EXTENDING A TRAIN PATHING MODEL FROM ONE-WAY TO 2-WAY TRACK

A train pathing model and algorithms for a rail network was presented and tested in a previous paper. There, it was assumed that each rail line has two or more tracks and each was dedicated to traffic in one direction as is usual in Europe. Here, we show how to adapt and extend that model and algorithms so as to handle trains on single line two-way track, as is usual in North America. Though introducing two-way track makes the formulation appear more complex, I show that somewhat surprisingly, (a) it does not increase the number of constraints or variables, including 0-1 variables, and (b) the model with two-way track should generally be easier to solve.