and are in accordance with the fact of the station.