Information processing device, information processing method, and computer program

Abstract

To generate an operation plan with the number of vehicles necessary for an operation taken into account.SOLUTION: This information processing device comprises a processing unit that generates an operation plan by allocating one or more organizations coincident in total vehicle number with the number of vehicles necessary for each of a plurality of operations to the operations on the basis of information about the operations each containing each operation period, information about the number of vehicles necessary for executing the operations, and organization information containing the number of vehicles necessary for each of the organizations enabling merging or division between two or more organizations. The organizations can be repeatedly allocated to two or more operations not overlapping each other in operation period. When two or more organizations are allocated to an operation, merging work for merging two or more organizations is necessary. When two or more organizations merged through merging work are allocated to different operations, division work for dividing two or more organizations is necessary. The processing unit generates an operation plan on the basis of at least one of a merging frequency which is the number of times of executing merging work and a dividing frequency which is the number of times of executing division work.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present embodiment relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and a computer program. [Background technology]

[0002] Railway companies create vehicle operation plans (hereinafter referred to as vehicle allocation plans) in advance that determine which trains are assigned to which operations, and operate trains according to the vehicle allocation plans. If the number of cars required for each operation differs, trains must be assigned to operations so that the number of cars matches the number required. In some cases, multiple trains may be merged (coupled) to increase the number of cars, or trains may be split to reduce the number of cars.

[0003] A method for creating a vehicle dispatch plan is known in which vehicles are assigned to operations taking into account the inspection and cleaning schedule for each train. Although this method can take into account the inspection and cleaning schedule, it cannot take into account the difference in the number of vehicles for each operation. There is also a method for creating a vehicle unit allocation plan taking into account the splitting and merging of vehicle units based on the relationship between the number of seats in a vehicle unit and the number of passengers between stations, but this method determines the number of vehicle units required for an operation and does not create a vehicle dispatch plan that assigns trains to each operation. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5075577 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 5055232 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The present embodiment provides an information processing device, an information processing method, and a computer program capable of creating an operation plan taking into account the number of vehicles required for operation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The information processing device of this embodiment is equipped with a processing unit that creates an operation plan by assigning one or more formations, the total number of vehicles of which matches the number of vehicles required for each of the multiple operations, to the multiple operations based on information on multiple operations each including their operation period, information on the number of vehicles required to execute the multiple operations, and formation information including the number of vehicles in each of multiple formations that can be merged or split between two or more formations, wherein the multiple formations can be repeatedly assigned to two or more operations whose operation periods do not overlap, when two or more formations are assigned to the operations, a merging operation to merge the two or more formations is required, and when two or more formations to be merged in the merging operation are assigned to different operations, a splitting operation to divide the two or more formations is required, and the processing unit creates the operation plan based on at least one of the merging number of times, which is the number of times the merging operation is performed, and the division number, which is the number of times the splitting operation is performed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] Conceptual diagram of vehicle dispatch planning. [Diagram 2] Figure 2(A) shows an example of creating a vehicle dispatch plan, and Figure 2(B) shows an example of connection constraints. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a vehicle dispatch plan. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a vehicle dispatch plan when there are operations with different numbers of vehicles. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a plan creation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of planning period information. [Figure 7] An example of small composition information is shown below. [Figure 8] An example of operation information is shown below. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an in-station work plan for each small train. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of individual condition information. [Figure 11]FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a specific example of a problem setting defined based on the input information. [Figure 12] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of vehicle allocation plan information generated by a vehicle allocation plan creating unit. [Figure 13] 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure for creating a vehicle allocation plan in a vehicle allocation plan creating unit. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the details of Step 1 in FIG. 13. [Figure 15] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of creating an initial solution. [Figure 16] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of constraint violation determination in Step 3 of FIG. 13. [Figure 17] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a specific example of determination of whether or not division and merging are performed. [Figure 18] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a backtrack search method using an exchange path. [Figure 19] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an exchange operation. [Figure 20] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of two exchange operations. [Figure 21] Flowchart of the search for an improved solution based on K exchange passes. [Figure 22] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a solution created by a vehicle allocation plan creation unit in the case of the problem setting in FIG. 11 . [Diagram 23] FIG. 23 shows an example of a solution expressed in a different way from that shown in FIG. 22. [Figure 24] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a solution obtained in the second embodiment. [Diagram 25] FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an example of a plan creation device according to a third embodiment. [Figure 26] A diagram showing the various types of small formations. [Figure 27] FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an example of a vehicle operation system according to a fifth embodiment. [Figure 28] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of a plan creation device which is an information processing device according to each embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0009] (First embodiment) This embodiment relates to a railway scheduling technology. In railway scheduling technology, a vehicle operation plan is a plan related to a vehicle formation (hereinafter, formation), and includes a plan for how to run the formation (vehicle allocation plan or operation plan), a plan for when to perform inspection, cleaning, and work on the formation (in-yard work plan), and a plan for how to switch the formation (moving between tracks in the yard) in a rail depot in order to efficiently perform in-yard work (in-yard shunting plan). This embodiment mainly relates to a vehicle allocation plan.

[0010] In this embodiment, a technique related to railway vehicle dispatch planning is disclosed. However, the subject of the planning is not limited to railways, and the planning can be applied to other moving bodies as long as the vehicles can be coupled together and operated as a train.

[0011] Hereinafter, an overview of creating a vehicle allocation plan (operation plan) according to this embodiment will be described, and then a plan creating device that creates the vehicle allocation plan will be described.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a dispatch plan. The horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents a depot or station. Some railway operators prepare in advance a "service" (also called a service or a route) that is a continuous timetable on which the same train set is assumed to run as a railway timetable. In FIG. 1, services 1-01, 1-02, and 1-03 are written. Each service has attributes of a departure location (also called a departure location), a departure time (also called a departure time), an arrival location (also called a depot location), and an arrival time (also called a depot time). For example, in service 1-01, the train set departs from station C at 05:12 and arrives at depot B at 11:05 (it is kept near station C during the night). Some services depart from the depot (or station) early in the morning and return to the depot (or station) in the morning of the same day (morning services), some depart from the depot in the afternoon and return to the depot that evening (afternoon services), and some depart from the depot early in the morning and return to the depot that evening (all-day services).

[0013] When the types of operations are defined in advance like this, the dispatch plan becomes a problem of assigning a certain set of units to each operation without omissions or overlaps. In Figure 1, the 02F set is assigned to the 1-01 operation, the 01F set to the 1-02 operation, and the 03F set to the 1-03 operation.

[0014] Meanwhile, each train set needs to undergo inspection, cleaning, and other in-yard work at the depot between services. Types of inspections include general inspections, important parts inspections, monthly inspections (also called station inspections, condition and function inspections, etc.), and train inspections (also called duty inspections). Train inspections and cleaning are usually carried out at the depot between morning and afternoon services. Train sets assigned to services arriving at a station at night are stored (outside storage) in the sidings at the station, and when they are stored outside, they may not be able to return to the depot for more than two days. In such cases, if train inspections or cleanings are scheduled for that day, it may not be possible to carry out the train inspections or cleanings.

[0015] Figure 2(A) shows an example of creating a dispatch plan for formations 01F, 02F, and 03F for 6 / 3 and 6 / 4 to satisfy various constraints in creating a dispatch plan, such as connecting constraints, first day constraints, and inspection and cleaning constraints. Figure 2(B) is an explanatory diagram of connecting constraints.

[0016] A dispatch plan is created by allocating operations within a table with the vertical axis representing train formations and the horizontal axis representing dates. Operations are represented diagrammatically as blocks. These blocks are called operation blocks. As shown on the left side of the figure, an operation block includes a departure location and an arrival location. The width of an operation block has a length that corresponds to the length of time from the departure time to the arrival time.

[0017] Generally, train timetables are different on weekdays and on weekends and holidays, so the set of operations on weekdays, Saturdays, and holidays is often almost the same every day, except for special timetables. For this reason, the set of operations for each day is often defined by several patterns, such as a weekday pattern and a weekend and holiday pattern. In the figure, the weekday pattern operation group and the holiday pattern operation group are shown by operation blocks. Consider assigning the operation group defined for 6 / 3, a weekday, and the operation group defined for 6 / 4, a weekend and holiday, to this table without exception. The operations to be assigned differ between 6 / 3, a weekday, and 6 / 4, a weekend and holiday. There are four operations on 6 / 3, which are weekday patterns: 1-01, 1-02, 1-03, and 1-04, and there are two operations on 6 / 4, which are weekend and holiday patterns: 2-01 and 2-02. Of these, operations 1-03, 2-01, and 2-02 run all day, 1-01 and 1-02 run in the morning, and 1-04 runs in the afternoon. When creating a vehicle dispatch plan, it is necessary to assign these operations to units without omissions or overlaps and to satisfy various constraints. Without overlaps means that the same unit is not assigned to times when operation times overlap. Units can be assigned repeatedly as long as they do not overlap in time.

[0018] The various constraints include a "bridging constraint," a "first day constraint," and a "work constraint."

[0019] A connection constraint is a constraint that, when looking at the connections between operation blocks in the time direction (horizontal direction of the table) for each formation, the arrival location of the previous operation must match the departure location of the next operation. In the example of Figure 2 (B), the connection of the operation blocks on the upper side is permitted (marked "O" in the figure), but the connection of the operation blocks on the lower side is prohibited (marked "X" in the figure) because the arrival location of the previous operation does not match the departure location of the next operation.

[0020] The first day constraint is a constraint that the location on the first day must match the departure location of the first operating block.

[0021] The first day constraint and the connecting constraint are constraints that reflect the difficulty of moving a train set for reasons other than operation. In unavoidable cases, measures such as sending the train set back are taken, but this requires securing crew members, etc., and is very costly.

[0022] Next, we will explain the work constraints. Each train set needs to undergo in-yard work such as inspection and cleaning, and in-yard work is often carried out at a depot. Some inspections need to be carried out within the period stipulated by law and while the mileage since the previous inspection is within the upper limit. Some cleaning is carried out at intervals of several days to two weeks. Other work such as replacing vehicle advertisements is also often carried out at the depot. Here, the in-yard work plan for inspection, cleaning, etc. is given in advance. Therefore, for a train set that is to undergo in-yard work, it is necessary to arrive at a depot where the in-yard work can be carried out at that time. This constraint is called the work constraint.

[0023] From the above, the vehicle dispatch plan can be said to be a plan that assigns operations to vehicle formations without omissions or overlaps so as to satisfy the first day constraint, the connecting constraint, and the work constraint.

[0024] In the example of FIG. 2(A), the first day constraint is that before departure on the first day, formation unit 01F is at location B, formation unit 02F is at location C, and formation unit 03F is at location B. The locations are stations or depots.

[0025] Next, as shown in Figure 2(A), for the yard work, the 01F unit needs to be cleaned on 6 / 3 and undergo a train inspection on 6 / 4, and the 02F unit needs to undergo a train inspection on 6 / 3. The specific work constraints for this are as follows. For example, the train inspection for the 01F unit is carried out at location B during the day (between morning and afternoon operations), so on weekdays when the train inspection is carried out, the 1-03 operation, which runs all day, the 1-02 operation, which cannot go to location B, and the 1-04 operation in the afternoon, which departs from location A, cannot be assigned, and only the 1-01 operation can be assigned. In addition, since the 01F unit has a train inspection on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, the 2-01 and 2-02 operations, which run all day, cannot be assigned, so the 01F unit must be a Yobi (reserve) on these days. Here, Yobi means that no operation is assigned on the day. Not assigning any operation can be considered as assigning a "Yobi operation."

[0026] Figure 3 shows an example of a vehicle dispatch plan created under the various constraints mentioned above. First, it can be confirmed that all operations are assigned to one of the train formations without any overlaps.

[0027] Next, regarding the first day constraint, by checking the first run of each train set, we can confirm that the departure location of the first run of train set 01F is B, the departure location of the first run of train set 02F is C, and the departure location of the first run of train set 03F is B, so the first day constraint is satisfied.

[0028] Next, regarding the connection constraints, if we check the operations assigned to each train from left to right, - Train set 01F is assigned to operate 1-02 arriving at location A and 1-04 departing from location A. - Train set 02F is assigned to service 1-01 arriving at location B and service 2-01 departing from location B, Train set 03F is assigned to service 2-02 departing from location B after service 1-03 arriving at location B. From the above, it can be confirmed that all of them satisfy the connection constraints.

[0029] Furthermore, regarding work constraints, The 01F train that will be undergoing cleaning on 6 / 3 will be assigned to services 1-02 and 1-04, which can stay at location A between the morning and afternoon services. The 01F train that will undergo train inspection on 6 / 4 will stay at location B during the morning and daytime. - The 02F train set, which will undergo train inspection on 6 / 3, will be assigned to the 1-01 service, which can stay at location B during the daytime in the morning and afternoon. Therefore, it can be confirmed that the work constraints are also satisfied.

[0030] The above assumes that all services are operated with the same number of cars, and that the number of cars in each train set matches the number of cars required for the service. In other words, it is a 1:1 correspondence where one train set is assigned to one service. However, in reality, the number of cars may differ depending on the service. In this case, it is necessary to combine the smallest unit of train sets (hereafter referred to as small train sets) and assign them to the service.

[0031] Figure 4 shows an example of a dispatch plan when there are multiple services with different numbers of cars. Here, we consider a dispatch plan for seven small units, 01F to 07F, for two days, 6 / 1 and 6 / 2. Also, assume that there are five services, 1-01 to 1-05, on 6 / 1, and five services, 2-01 to 2-05, on 6 / 2. However, the three small units, 01F to 03F, each consist of two cars, and the four small units, 04F to 07F, each consist of four cars. Also, assume that services 1-02, 1-05, 2-02, and 2-05 operate with four cars (four cars are required for each service), and all other services operate with six cars (six cars are required for each service).

[0032] In this case, the ratio of small vehicles to service is not 1:1, but one or more small vehicles must be combined to match the number of vehicles in the service, and the combined small vehicle group must be assigned to the service. Note that, as in the example of Figure 3, it is difficult to move small vehicles for reasons other than service, so it is necessary to satisfy the first day constraint, connecting constraint, and work constraint for each small vehicle.

[0033] Here, even if the connecting constraints are satisfied for each small train set, if the combination of train sets changes between morning and afternoon services (or between the previous day's service and the current day's service), it should be noted that separation (disengagement) operations to separate cars and merging (coupling / adding) operations to couple cars will occur.

[0034] Below is an example of assigning one or more small units to a service. As shown in Figure 4, small unit 01F is assigned to service 2-04 departing from location A the next day after service 1-01 arriving at location A, and therefore satisfies the transition constraint. Similarly, all other small units also satisfy the transition constraint. Therefore, all small units satisfy the transition constraint.

[0035] On the other hand, the 1-01 service (6 cars) in the morning of the first day will operate with the small 01F and 04F trains coupled together, whereas the 1-05 service (4 cars) will operate with the 04F alone in the afternoon of the first day. Therefore, after the arrival of the 1-01 service and before the departure of the 1-05 service, the small 01F and 04F trains need to be separated.

[0036] In addition, small formation 01F will be combined (coupled) with small formation 07F, which was operating as 1-02 service (4 cars) in the morning of the first day, and will run as 2-04 service on the second day. Therefore, after the end of the 1-02 service, it is necessary to combine (couple) small formations 01F and 07F before the departure of the 2-04 service.

[0037] In this way, when the number of cars required to execute a trip (number of cars in operation) differs depending on the operation, in addition to the first day constraint, connecting constraint, and operation constraint of the vehicle dispatch plan, a constraint (match constraint) must be satisfied to match the number of cars required for the operation (number of cars in operation) with the total number of cars in one or more small formations assigned to that operation. In this case, because splitting and merging operations require cost and time, it is necessary to create a vehicle dispatch plan that minimizes the splitting and merging cost. Examples of splitting and merging costs include the number of splitting operations, the number of merging operations, or the total number of splitting and merging operations (number of splitting and merging operations).

[0038] A plan creating device for creating such a vehicle allocation plan will be described in detail below.

[0039] 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the plan creation device 10 according to this embodiment. The plan creation device 10 includes a plan information input unit 21, an operation information input unit 22, an in-plant work plan input unit 23, an individual condition input unit 24, a vehicle allocation plan creation unit 15, an output unit 50, and various storage units 31-35, 41. The vehicle allocation plan creation unit 15 corresponds to a processing unit that creates an operation plan (vehicle allocation plan) according to this embodiment. Below, an overview of this device 10 will be described, and then each unit will be described in detail.

[0040] The planning information input unit 21 acquires planning period information and sub-formation information as input information, and stores them in the planning period storage unit 31 and the sub-formation information storage unit 32, respectively. The planning period information and sub-formation information stored in the planning period storage unit 31 and the sub-formation information storage unit 32 will be referred to as planning period information 31 and sub-formation information storage unit 32 using the same symbols as the planning period storage unit 31 and the sub-formation information storage unit 32.

[0041] The operation information input unit 22 acquires operation information as input information, and stores it in the operation information storage unit 33. The operation information stored in the operation information storage unit 33 will be referred to as operation information 33 using the same reference numerals as the operation information storage unit 33.

[0042] The yard work plan input unit 23 acquires, as input information, a yard work plan for each small train set (for example, plan information for work such as inspection and cleaning), and stores it in the yard work planning unit 34. The yard work plan stored in the yard work planning unit 34 is referred to as the yard work plan 34 using the same reference number as the yard work planning unit 34.

[0043] The individual condition input unit 24 acquires individual condition information as input information, and stores it in the individual condition information storage unit 35. The individual condition information stored in the individual condition information storage unit 35 will be referred to as individual condition information 35 using the same reference numeral as the individual condition information storage unit 35.

[0044] The vehicle allocation plan creation unit 15 creates a vehicle allocation plan based on the planned period information 31, small vehicle information 32, operation information 33, yard work plan 34 (inspection and cleaning work information) for each small vehicle, and individual condition information 35, and stores the plan in the vehicle allocation plan storage unit 41. However, it is also possible to create a vehicle allocation plan based on the planned period information 31, small vehicle information 32, and operation information 33 without using the yard work plan 34 and individual condition information 35. The vehicle allocation plan stored in the vehicle allocation plan storage unit 41 will be referred to as the vehicle allocation plan 41 using the same reference numeral as the vehicle allocation plan storage unit 41.

[0045] The output unit 50 reads out the vehicle allocation plan 41 from the vehicle allocation plan storage unit 41 and outputs it so as to be visible to the user. The output unit 50 is, for example, a display, and displays the vehicle allocation plan 41 on a screen.

[0046] The plan information input unit 21, the premises work plan input unit 23, the individual condition input unit 24, and the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 15 may be operation devices that can be operated by any user, such as a keyboard, a mouse, or a touch panel. In this case, each unit obtains its own input information based on the user's input. Alternatively, each unit may be a communication unit that receives information from the outside. There may be a communication unit common to each unit. The output unit 50 may be the above-mentioned display, or may be a communication unit or a printer that transmits information to an external device such as a user terminal. At least one of the premises work plan input unit 23 and the individual condition input unit 24 may be omitted.

[0047] The vehicle allocation plan creation unit 15 has an initial solution generation unit 11, a plan improvement unit 12, and a plan evaluation unit 14. The initial solution generation unit 11 has a function of creating an initial solution candidate, and the plan improvement unit 12 has a function of improving the solution candidate. The plan evaluation unit 14 also has a function of evaluating the goodness of the solution (for example, a function of evaluating the evaluation value of the solution). The vehicle allocation plan creation unit 15 may also have a function of determining whether the number of vehicles in a service matches the total number of vehicles in small formations assigned to the service (a vehicle number condition determination unit). The vehicle allocation plan creation unit 15 uses these functions to create a vehicle allocation plan from the input information.

[0048] The device 10 will now be described in further detail.

[0049] [Planning Period Information 31] FIG. 6 shows an example of the planned period information 31. The planned period information 31 includes information on the first day of the plan and the last day of the plan as the target period of the plan. In the example shown in the figure, 30 days (periods) from June 1, 2022 to June 30, 2022 are set. The vehicle allocation plan creation unit 15 creates a vehicle allocation plan for each day (period) from the first day of the plan to the last day of the plan in accordance with this information. Weekday / Saturday / Holiday classification information indicating whether each day is a weekday or Saturday / Holiday may be included as additional information.

[0050] [Small formation information 32] FIG. 7 shows an example of small formation information 32. Small formation information 32 is an example of formation information including the number of cars of each of a plurality of small formations that can be merged or split between two or more formations (small formations in this case). Small formation information 32 includes the number of cars for each small formation (right diagram). Small formation information 32 includes a table storing, for each small formation, the formation name (name of small formation), the first day location, the first day concatenated formation (small formation to be concatenated on the first day), and the total number of cars of the first day concatenated formation (left diagram). In this table, for example, the small formation in the first row has the formation name 01F, the first day location representing the location before departure on the first day is A, the small formation to be concatenated before departure on the first day (first day concatenated formation) is 04F, and the total number of cars of formations 01F and 04F is 6. In other words, it is concatenated formation 01F-04F (6 cars). Other concatenated formations on the first day include concatenated formation 02F-05F (6 cars) and concatenated formation 03F-06F (6 cars).

[0051] Furthermore, the order of small formations in a concatenated formation may be included in the small formation information 32. In this case, a column indicating the position of the small formation, such as whether it is the first or last car, may be added to the information on the concatenated formation. In cases where three or more small formations are concatenated, the names of multiple small formations may be stored in the column for first-day concatenated formation. In this case, only the name of the small formation connected after the own small formation may be stored, or the names of the two formations before and after the own small formation may be stored, or the position (rank) of the own small formation may be stored. Alternatively, the names of all small formations concatenated as a whole may be stored, and in this case, information indicating the order of each small formation may be further stored. In this case, the order in which the names of the small formations are written may represent the order of the small formations.

[0052] [Operation Information 33] FIG. 8 shows an example of operation information 33. The operation information 33 includes information on a plurality of operations, each of which includes an operation period, and information on the number of vehicles required to execute the plurality of operations. More specifically, as shown in the table on the left, the operation information 33 includes at least information on the operation name, date, departure location, departure time, arrival location, arrival time, and number of vehicles. The operation name is an example of identification information for identifying an operation. The period from the departure time to the arrival time corresponds to the operation period.

[0053] The operation patterns are generally the same for each day of the week attribute such as weekday, Saturday, Sunday, etc., and in the left table of FIG. 8, since both 6 / 1 and 6 / 2 are weekdays, the contents are the same except for the date. While defining operation patterns for each timetable such as weekday, Saturday, holiday (or Saturday and holiday combined), each day may be given attributes such as weekday, Saturday, holiday, etc., and operation patterns for the attributes corresponding to each day may be input. An example of a weekday operation pattern is shown in the right diagram of FIG. 8. The number of cars for each operation is also predetermined. Operation patterns for each day of the week attribute may be included in the operation information 33. The "'Queue' Possible Operation" in the right diagram means that even if this operation is assigned, train inspection is possible (it will arrive in time for train inspection). This operation may be called a train inspection possible operation.

[0054] 9 shows an example of a yard work plan 34 (e.g., inspection and cleaning work information) for each small train set. The yard work plan 34 is information including work to be performed on multiple train sets (small train sets in this case) and the time periods during which the work will be performed. In more detail, the yard work plan 34 includes the name of the small train set, the date, information on the work name, the work location, and the work time period.

[0055] The first line in Figure 9 indicates that a train inspection will be carried out (scheduled) on June 1, 2022, at location A, and during the hours of 10:00-11:00. If the work location and work time are set as in this example, then the operation that allows small unit 01F to be present at the work location during the work time will be the operation that can be assigned to that small unit on that day. On the other hand, if the work location and work time are not set, then it is sufficient to determine the operation that can be assigned to the work in question using a separate method.

[0056] Fig. 10 shows an example of individual condition information 35. Individual condition information 35 is a condition other than the input information (plan information, operation information, yard work plan) that has been explained so far. As shown in Fig. 10, individual condition information 35 includes the following. A brief explanation will be given here, and details will be described in the explanation of the fourth embodiment.

[0057] [Operation connection conditions] Example: After operation d-01, operation d-05 should be assigned if possible. Example: After operation d-02, do not assign any operations if possible. Example: After weekday operation d-05, assign weekday operation d-03 the following day if possible.

[0058] [Designated operating conditions (operating conditions available for inspection / cleaning / work days)] Example: On weekday train inspection days, only operations d-01 and d-05 will be assigned. Example: Do not assign any services to cleaning days on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.

[0059] [Priority / non-priority formation conditions] Example: Use formation F01 aggressively. Example: Try not to use formation F02.

[0060] [Operating conditions that cannot be used] Example: Only formations F03 and F04 can be assigned to operation d-03.

[0061] [Roll depot conditions (time required for splitting and merging operations, FIFO conditions)] Example: At depot A, splitting and merging takes n minutes (separate work times may be defined for splitting and merging). Example: At Depot A, a released small train can be connected to another train, but the two small trains cannot be swapped.

[0062] [Cab conditions] Example: For small trains F01, the driver's cab in the up direction is used whenever possible. Here, the driver's cab of a small train may be attached to the front or rear car of the small train, but if it is attached to both, for the sake of convenience, the driver's cab attached to the car that is the front when traveling up will be called the "up direction driver's cab" and the driver's cab attached to the car that is the front when traveling down will be called the "down direction driver's cab". Small trains usually do not turn around either when in operation or when entering the depot, so this name is thought to be sufficient to distinguish them, but if turning around is possible, a different name may be used.

[0063] [Other conditions] For example, a condition may be defined such that splitting and merging are possible at depot A but not possible at depot B. Conditions other than those listed above may also be defined.

[0064] The vehicle dispatch plan creation unit 15 sets a problem based on the above-mentioned input information (plan information, operation information, yard work plan, individual condition information). A specific example of the problem setting will be described below.

[0065] FIG. 11 shows a specific example of a problem set based on the input information. First, the period for which an operation plan should be obtained and the small formations to be planned are determined from the planning period information 31 in Fig. 6 and the small formations information 32 in Fig. 7 as planning information 21. In this case, the period is 6 / 1 to 6 / 2 (Fig. 6), and there are seven small formations, 01F to 07F (Fig. 7). Also, from the small formations information 32 (Fig. 7), as shown on the left side of Fig. 11, before departure on the first day, each small formation is as follows:

[0066] 01F and 04F are connected and are in location A 02F and 05F are connected and are in location B 03F and 06F are connected and are in location A 07F is alone in location B

[0067] Also, from the operation information 33 (Fig. 8), it can be seen that on 6 / 1 there are five operations: 1-01, 1-02, 1-03, 1-04, and 1-05, as shown in the center of Fig. 11. On 6 / 2 there are five operations: 2-01, 2-02, 2-03, 2-04, and 2-05, as shown on the right side of Fig. 11. The number of vehicles required for each operation is the value shown in parentheses.

[0068] Furthermore, from the yard work schedule 34 (Figure 9), we can see that train inspections will be carried out on the corresponding dates for the small sets 01F (6 / 1), 05F (6 / 2), 06F (6 / 2), and 07F (6 / 1). From the work location and time period of the train inspection, we can see that the train inspection date can be assigned to any of the following operations: 1-01, 1-02, 2-01, or 2-02. If operation is possible after the train inspection, 1-05 and 2-05 operations can also be assigned.

[0069] Therefore, in order to conduct train inspections on June 1st, 01F will need to operate as either morning service 1-01 or 1-02 on the first day.

[0070] Under the above conditions, the problem is set to assign combinations of small trains so as to minimize the splitting and merging costs while observing the first day constraints, connecting constraints, work constraints, and number of vehicles constraints.

[0071] If the 6 / 1 and 6 / 2 operation patterns are to be repeated in the future, and if there are no work constraints, it is easy to create a dispatch plan that does not require splitting or merging even once. For example, it can be done as follows. - 01F (2 cars) and 04F (4 cars) small trains, 1-01, 2-01, 3-01, ... 6 cars Assign 07F (4 cars) is assigned 4-car operation: 1-02, 1-05, 2-02, 2-05, 3-02, ... Hit The 02F (2 cars) and 05F (4 cars) small formations have 6 units: 1-03, 2-04, 3-03, 4-04... Alternately assign both services The 03F (2 cars) and 06F (4 cars) small formations have 6 units: 1-04, 2-03, 3-04, 4-03... Alternately assign both services

[0072] However, if only one of the combined small units needs to undergo train inspection, splitting and merging may be necessary. For example, let us consider the case in the problem setting in Figure 11 where 01F and 06F need to undergo train inspection on 6 / 1 (train inspection of small unit 06F on 6 / 1 is not included in the yard work plan in Figure 9). In this case, the only operation that can depart from location A in the morning of 6 / 1 and return to location A for inspection in the morning is operation 1-01, so the combination of small units 01F-04F and 03F-06F must be rearranged to a combination of small units 01-06F and 03-04F, and the combination of small units 01-06 must be assigned to operation 1-01. In this case, splitting and merging is clearly necessary. On the other hand, when comparing the operation patterns of one day and the next day, if the combination of the number of cars at the time of arrival at a certain depot is different from the combination of the number of cars at the time of departure, splitting and merging may be necessary. For example, in a case where only one service with four vehicles enters a certain location (A) on a certain day (6 / 1), but two services with two vehicles leave on 6 / 2, after the service enters on 6 / 1, the vehicles will need to be split by the next day.

[0073] The vehicle allocation plan creation unit 15 generates vehicle allocation plan information 41 by solving the problem set above and finding a solution. Specifically, an operation plan is created by assigning one or more formations (here, small formations) whose total number of vehicles matches the number of vehicles required for each of a plurality of operations to the operation. In this case, when two or more formations are assigned to the operation, a merging operation for merging two or more formations is required, and when two or more formations merged in the merging operation are assigned to separate operations, a division operation for dividing two or more formations is required. The vehicle allocation plan creation unit 15 creates an operation plan based on at least one of the number of merging operations, which is the number of times a merging operation is performed, and the number of division operations, which is the number of times a division operation is performed. For example, the vehicle allocation plan is created so that at least one of the number of merging operations and the number of division operations is minimized or set to a threshold value or less. Alternatively, the vehicle allocation plan is created by minimizing the sum of the number of merging operations and the number of division operations is minimized or set to a threshold value or less. Details of the operation of the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 15 will be described later, and here, the vehicle allocation plan information 41 will be described first.

[0074] [Details of vehicle allocation plan information 41] 12 shows an example of the vehicle allocation plan information 41 generated by the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 15. The vehicle allocation plan information 41 is an operation plan in which one or more formations (here, small formations) are associated with each operation during the planning period. At this time, columns for the number of vehicles in the operation and the number of vehicles in each small formation may be added as additional information.

[0075] The operation of the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 15 will be described in detail below. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure for creating a vehicle allocation plan as a simulation procedure in the vehicle allocation plan creating unit 15. An overview of this procedure is given below.

[0076] In Step 1, the dispatch plan creation unit 15 creates short trips by dividing trips and sets a problem based on the short trips (creates constraint conditions). The problem is set in the same way as in Fig. 11, but short trips are also included as trips to be assigned.

[0077] In Step 2, the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 15 creates an initial solution p using the initial solution generation unit 11 under the constraint conditions.

[0078] Repeat Step 3 to Step 4 below. In Step 3, the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 15 counts the number of splitting and merging and the number of constraint violations using the plan evaluation unit 14. The plan evaluation unit 14 includes a splitting and merging count measurement unit 14A that counts the number of splitting and merging, and a constraint violation number coefficient unit 14B that counts the number of constraint violations. If there is room for improvement in the solution, proceed to Step 4. If not, output the solution p and end.

[0079] In Step 4, the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 15 generates an improved solution by the plan improvement unit 12, sets the improved solution as p, and returns to Step 3.

[0080] The details of each step will be explained below using the example of FIG. (Details of Step 1) Fig. 14 is a diagram for explaining the details of Step 1. Fig. 14 shows an example of dividing a trip into minimum unit patterns (short trips). Step 1 is centered on the process of creating questions from input information. In addition to the problem setting process explained in Fig. 11, this process also creates a short trip. The same explanation as in Fig. 11 will be omitted, and the process of creating a short trip will be explained below.

[0081] Creating a mini-service is the process of dividing a service into small units that correspond one-to-one to a small formation. Here, these small units are called mini-services. The original service seen from the mini-service is called the original service. A service that is not divided is called a single service. Furthermore, when a service is divided into mini-service a and mini-service b, these mini-services a and b are called pair services.

[0082] In the example of Figure 14, each of the services 1-01, 1-03, and 1-04 is divided into a short service of two cars and a short service of four cars. In the case of the 1-01 service (6 cars), for example, it is divided into the 1-01a service (2 cars) and the 1-01b service (4 cars). Since these divided services are originally the same service, the attributes of the departure location, departure time, arrival location, and arrival time are all the same, but the information on the number of cars is different. This division allows for a one-to-one correspondence between the formation (small formation) and the service (short service).

[0083] If the division method is already decided, the user can input it. In this example, for the first day, it is clear that all small trains must be used to operate all 1-01 to 1-04 services, and that at least one small train with four cars must be used for all 1-01 to 1-04 services, and it can be shown that this is the only division method. Therefore, it is acceptable to take an approach that mathematically finds such a solution for each day.

[0084] On the other hand, as will be described later, there may be cases where there is some freedom in the way the data is divided, and the approach in such cases will be described in the fourth embodiment.

[0085] Based on the created short trips and independent trips, the vehicle dispatch plan creation unit 15 sets a problem similar to that in Fig. 11, and sets a problem of allocating short trips (including independent trips) to small formations. More specifically, the problem is set that one or more small formations with the same number of vehicles must be allocated to each short trip (including independent trips), and at this time, information on multiple small formations that can be used for allocation to trips, the yard work plan, and the contents defined in the individual condition information 35, etc. are set as constraint conditions. For simplicity, the following will assume that the individual condition information 35 has not been input.

[0086] (Details of Step 2) In Step 2, we create an initial solution to the problem of allocating short trips to small fleets. Here, we obtain a solution that satisfies the first day constraint and the connection constraint as the initial solution.

[0087] Figure 15 shows an example of creating an initial solution. An initial solution is created for each number of two cars and four cars. Here, the problem is already for each number of cars, so the assignment problem can be solved independently for each number of cars. To solve the problem for each number of cars, a greedy approach can be adopted, for example, as shown in Patent Publication No. 5075577, in which trains are assigned to available formations in order of earliest departure time for each day (period).

[0088] For example, in this example, as shown in Figure 15, we first divide the problem into two-car and four-car problems, and then consider allocating small services to each of these small units. For example, in the case of a two-car problem on 6 / 1, the earliest departure times are 1-04a, 1-03a, and 1-01a, so they are allocated in that order (if there are multiple possible small units, the topmost one is allocated). If there are multiple possible small units, they are allocated starting with the small unit with the highest priority. In the example in Figure 15, the priority is determined from the top along the axis of the small units. In this example, taking into account the conditions for the first day, 1-04a is allocated to 01F, 1-03a to 02F, and 1-01a to 03F. Regarding the four-car problem, the earliest departure times are 1-04b, 1-02, 1-03b, 1-01b, and 1-05, and if these were to be assigned to small formations, they would be assigned to 04F, 05F, 07F, 06F, and 05F respectively (small formation 05F would be assigned to both the morning service 1-02 and the afternoon service 1-05).

[0089] (Details of Step 3) Next, in Step 3, the number of violations of the work constraints and the number of splitting and merging work are counted and obtained as an evaluation value. Note that the first day constraint and the connection constraint are satisfied in Step 2.

[0090] FIG. 16 shows an example of constraint violation determination in Step 3. As shown in Figure 16, first, regarding work constraints, for the (day, small unit) for which yard work has been set, it is necessary to determine whether the small service assigned to that day is compatible with the work. For example, train inspection is required for small unit 01F on 6 / 1, but the small service actually assigned to small unit 01F is the 1-04a service that runs on the day. Therefore, it can be determined that train inspection cannot be performed for small unit 01F, and the work constraint cannot be met. The "x" in the figure indicates that train inspection cannot be performed.

[0091] On the other hand, regarding the presence or absence of splitting and merging, for example, 01F and 04F, which were originally assigned to the 1-04a and 1-04b services, respectively, which represent the same service, are merged and operated on 6 / 1, but on 6 / 2 they are assigned to different services from the original service (small formation 01F is assigned to the 2-03a service, and small formation 04F is assigned to the 2-02 service). Therefore, it can be seen that the splitting and merging of small formations 01F and 04F is necessary between returning to the depot on 6 / 1 and departing on 6 / 2 (the split small formation 01F is merged with small formation 06F, and the split 04F is not merged with any small formations and becomes a single small formation). The lines with horizontal arrows in the figure mean that formations are split for each line of the same type. For example, the diagonal arrow means that small formations 02F and 05F, which were coupled together before leaving the depot on 6 / 1, will be split and merged before the start of the first day (the split small formation 02F will be merged with small formation 07F, and the split 05F will not be merged with any small formations and will become a standalone small formation).

[0092] The following three methods can be used to determine whether or not a split / merge has occurred based on the short trips assigned to each train set in order of time. If any of the following cases 1 to 3 apply, it is determined that a split / merge (at least one of splitting or merging) has occurred. Case 1: When a small train that has been assigned to operate alone is next assigned to operate a small train. Case 2: When a train that has been assigned a short trip is then assigned a short trip in which it is combined with another train. Case 3: When a small train that has been assigned to a small operation is next assigned to a solo operation.

[0093] FIG. 17 shows a specific example of the determination of whether or not division and merging are performed. As a premise, this example assumes the following on the first day: -A service (7-car service) is divided into smaller services A-3 (3 cars) and A-4 (4 cars). · B service (7-car service) is divided into smaller services B-3 (3 cars) and B-4 (4 cars). - Service C and Service D each operate with four cars (single operation).

[0094] Under the above assumptions, if small train 01F, which was assigned to operation c on the first day, is assigned to operation b-4 on the second day, this falls under Case 1 above.

[0095] If small-scale train 02F, which was assigned to service a-3 on the first day, is assigned to service b-3 on the second day, this falls under Case 2 above.

[0096] If small train 03F, which was assigned to minor service a-4 on the first day, is assigned to minor service d on the second day, this falls under Case 3 above.

[0097] Using the above method of determination, it is possible to calculate the number of splits and merges for each train set (although this will result in double counting). In the above example, the merger of small train set 01F on the second day and the merger of small train set 02F on the second day would result in two counts, but in reality, these small train sets 01F and 02F are merged, so they are counted as one.

[0098] A function that obtains the constraint violation degree (evaluation value) by adding the number of the above-mentioned various constraint violations and the division and merging cost (number of divisions and merging) is defined as an evaluation function. Based on the evaluation function, an evaluation value can be calculated for the solution of the above problem (initial solution or improved solution described later), thereby evaluating the solution. As an example of the evaluation function, a function of only the division and merging cost may be used. In this embodiment, the number of violations and the number of divisions and merging are weighted the same, but the weights may be changed. For example, a weight w1 of the constraint violation and a weight w2 of the number of divisions and merging may be introduced, and the evaluation value may be calculated by the number of constraint violations x w1 + the number of divisions and merging x w2. In addition, the weights of the number of divisions and the number of merging are the same, but the weights of both may be changed. If the calculated evaluation value is zero or less than a threshold, the solution at that time is output and the process is terminated. If the evaluation value is greater than zero or greater than a threshold, proceed to Step 4.

[0099] (Details of Step 4) In Step 4, an example in which the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 15 generates an improved solution using the plan improvement unit 12 will be described.

[0100] To generate an improved solution, for example, a backtrack search method using exchange paths as shown in Japanese Patent No. 5075577 can be used.

[0101] Fig. 18 is an explanatory diagram of the backtrack search method using exchange paths. The upper diagram corresponds to the initial solution, and the lower diagram corresponds to the improved solution obtained by applying the backtrack search method. Note that Fig. 18 uses a case for explanation, which is different from the case of the present embodiment described above.

[0102] The numbers in the upper left corner of each rectangle represent the service name, and "Ayo" means a reserve service. The trains h1 to h3 are initially located at locations A, B, and B as shown in the figure, and on the final day they need to return to the same locations as they were at the beginning (for example, to perform work in the yard). The three types of arrows in the figure represent paths that indicate the order of services to which the corresponding trains are assigned. For example, train h1 is assigned service 1, service 5, and service Ayo. As can be seen from the above figure, train h1 violates the constraint because its departure location is location A and its final day is location B, train h3 violates the constraint because its departure location is location B and its final day is location A, and train h2 does not violate the constraint because its departure location is location B and its final day is location B. Therefore, the number of constraint violations is 2. There is no splitting and merging, so the number of splitting and merging times is zero. The evaluation value is 2+0=2.

[0103] A backtrack search method using exchange paths is applied to the initial solution shown in the above figure. This method uses exchange operations to search for a route within K exchanges that resolves the constraint violation of one of the formations (for example, formation h1) that has a constraint violation or split / merger (called an NG formation), and if the solution generated based on the route is an improved solution, it is generated as output and the process terminates. An improved solution is a solution in which the value of the evaluation function defined for the solution (evaluation value) is smaller than the original solution. In this example, as shown in the figure below, a solution is obtained in which the number of constraint violations and the number of splits / mergers are both zero (evaluation value is 0), and the evaluation value has improved from before the exchange. Therefore, this solution is an improved solution.

[0104] Hereinafter, a specific example will be given in which the backtrack search method using exchange paths is applied to the case of the above-described embodiment.

[0105] FIG. 19 shows an example of a swap operation. Here, a swap operation refers to the process of swapping the plans (operations) of two small units from a certain time onwards, as shown in FIG. 19. For example, in FIG. 19, the plan from the first operation of small unit 01F is swapped with the plan from the first operation of small unit 03F. This swap operation may eliminate constraint violations from the time swapped by the swap. For example, in the case of FIG. 19, the work constraint violation on 6 / 1 for small unit 01F has been eliminated.

[0106] In the example of FIG. 19, one exchange operation is performed, but the exchange operation can be performed multiple times in succession. Fig. 20 shows an example of two exchange calculations. Fig. 20 shows a case where two exchanges are performed when small unit 05F is an NG unit. First, the plan after the first operation of small unit 05F is exchanged with the plan after the first operation of small unit 07F, and then the operation plan of small unit 05F from 6 / 2 onwards is exchanged with the operation plan of small unit 07F.

[0107] Note that this exchange operation is performed so that the connection constraints of the parts to be exchanged are satisfied, and no new violations of the connection constraints or the first day constraints occur. Therefore, by exhaustively searching for plan changes (solution candidates) within the upper limit of the number of exchanges, K, it is expected that an improved solution (a solution with fewer constraint violations and fewer splits and merges) can be obtained.

[0108] Figure 21 is a flowchart for searching for an improved solution based on K exchange paths. These K exchanges can be reduced to a route search problem on a network in which the starting point of each train set is represented by a starting node, each operation is represented by a node, and the connection possibility between each node is represented by an arc, and this can be searched efficiently. In Step 4-1, the current vehicle allocation plan is set to A, and the evaluation value of this vehicle allocation plan A is set to f(A). Starting from one of the NG train sets (referred to as train set h), the process of comprehensively generating routes (referred to as route p) with the number of exchanges within K is repeated. In Step 4-2, route p is reflected in vehicle dispatch plan A (in the block, "Xk·Xk-1···X1·A" represents the sequential exchange of each operation in plan A corresponding to route p, and "X1,X2,···Xk" represents the plan after the exchange). It is judged whether the evaluation value of the vehicle dispatch plan reflecting the new route has decreased. If it has decreased, this vehicle dispatch plan is output as a solution. If there is no improvement, another vehicle set (h') that violated the constraint or underwent splitting or merging during the exchange calculation is used as the starting point, and the upper limit of the exchange is changed to "Kk", which is the value obtained by subtracting the number of exchanges k so far from K, and the procedure in Figure 21 is repeated recursively. If both a constraint violation and a splitting or merging occur, it is decided in advance which one should be given priority for resolution, and the process proceeds so as to resolve the one that has the priority. For example, if even one constraint violation occurs, priority may be given to resolving the constraint violation regardless of the number of splitting and merging. If the evaluation value has decreased, The dispatch plan obtained in 4-3 is output as a solution. In this way, by recursively calculating evaluation values ​​while sequentially allocating multiple formations from highest priority to the earliest departure times of multiple operations, and exchanging the allocation of formations already allocated to operations based on the evaluation values, a solution (allocation pattern of formations to each operation) that minimizes the evaluation value or makes it below a threshold value is detected. An operation plan is obtained based on the detected allocation pattern. A more detailed explanation of the algorithm is omitted here, as it is shown in Japanese Patent No. 5075577.

[0109] FIG. 22 shows an example of a solution created by the dispatch plan creation unit 15 in the case of the problem setting in FIG. 11. The contents of the split or merge are written in parentheses. For example, small formation 04F is split with small formation 01F between small operation 1-01b and operation 1-05. Small formation 01F is split after small operation 1-01a and merged with small formation 07F. "Train inspection" indicates that a train inspection is performed at the "Train inspection" position. Looking at each small formation, the first day constraint and the connection constraint are satisfied. In addition, on the scheduled train schedule date, a possible operation is assigned, and the work constraint is also satisfied. Furthermore, the number of splits is two (four if the number of splits is counted for each small formation), and the number of merges is two (four if the number of merges is counted for each small formation), and this number of splits and merges is actually the minimum solution.

[0110] Figure 23 shows an example of the solution expressed in a different way to Figure 22. In Figure 22, the solution was expressed in units of small trips, but in Figure 23, the solution is expressed in units of the original trips. From Figure 23, we can see that it will be necessary to split the 01F-04F train sets and merge the 01F-07F small train sets after the afternoon of the first day, and to split the 03F-06F train sets and merge the 03F-04F train sets after the evening of the first day.

[0111] As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to automatically create a practical vehicle allocation plan that minimizes the number of splitting and merging while matching the number of vehicles required for an operation with the total number of vehicles in one or more formations assigned to the operation.

[0112] Second embodiment In the second embodiment, the same problem as in the first embodiment (Figure 11) is used as a base, but a case is described in which the individual condition information 35 includes a condition that splitting and merging are possible at vehicle depot A but not at vehicle depot B.

[0113] In this case as well, the method for finding a solution is the same as in the first embodiment, but the solution obtained is different. 24 shows an example of a solution obtained in the second embodiment. In this case, division is performed three times and merging is performed three times (the number of divisions and merging is six).

[0114] In this manner, in this embodiment, it is possible to obtain a vehicle dispatch plan that minimizes the number of times of splitting and merging while taking into account the characteristics of each vehicle depot.

[0115] Third embodiment In the first and second embodiments, a solution (vehicle allocation plan) is obtained using a search-based method for enumerating exchange paths. In the third embodiment, a solution (vehicle allocation plan) is obtained using a method based on mathematical modeling. Fig. 25 is a block diagram showing an example of a plan creation device according to the third embodiment. Elements with the same names as those in Fig. 5 used in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions are omitted except for the changed or expanded parts. The difference from Fig. 5 is that the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 15 includes a mathematical model creation unit 16 and an optimization unit 17.

[0116] The mathematical model creation unit 16 creates a mathematical model as an optimization problem in the case where short trips and short train sets correspond one-to-one. The optimization unit 17 solves this model (minimizes or quasi-minimizes an objective function) to determine which short train sets should be assigned to which short trips while keeping the number of splitting and merging small.

[0117] The various constraints mentioned above can be satisfied by defining them as constraint conditions (constraint equations) within the mathematical model. Note that, as will be described later, the constraint conditions are not completely prohibited, and can be reflected in the mathematical model by adding a penalty value to the evaluation value when they are not satisfied. An example of mathematical modeling is shown below.

[0118]

number

[0119] The definition of each symbol is as follows. The number of cars in the definitions below refers to the number of small trains. x d,u,h : A variable that takes the value of 0 or 1, indicating whether or not to use small train set h for small service u on day d. This variable corresponds to the second variable that indicates whether to assign multiple train sets to multiple services for each day (period). z d,h,i : A variable that takes the value of 0 or 1 indicating whether or not it is necessary to change (split or merge) the connection between sub-group h and sub-group i on the dth day. This variable corresponds to the first variable that indicates whether or not it is necessary to merge or split the two groups for each pair of two groups. D: The set of days from the first day to the last day of the planning period P: collection of places H: Small group gathering H 2 : A small group of two pairs C: Set of vehicle numbers H(c): A set of small trains with c cars · U(d,c): A set of short trips with c number of vehicles on day d UPAIR(d): Set of pair operations on the dth day ARV(d,p): The set of short trips arriving at location p on day d DEP(d,p): The set of short trips leaving location p on day d DEP pm (d,p): A set of afternoon short trips leaving location p on day d SET(d,h): The set of short trips that can be assigned to short trip h on the dth day

[0120] Equation (1) is an objective function that represents the minimization of the number of splitting and merging. The objective function is the first variable (z d,h,i ) corresponds to an evaluation function that calculates an evaluation value based on the sum of

[0121] Equation (2) is a constraint that all c-car short trips are assigned one of the c-car short trips without overlapping. In other words, equation (2) is x d,u,h (second variable) is used to correspond to the constraint that one or more small units with the same total number of cars are assigned to multiple operations.

[0122] Equation (3) is a constraint that assigns one of the trips in SET(d,h) to a certain fleet h on day d.

[0123] Equation (4) expresses the condition for the arrival location of a certain vehicle group h on the d-1th day to coincide with its departure location on the dth day (when d=1, the left-hand side is replaced with a constant that is 1 only if the arrival location on the first day and p coincide, and 0 otherwise).

[0124] Equation (5) is used when it is necessary to disconnect the sub-carriers h and i (to split the sub-carriers h and i). d,h,i is 1 (when d=1, the x d-1,u,h +x d-1,v,i The part of h,i is replaced with a constant that is 1 if h,i is connected on the first day, and 0 otherwise.) Here, the left side is 3 and z d,h,i = 1 is x d-1,u,h =x d-1,v,i =x d,s,h =1 and x d,t,i = 0. This means that on day d-1, small train sets h and i are assigned to a pair of small trains (u,v), but on day d, of the pair of trains (s,t), s is assigned to small train set h, but t is not assigned to small train set i, and therefore splitting and merging is necessary. Note that the formula shown here is only for the case where a train set that was coupled until just before is split, but a similar formula can also be used to model cases such as a train set that was running alone until just before being coupled with another train set.

[0125] Equations (6) and (7) are x d,u,h , z d,h,i is a constraint indicating that each of the two can take the value 0 or 1.

[0126] In this example, we have modeled the case where one operation is assigned to a small vehicle per day. If two or more operations are assigned to a small vehicle per day, we use y, which indicates that a small vehicle h is assigned to operation u followed by operation v. d,u,v,h By introducing the above, the above equations (4) and (5) can be expanded.

[0127] In a problem setting similar to that of FIG. 11, the optimization unit 17 optimizes or quasi-optimizes the above mathematical model, i.e., minimizes or quasi-minimizes the objective function to obtain x d,u,h The value of (second variable) is calculated as follows: x 1,01a,01F =x 1,03a,02F =x 1,04a,03F =x 1,01b,04F =x 1,05,04F =x 1,03b,05F =x 1,04b,06F =x 1,02,07F =1, x 2,04a,01F =x 2,01a,02F =x 2,03a,03F =x 2,03b,04F =x 2,01b,05F =x 2,02b,06F =x 2,05b,06F =x 2,04b,07F =1 And the remaining x d,u,h A solution where x is 0 is obtained. This solution corresponds to the vehicle dispatch plan shown in FIG. 22. The optimization unit 17 or the vehicle dispatch plan creation unit 15 calculates these x d,u,h A vehicle dispatch plan is created based on the value of (second variable).

[0128] For example, if we look at the small trains 03F and 06F assigned to service 04 on the first day, x 1,04a,03F +x 1,04b,06F +x 2,03a,03F -x 2,03b,06F Since z = 1 + 1 + 1 - 0 = 3, in order to satisfy equation (5), d,03F,06F = 1. Therefore, we can see that z corresponds to the number of splits and merges.

[0129] Therefore, it can be confirmed that optimizing the objective function of equation (1) corresponds to minimizing the number of times splitting and merging. (Strictly speaking, the above mathematical modeling does not support cases where the same small train operates two or more times in the same day, so it cannot detect merging and splitting between two operations in the same day, but it can be easily modeled by expanding equation (5).)

[0130] Note that the formulation shown here is an example, and other objective functions and constraint equations may be used. A mathematical programming solver such as GurobiOptimizer or CPLEX may be used to solve the optimization problem. A metaheuristic solving method such as a gradient method, simulated annealing, or genetic algorithm may be used as a solving method. The mathematical programming solver may be configured by an external server connected to this device via a network such as the Internet. In this case, this device transmits data of the optimization problem to the mathematical programming solver and obtains data of the solution obtained by the mathematical programming solver.

[0131] From the above, this mathematical model makes it possible to obtain a vehicle dispatch plan that minimizes the number of splits and mergings.

[0132] (Fourth embodiment) In the first to third embodiments, the method of dividing a trip into short trips (how many short trips each trip is divided into, each with how many cars. This is called the short trip division method) was fixed in advance, but in this embodiment, we will describe a case where it is possible to freely determine how many cars are assigned to a trip and in what combination. The block diagram of this embodiment is the same as that of the third embodiment, shown in Figure 25.

[0133] FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram of the fourth embodiment. FIG. 26 shows a case where there are three types of small formations, 2 cars, 4 cars, and 6 cars, and two types of operation, 4 car operation and 6 car operation. In this case, the 1-02 operation, which is a 4 car operation, may be operated only with a 4 car small formation such as 04F, or may be operated using two 2 car small formations such as 01F+02F. The total number of cars in the small formations may match the number of cars in the operation. Similarly, the 1-03 operation, which is a 6 car operation, may be operated only with a 6 car small formation such as 08F, or may be operated using three 2 car small formations such as 01F+02F+03F, or may be operated using a 2 car small formation and a 4 car small formation such as 01F+04F.

[0134] To deal with such cases, the mathematical model creation unit 16 of the vehicle dispatch plan creation unit 15 generates the mathematical model shown below as an optimization problem. The optimization unit 17 solves the model (minimizes or quasi-minimizes the objective function) to determine how many small formations should be assigned to each operation and how they should be combined, while keeping the number of splitting and merging small. In addition, the various constraints described above can be satisfied by defining them as constraint conditions (constraint equations) within the mathematical model. As will be described later, the constraint conditions are not completely prohibited, and can be reflected in the mathematical model in the form of adding a penalty value to the evaluation value when they cannot be satisfied.

[0135]

number

[0136] Here, the definitions of each symbol are as follows. x d,u,h : A variable that takes the value of 0 or 1 indicating whether or not sub-unit h is used for operation u on day d. Note that, unlike the third embodiment, multiple sub-units may be assigned to a certain operation u. This variable corresponds to the second variable that indicates whether multiple units are assigned to multiple operations for each period. z d,h,i : A variable that takes the value of 0 or 1 indicating whether or not it is necessary to change (merge or split) the connection between sub-groups h and i on day d. This variable corresponds to the first variable that indicates whether or not it is necessary to merge or split the two groups for each pair of two groups. A h : Number of cars in small train h ·B du : Number of vehicles operating on day d D: The set of days from the first day to the last day of the planning period P: collection of places H: Small group gathering H 2 : A small group of two pairs C: Set of vehicle numbers U(d): Set of operations on the dth day ARV(d,p): The set of trips arriving at location p on day d DEP(d,p): The set of trips leaving location p on day d. SET(d,h): The set of operations that can be assigned to fleet h on day d

[0137] Equation (8) is an objective function that represents the minimization of the number of splitting and merging times. This objective function is expressed by the first variable (z d,h,i ) corresponds to an evaluation function that calculates an evaluation value based on the sum of

[0138] Equation (9) is a constraint that ensures that the number of vehicles in service matches the number of vehicles in the small fleet. The left side of equation (9) represents the number of vehicles in service, and the right side represents the total number of vehicles in all assigned small fleets. In other words, equation (9) is expressed as x d,u,h (second variable) is used to correspond to the constraint that one or more configurations with the same total number of cars are assigned to multiple operations.

[0139] Equation (10) is a constraint that assigns any operation belonging to SET(d,h) to a certain fleet h on the dth day.

[0140] Equation (11) is a constraint that the arrival location of a certain vehicle unit h on the d-1th day coincides with the departure location on the dth day.

[0141] Equation (12) is the case where it is necessary to disconnect small trains h and i. d,h,i is a constraint imposing that t be 1. Here, the idea is the same as in the third embodiment, but since the problem setting here allows multiple small vehicles to be assigned to the same operation, the subscripts are different.

[0142] Equations (13) and (14) are d,u,h , z d,h,i is a constraint indicating that each of the two can take the value 0 or 1.

[0143] The main difference from the third embodiment described above is equation (9).

[0144] For example, if operation 1-03 in Figure 26 is set to u, then B 1,u= 6, it is sufficient to satisfy the following equation (15).

number

[0145] The rest of the description is the same as in the third embodiment, and so will not be repeated.

[0146] This mathematical model makes it possible to obtain a dispatch plan that minimizes the number of times trains are split and merged, while taking into account the degree of freedom in the combination of small trains.

[0147] (Variations of evaluation functions) Variations of the evaluation function will now be described. According to the individual conditions set in the individual condition information 24, the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 15 (mathematical model creation unit 16) of the third or fourth embodiment can design an evaluation function as follows. The addition of a penalty value described below can add a penalty term to the evaluation function. The determination of whether each condition is satisfied may be made in the same manner as the constraints of the mathematical model described above.

[0148] [Operation connection conditions] There is an operation connection condition as a condition for the order of operations to be assigned. There is a condition for assigning operations in the order of the first operation and the second operation. In this case, when an operation other than the second operation is assigned after the first operation to any formation, the dispatch plan creation unit 15 adds a penalty value to the evaluation value. For example, there is a condition that operation v is assigned as much as possible after operation u on the same day. When a short operation other than operation v is assigned to a certain short formation on the same day after a short operation of operation u, or when no short operation is assigned on the same day, points are deducted. Deducting points means providing a penalty term in the formula of the evaluation function to be minimized and increasing the value of the penalty term, that is, it corresponds to adding (or subtracting) a penalty value to the value of the evaluation function (evaluation value) (same below). In addition, there is a condition that after operation u on a certain day, operation v is assigned to the next day, preferably on a weekday. If a certain fleet is assigned another service on the same day after operation u, or if it is assigned a service other than v for the first time the next day, a penalty value is added. In addition, there is a condition that after operation u, no other operations should be assigned on the same day. If a certain small vehicle is assigned another small operation on the same day after the small operation of operation u, a penalty value is added.

[0149] [Designated operating conditions] (On days when there is work such as inspection or cleaning, there is a condition (allocable operation condition) that only operations that can perform that work (designated operation) are assigned. Based on the designated operation conditions that specify the operations that can be assigned to each formation, the vehicle dispatch plan creation unit 15 adds a penalty value to the evaluation value when the formation is assigned an operation that is not specified in the designated operation conditions. For example, when a yard work plan is assigned to a small formation on a certain day, if the formation is assigned a small operation other than an allocable operation (a small operation that cannot perform yard work) on that day, a penalty value is added.

[0150] [Priority / non-priority formation conditions] For example, there is a condition that small formation h is to be used actively. The lower the allocation frequency of each formation, or the smaller the total operating time or distance of the assigned operations, the larger the penalty value that the vehicle dispatch plan creation unit 15 adds to the evaluation value. For example, if the total running time (= arrival time - departure time) of short operations assigned to a small formation within the planning period is less than a predetermined time, points are deducted (a penalty value is added). Alternatively, if the total running distance is less than a predetermined distance, points are deducted (a penalty value is added). In this case, information on the running distance of each operation is obtained in advance as input information.

[0151] There is also a condition that formation h should be used as little as possible. The vehicle dispatch plan creation unit 15 adds a larger penalty value to the evaluation value the higher the allocation frequency of each formation, or the larger the total operating time or operating distance of the assigned operation. For example, if the total running time (= arrival time - departure time) of the short operations assigned to a short formation within the planning period is equal to or longer than a predetermined time, points are subtracted. Alternatively, if the total running distance is equal to or longer than a predetermined time, points are subtracted (a penalty value is added).

[0152] [Operating conditions that cannot be used] There are conditions that stipulate operations (non-allocable operations) that are prohibited from being assigned to a certain small formation. When an allocated additional operation is assigned to the small formation, points are subtracted. In other words, the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 15 adds a penalty value to the evaluation value when an operation that is not permitted by the non-allocable operation conditions is assigned to the formation (small formation) based on the non-allocable operation conditions.

[0153] [Roll depot conditions (conditions based on the time required for splitting and merging operations, conditions taking into account the first-in, last-out structure of the rolling stock depot (FILO conditions))] There is a condition based on the time required for the splitting and merging work (splitting and merging time condition). The time required for the splitting or merging work is determined as the splitting and merging condition for each train set or for each location where the splitting or merging work of the train set is performed. For example, when the splitting and merging work takes n minutes at the train depot A, and the time from the immediately preceding arrival time to the immediately following departure time when the splitting and merging work of a small train set is performed at the train depot A is m minutes, the dispatch plan creation unit 15 will deduct points if the value obtained by subtracting n from m is negative or a small number. In this way, the dispatch plan creation unit 15 may add a larger penalty value to the evaluation value as the time required for the splitting or merging work is longer. In this way, when there are multiple candidates for splitting and merging, it is expected that a dispatch plan with a shorter splitting and merging time will be obtained. The time for the splitting and merging work may be determined for each train depot or each train set.

[0154] When a vehicle depot has a first-in, last-out structure, the evaluation value may be adjusted based on, for example, how the vehicles are separated when performing a splitting and merging operation of formations at the vehicle depot, as a condition taking this into consideration. In this example, when two or more formations are assigned to a service, the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 15 also determines the order in which the two or more formations are merged, and it is assumed that the two or more formations are merged in the merging operation in the determined order. The vehicle allocation plan creation unit 15 adds a penalty value to the evaluation value according to the position of the formation that is split from the two or more merged formations (small formations) in the splitting operation and the merging position when the split formation is merged with another formation in the merging operation. For example, in the vehicle depot A, the work of separating the leading small formation of a series of small formations and connecting it to the leading of another small formation group requires only moving one small formation, so the cost is small. On the other hand, when the head small vehicle group of a small vehicle group is detached and coupled to the rear end of another small vehicle group, or when the rear end small vehicle group of a small vehicle group is detached and coupled to another small vehicle group, or when swapping the head small vehicle groups of two small vehicle groups, it is usually necessary to move two or more small vehicles, so two or more drivers are required, and more work time is required, so a large deduction (penalty value) may be added. This is expected to result in a vehicle allocation plan that avoids splitting and merging work, which is more time-consuming and labor-intensive, as much as possible.

[0155] [Cab conditions] There is a condition that the formation F01 uses the cab in the up direction as much as possible. For example, in the dispatch plan creation algorithm, the order of the small formations assigned to each operation is also taken into consideration, and only the cab in front of the first small formation and the cab behind the last small formation are considered to be used during the operation. In other words, when two or more formations are assigned to an operation, the dispatch plan creation unit 15 also determines the order in which the two or more formations are merged. It is assumed that the two or more formations are merged in the determined order by the merging operation. It is assumed that the cabs of the first and last vehicles in the formation train of the two or more formations assigned to the operation are used during the operation. The dispatch plan creation unit 15 imposes a constraint so that the total usage time of the cabs during the planning period is equalized. For example, a target value for the total usage time of each of the front and rear cabs of each small formation may be determined in advance, and a larger deduction (penalty value) may be added the greater the deviation from the target value. This is expected to result in a dispatch plan in which the usage time of the cabs is equalized.

[0156] Fifth embodiment The vehicle allocation plans (operation plans) created in the first to fourth embodiments may actually be used to control the movements of a plurality of formations on a target route on which the formations run. FIG. 27 is a block diagram showing an example of a vehicle operation system according to the fifth embodiment. The system includes a plan creation device 10 and a vehicle control device 150. The plan creation device 10 and the vehicle control device 150 can communicate with each other via a communication network. The plan creation device 10 transmits information on the created vehicle allocation plan to the vehicle control device 150. The communication unit 153 of the vehicle control device 150 receives the information on the vehicle allocation plan and stores it in the vehicle allocation plan storage unit 151. The control unit 152 (control circuit) of the vehicle control device 150 controls the operation of the formations 01F, 02F, and 03F on the route according to this information. Although only three formations are shown in the figure, more formations may exist. If the information on the vehicle allocation plan generated by the plan creation device 10 is in a format that cannot be interpreted by the control unit 152 as it is, the information may be converted into information in a format that can be interpreted by the control unit 152, and the control unit 152 may control the operation based on the converted information. Each formation may be unmanned or manned. As an example, the vehicle control device 150 may perform fully automatic operation of each formation. For example, each formation is a train, and a fully automatic railway is realized. The control unit 152 of the vehicle control device 150 and the vehicle allocation plan storage unit 151 may be incorporated into the plan creation device 10 to configure an information processing device.

[0157] (Hardware configuration) Finally, the hardware configuration of the plan creation device according to each of the above-described embodiments will be described with reference to FIG. 28 shows the hardware configuration of a plan creation device which is an information processing device according to each embodiment. The plan creation device according to each embodiment is configured by a computer 1000. The computer 1000 includes a CPU 1001 (central processing unit), an input device 1002, a display device 1003, a communication device 1004, and a storage device 1005, which are interconnected by a bus 1006.

[0158] The CPU 1001 is a control device and an arithmetic device of the computer 1000. The CPU 1001 performs arithmetic processing based on data and programs input from each device (e.g., the input device 1002, the communication device 1004, and the storage device 1005) connected via the bus 1006, and outputs the arithmetic results and control signals to each device (e.g., the display device 1003, the communication device 1004, and the storage device 1005) connected via the bus 1006.

[0159] Specifically, the CPU 1001 executes the OS (operating system) of the computer 1000, a planning program, and the like, and controls each device constituting the computer 1000. The planning program is a program that causes the computer 1000 to realize each of the above-mentioned functional configurations of the planning device. The CPU 1001 executes the planning program, causing the computer 1000 to function as the planning device.

[0160] The input device 1002 is a device for inputting information to the computer 1000. The input device 1002 is, for example, but is not limited to, a keyboard, a mouse, and a touch panel. A user can input information by using the input device 1002.

[0161] The display device 1003 is a device for displaying images and videos. The display device 1003 is, for example, but not limited to, an LCD (liquid crystal display), a CRT (cathode ray tube), or a PDP (plasma display). With these, the display device 1003 can display the optimization result.

[0162] The communication device 1004 is a device for the computer 1000 to communicate with an external device wirelessly or via a wire. The communication device 1004 is, for example, a modem, a hub, or a router, but is not limited to these. Input information may be input from an external device via the communication device 1004.

[0163] The storage device 1005 is a storage medium that stores the OS of the computer 1000, the planning program, data required for executing the planning program, and data generated by executing the planning program. The storage device 1005 includes a main storage device and an external storage device. The main storage device is, for example, but is not limited to, a RAM, a DRAM, or an SRAM. The external storage device is, for example, but is not limited to, a hard disk, an optical disk, a flash memory, or a magnetic tape.

[0164] The computer 1000 may include one or more of the CPU 1001, the input device 1002, the display device 1003, the communication device 1004, and the storage device 1005, and may be connected to peripheral devices such as a printer and a scanner. The plan creation device may be configured as a single computer 1000, or may be configured as a system consisting of multiple computers 1000 connected to each other.

[0165] Furthermore, the plan creation program may be stored in advance in storage device 1005 of computer 1000, may be stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, or may be uploaded onto the Internet. In any case, the plan creation device can be configured by installing and executing the plan creation program in computer 1000.

[0166] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and the components can be modified and embodied in the implementation stage without departing from the gist of the invention. Various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining multiple components disclosed in the above-described embodiments. For example, a configuration in which some components are deleted from all the components shown in each embodiment can also be considered. Furthermore, the components described in different embodiments can be appropriately combined.

[0167] This embodiment can also have the following configuration. [Item 1] Information on multiple operations, including operation periods, Information on the number of vehicles required to execute the multiple operations; and Based on the information on the number of cars in each of a plurality of formations that can be combined or split between two or more formations, a processing unit that creates an operation plan by allocating, for each of the plurality of operations, one or more formations whose total number of vehicles corresponds to the number of vehicles required for the operation to the operation; The plurality of formations can be repeatedly assigned to two or more operations whose operation periods do not overlap, When two or more train sets are assigned to the service, a merging operation for merging the two or more train sets is required, and when two or more train sets to be merged in the merging operation are assigned to different services, a division operation for dividing the two or more train sets is required; The processing unit creates the operation plan based on at least one of a number of merging operations, which is a number of times the merging operation is performed, and a number of division operations, which is a number of times the division operation is performed. Information processing device. [Item 2] The processing unit creates the operation plan by minimizing or setting at least one of the number of merging times and the number of division times to a threshold value or less. Item 1. An information processing device according to item 1. [Item 3] The processing unit creates the operation plan by minimizing the sum of the number of merging times and the number of division times or setting the sum to a threshold value or less. Item 3. An information processing device according to item 2. [Item 4] the processing unit assigns the one or more train sets to the plurality of service trips using work plan information indicating work to be performed on the plurality of train sets and time periods during which the work will be performed as constraints; detecting a constraint violation if the work cannot be performed on the train set during the time period due to the operation assigned to the train set; The operation plan is created based on an evaluation value based on the number of times the constraint violation is detected and at least one of the number of times the merger is performed and the number of times the division is performed. 4. The information processing device according to any one of items 1 to 3. [Item 5] The operation periods of the plurality of operations include departure times and arrival times; The plurality of arrangements have a priority order; The processing unit calculates the evaluation value while sequentially allocating the plurality of formations from the highest priority to the plurality of operations in the order of earliest departure times, and replaces the allocation of the formations already allocated to the operations based on the evaluation value, thereby detecting an allocation pattern that minimizes the evaluation value or makes the evaluation value equal to or less than a threshold value, and creates the operation plan based on the detected pattern. Item 5. An information processing device according to item 4. [Item 6] The plurality of operations are determined for each of a plurality of periods, The processing unit generates a constraint to assign the one or more formations having the same total number of vehicles to the plurality of services using a second variable indicating whether the plurality of formations are to be assigned to the plurality of services for each period, generates an evaluation function that calculates an evaluation value based on a sum of first variables indicating whether the two formations need to be merged or split for each period and for each set of two formations, finds a value of the second variable by minimizing or quasi-minimizing the evaluation value under the constraint, and creates the operation plan based on the value of the second variable. 6. The information processing device according to any one of items 1 to 5. [Item 7] The processing unit adds a penalty value to the evaluation value when an operation other than the second operation is assigned to an arbitrary train set after the first operation based on an operation connection condition that the first operation and the second operation are assigned in that order. Item 7. An information processing device according to item 6. [Item 8] The processing unit, based on a designated operation condition that specifies an allocable operation among the plurality of operations for each formation for each period, adds a penalty value to the evaluation value when the formation is assigned an operation that is not specified in the designated operation condition. Item 8. The information processing device according to item 6 or 7. [Item 9] The processing unit adds a larger penalty value to the evaluation value as the allocation frequency of the first train set among the plurality of train sets is higher, or as the total operating time or operating distance of the assigned operation is larger. The information processing device according to any one of items 6 to 8. [Item 10] The processing unit adds a larger penalty value to the evaluation value as the allocation frequency of the first train set among the plurality of train sets is lower or as the total operating time or operating distance of the assigned operation is smaller. 10. The information processing device according to any one of items 6 to 9. [Item 11] The processing unit adds a penalty value to the evaluation value when the train set is assigned to an operation that is not permitted by the non-allocable operation conditions based on non-allocable operation conditions that define conditions for train sets that cannot be assigned for each operation. The information processing device according to any one of items 6 to 10. [Item 12] The time required for the division or merging work is set for each of the formations or for each location where the division or merging work of the formations is performed, The processing unit adds a larger penalty value to the evaluation value as the time required for the division or merging operation becomes longer. 12. The information processing device according to any one of items 6 to 11. [Item 13] Each of the plurality of formations has a driver's cab in at least one of the cars at both ends, When the processing unit assigns two or more formations to the service, the processing unit determines an order in which the two or more formations are merged, and the two or more formations are merged in the merging operation in the order; During the execution of the operation, the cabs of the first and last cars of the train of the two or more cars assigned to the operation are used; The processing unit adds a larger penalty value to the evaluation value as the total usage time of each of the cabs included in the plurality of formations deviates from the target time for each of the cabs. 13. The information processing device according to any one of items 6 to 12. [Item 14] When the processing unit assigns two or more formations to the service, the processing unit determines an order in which the two or more formations are merged, and the two or more formations are merged in the merging operation in the order; The processing unit adds, to the evaluation value, a penalty value according to a position of the train set to be split from the two or more train sets being merged in the splitting operation and a position of merging when the train set after the splitting is merged with another train set in the merging operation. 14. The information processing device according to any one of items 6 to 13. [Item 15] Each of the plurality of formations is a train. 15. The information processing device according to any one of items 1 to 14. [Item 16] The plurality of formations are movable on a target line; A control unit that controls the movement of the plurality of formations based on the operation plan. 16. The information processing device according to any one of items 1 to 15, comprising: [Item 17] Information on multiple operations, including operation periods, Information on the number of vehicles required to execute the multiple operations; and Based on the information on the number of cars in each of a plurality of formations that can be combined or split between two or more formations, creating an operation plan by assigning to each of the plurality of runs one or more formations whose total number of vehicles corresponds to the number of vehicles required for the run; Each of the plurality of formations can be repeatedly assigned to two or more operations whose operation periods do not overlap, When two or more train sets are assigned to the service, a merging operation for merging the two or more train sets is required, and when two or more train sets to be merged in the merging operation are assigned to different services, a division operation for dividing the two or more train sets is required; creating the operation plan based on at least one of a number of mergers, which is the number of times the merger operation is performed, and a number of divisions, which is the number of times the division operation is performed; Information processing methods. [Item 18] Information on multiple operations, including operation periods, Information on the number of vehicles required to execute the multiple operations; and Based on the information on the number of cars in each of a plurality of formations that can be combined or split between two or more formations, creating an operation plan by assigning to each of the plurality of runs one or more configurations whose total number of vehicles corresponds to the number of vehicles required for the run; Each of the plurality of formations can be repeatedly assigned to two or more operations whose operation periods do not overlap, When two or more train sets are assigned to the service, a merging operation for merging the two or more train sets is required, and when two or more train sets to be merged in the merging operation are assigned to different services, a division operation for dividing the two or more train sets is required; The step of creating the operation plan based on at least one of a number of merging operations, which is a number of times the merging operation is performed, and a number of division operations, which is a number of times the division operation is performed. Computer program. [Explanation of symbols]

[0168] 10 Planning device (information processing device) 11 Initial solution generator 12 Planning and Improvement Department 14 Planning and Evaluation Department 14A Division and merge count measurement unit 14B Constraint violation count coefficient 15 Vehicle allocation planning section (processing section) 16 Mathematical Model Creation Department 17 Optimization Section 21 Planning information input section 22 Operation information input section 23. On-site work plan input section 24 Individual condition input section 31 Planning Period Memory Section 32 Small organization information storage section 33 Operation information storage section 34 On-site Work Planning Department 35 Individual condition information storage section 41 Vehicle allocation plan memory unit 50 Output section 150 Vehicle control device 151 Vehicle allocation plan memory unit 152 Control section 153 Communications Department 1000 Computers 1001 CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1002 Input device 1003 Display device 1004 Communication equipment 1005 Storage device 1006 Bus

Claims

1. Information on multiple operations, including operation periods, Information on the number of vehicles required to execute the multiple operations; and Based on the information on the number of cars in each of a plurality of formations that can be merged or split between two or more formations, a processing unit that creates an operation plan by allocating, for each of the plurality of operations, one or more formations whose total number of vehicles corresponds to the number of vehicles required for the operation to the operation; The plurality of formations can be repeatedly assigned to two or more operations whose operation periods do not overlap, When two or more train sets are assigned to the service, a merging operation for merging the two or more train sets is required, and when two or more train sets to be merged in the merging operation are assigned to different services, a division operation for dividing the two or more train sets is required; The processing unit creates the operation plan based on at least one of a number of merging operations, which is a number of times the merging operation is performed, and a number of division operations, which is a number of times the division operation is performed. Information processing device.

2. The processing unit creates the operation plan by minimizing or setting at least one of the number of merging times and the number of division times to a threshold value or less. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. The processing unit creates the operation plan by minimizing the sum of the number of merging times and the number of division times or setting the sum to a threshold value or less. The information processing device according to claim 2 .

4. the processing unit assigns the one or more train sets to the plurality of service trips using work plan information indicating work to be performed on the plurality of train sets and time periods during which the work will be performed as constraints; detecting a constraint violation if the work cannot be performed on the train set during the time period due to the operation assigned to the train set; The operation plan is created based on an evaluation value based on the number of times the constraint violation is detected and at least one of the number of times the merger is performed and the number of times the division is performed. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

5. The operation periods of the plurality of operations include departure times and arrival times; The plurality of arrangements have a priority order; The processing unit calculates the evaluation value while sequentially allocating the plurality of formations from the highest priority to the plurality of operations in the order of earliest departure times, and replaces the allocation of the formations already allocated to the operations based on the evaluation value, thereby detecting an allocation pattern that minimizes the evaluation value or makes the evaluation value equal to or less than a threshold value, and creates the operation plan based on the detected pattern. The information processing device according to claim 4.

6. The plurality of operations are determined for each of a plurality of periods, The processing unit generates a constraint to assign the one or more formations having the same total number of vehicles to the plurality of services using a second variable indicating whether the plurality of formations are to be assigned to the plurality of services for each period, generates an evaluation function that calculates an evaluation value based on a sum of first variables indicating whether the two formations need to be merged or split for each period and for each set of two formations, finds a value of the second variable by minimizing or quasi-minimizing the evaluation value under the constraint, and creates the operation plan based on the value of the second variable. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

7. The processing unit adds a penalty value to the evaluation value when an operation other than the second operation is assigned to an arbitrary train set after the first operation based on an operation connection condition that the first operation and the second operation are assigned in that order. The information processing device according to claim 6.

8. The processing unit, based on a designated operation condition that specifies an allocable operation among the plurality of operations for each formation for each period, adds a penalty value to the evaluation value when the formation is assigned an operation that is not specified in the designated operation condition. The information processing device according to claim 6.

9. The processing unit adds a larger penalty value to the evaluation value as the allocation frequency of the first train set among the plurality of train sets is higher, or as the total operating time or operating distance of the assigned operation is larger. The information processing device according to claim 6.

10. The processing unit adds a larger penalty value to the evaluation value as the allocation frequency of the first train set among the plurality of train sets is lower or as the total operating time or operating distance of the assigned operation is smaller. The information processing device according to claim 6.

11. The processing unit adds a penalty value to the evaluation value when the train set is assigned to an operation that is not permitted by the non-allocable operation conditions based on non-allocable operation conditions that define conditions for train sets that cannot be assigned for each operation. The information processing device according to claim 6.

12. The time required for the division or merging work is set for each of the formations or for each location where the division or merging work of the formations is performed, The processing unit adds a larger penalty value to the evaluation value as the time required for the division or merging operation becomes longer. The information processing device according to claim 6.

13. Each of the plurality of formations has a driver's cab in at least one of the cars at both ends, When the processing unit assigns two or more formations to the service, the processing unit determines an order in which the two or more formations are merged, and the two or more formations are merged in the merging operation in the order; During the execution of the operation, the cabs of the first and last cars of the train of the two or more cars assigned to the operation are used; The processing unit adds a larger penalty value to the evaluation value as the total usage time of each of the cabs included in the plurality of formations deviates from the target time for each of the cabs. The information processing device according to claim 6.

14. When the processing unit assigns two or more formations to the service, the processing unit determines an order in which the two or more formations are merged, and the two or more formations are merged in the merging operation in the order; The processing unit adds, to the evaluation value, a penalty value according to a position of the train set to be split from the two or more train sets being merged in the splitting operation and a position of merging when the train set after the splitting is merged with another train set in the merging operation. The information processing device according to claim 6.

15. Each of the plurality of formations is a train. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

16. The plurality of formations are movable on a target line; A control unit that controls the movement of the plurality of formations based on the operation plan. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

17. Information on multiple operations, including operation periods, Information on the number of vehicles required to execute the multiple operations; and Based on the information on the number of cars in each of a plurality of formations that can be merged or split between two or more formations, creating an operation plan by allocating to each of the plurality of runs one or more formations whose total number of vehicles corresponds to the number of vehicles required for the run; Each of the plurality of formations can be repeatedly assigned to two or more operations whose operation periods do not overlap, When two or more train sets are assigned to the service, a merging operation for merging the two or more train sets is required, and when two or more train sets to be merged in the merging operation are assigned to different services, a division operation for dividing the two or more train sets is required; creating the operation plan based on at least one of a number of mergers, which is the number of times the merger operation is performed, and a number of divisions, which is the number of times the division operation is performed; Information processing methods.

18. Information on multiple operations, including operation periods, Information on the number of vehicles required to execute the multiple operations; and Based on the information on the number of cars in each of a plurality of formations that can be merged or split between two or more formations, creating an operation plan by assigning to each of the plurality of runs one or more configurations whose total number of vehicles corresponds to the number of vehicles required for the run; Each of the plurality of formations can be repeatedly assigned to two or more operations whose operation periods do not overlap, When two or more train sets are assigned to the service, a merging operation for merging the two or more train sets is required, and when two or more train sets to be merged in the merging operation are assigned to different services, a division operation for dividing the two or more train sets is required; The step of creating the operation plan based on at least one of a number of merging operations, which is a number of times the merging operation is performed, and a number of division operations, which is a number of times the division operation is performed. Computer program.

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