Development of a Mathematical Model of Sequential Arrangement of a Group of Wagons Along Station Tracks

In practice, shunting work on the sequential placement of a group of wagons on station tracks is carried out according to the experience of the relevant employees. This, in turn, leads to the fact that different amounts of time are spent on these works in different shifts. As a result, 36.2% of the operated fleet of shunting locomotives operate in excess of the upper limit of the load factor (85%) established by the current norms, shunting locomotives at mainline stations consume fuel by 4.7% more than the established limit, by 14.6% at industrial railway stations. In this article, possible variants of the sequence of placing a group of wagons on station tracks are determined based on the laws of combinatorics, a mathematical model for minimizing the time spent on technological operations for placing a group of wagons on station tracks is developed taking into account possible options for placing groups in a sequence. By applying the developed model at the station “Z” to cases when the group of cars in the composition is different, it was determined that the difference between the times of disbanding of one train placed on the station tracks is on average 4 min, the possibilities of reducing the duration of employment of the shunting locomotive when performing half-trips to 20 locomotive-minutes and the resulting annual economic efficiency.