R.N. (Rolf) van Lieshout MSc

Railway systems occasionally get into a state of out-of-control, meaning that barely any train is running, even though the required resources (infrastructure, rolling stock and crew) are available. These situations can either be caused by large disruptions or unexpected propagation and accumulation of delays. Because of the large number of affected resources and the absence of detailed, timely and accurate information, currently existing rescheduling methods cannot be applied in out-of-control situations. In this research, we investigate a recently proposed framework aiming at reducing the impact of these situations and - if possible - avoiding them. Specifically, we develop novel mathematical models for adjusting the line plan on the day of operations, investigate self-organizing dispatching techniques for rolling stock and crew, and analyse methods to inform and steer the passengers.