Séminaire conjoint CIRRELT-Chaire de recherche du Canada en distributique-Chaire de recherche du Canada en logistique et en transport

TITRE : A Tactical Planning Model for Railroad Transportation of Dangerous Goods

CONFÉRENCIER : Manish Verma, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Terre-Neuve et Labrador

DATE et ENDROIT : 14 avril, 10h30, salle 5441, Pavillon André-Aisenstadt, Campus de l'Université de Montréal

RESPONSABLE : Gilbert Laporte (514-343-6143)

RÉSUMÉ : Railroad transportation of hazardous materials did not receive as much attention as highway transportation in the academic literature, although comparable volumes are shipped via these two transport modes in North America and Europe. In this project, we present an optimization methodology for the railroad tactical planning problem with risk and cost objectives. We determine the routes to be used for each shipment, the yard activities, and the number of trains of different types needed in the network. The transport risk assessment component of our model incorporates the differentiating characteristics of railroad operations. We develop a memetic algorithm-based solution methodology, which combines genetic and local searches, to solve the bi-objective model. The railroad infrastructure in the midwestern United States is used as a basis for generating problem instances of the size encountered in real life. Our analysis of the solutions of instances indicate that it is possible to achieve significant reductions in population exposure risk without incurring unacceptable increases in operational costs. This is a joint research project with Michel Gendreau and Vedat Verter.