Virginie Lurkin research projects

This page reports only the academic work registered in the databases of the Transport and Mobility Laboratory, and is not necessarily a comprehensive list of the work by Virginie Lurkin.

More information may be available here

Incorporating competitors' behavior in demand based optimization models

Sponsor: Swiss National Science Foundation

Team: Michel Bierlaire (PI), Virginie Lurkin (PM), Stefano Bortolomiol

Period: November 01, 2017-October 31, 2020

The starting point of this research project is the general framework developed in the SNF research project 200021_165636 entitled “Incorporating advanced behavioral models in mixed integer linear optimization”. The project aims at formulating explicitly the complex interaction between the supply and demand actors. We hypothesize that the decisions of supply actors (such as capacity, assortment, and price) are highly influenced by the decisions of other actors, through competition within the market. In this project, we will therefore explicitly consider multiple operators that compete for the same pool of customers. Each operator will take the supply-side decisions that optimize its performance function (e.g., maximization of revenue). Non-cooperative game theory is commonly used to model such oligopolistic competition. We plan to investigate how to integrate these games in the already developed framework. In this context, the objective will be to analyze the concept of equilibrium, that is, stationary states of the system where no actor has an incentive to change his/her decisions.

Network Design for SBB Cargo

Sponsor: Swiss Federal Railways (SBB)

Team: Michel Bierlaire (PI), Nikola Obrenovic (PM), Virginie Lurkin (PM)

Period: September 01, 2017-August 31, 2018

This project aims at developing an algorithm for the overall design of SBB cargo’s network of bundling points. SBB Cargo operates a network of 2 marshaling yards, 65 shunting yards and about 350 of small bundling points. The operation as such is costly and the network might contain redundant bundling points. The overall interest of SBB Cargo is to minimize the operating cost of their network and to compare its performance to a better network, completely designed from scratch. The resulting framework is then planned to be used to improve the current network of SBB cargo and its future development. The main research challenge of this project is to incorporate the SBB Cargo needs into one model while taking into account the specifics of the railway network and its operation. The researchers from the Transport and Mobility Laboratory (TRANSP-OR) will develop a heuristic algorithm that gives as an output a complete network design based on the inputs (cargo demand, capacity, types and costs of different bundling points). The algorithm can be further adjusted by entering the already existing bundling points. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm will be tested thorough comparison with existing solutions. TRANSP-OR, led by prof. Michel Bierlaire, has a track record of successful projects of solving highly complex problems arising in industrial sector. This one-year project is sponsored by SBB-CFF-FFS.

Cost reduction using passenger centric timetabling

Sponsor: Swiss Federal Railways (SBB)

Team: Michel Bierlaire (PI), Virginie Lurkin (PM)

Period: September 01, 2017-August 31, 2018

To design their timetables, train-operating companies mostly focus on operational aspects and cost. In Switzerland, a paradigm of transportation planning is to create regular-interval timetables (a.k.a. cyclic timetables) which aim for maximal transfer connections, simplicity and hence user friendlyness. SBB uses travel simulation models to predict the impact of timetable changes on travel demand and revenue. Mathematical timetable optimization methods are not yet used by SBB. But a recent EPFL thesis (2016) shows that the timetable itself has a significant impact on the performance of the operator in terms of the number of transported passengers: a timetable design that considers the behavior of passengers leads to higher revenue(s), market share(s), higher value of passenger-km etc. In this project, the aim is to use the optimization methods developed by the TRANSP-OR Lab consisting in combining cyclic and non-cyclic timetables and apply it to the Swiss Federal Railways’ timetable design. The goal is to evaluate the performance of the current Swiss interval timetable and to compare it to the optimal one. Suitability of hybrid timetables for the Swiss railway network will be investigated. This one-year project is carried out by the Transport and Mobility Laboratory, led by prof. Michel Bierlaire. TRANSP-OR has vast competence in modeling, optimization and simulation of transportation systems. The project is sponsored by SBB CFF FFS.

myTOSA 2.0 - Enhanced simulation and optimization tool for cost-optimal deployment of TOSA electric buses

Sponsor: Commission pour la technologie et de l'innovation, Office Fédéral de la formation professionnelle et de la technologie.

Team: Michel Bierlaire (PI), Riccardo Scarinci (PM), Virginie Lurkin (PM), Shadi Sharif Azadeh, Yousef Maknoon

Period: September 30, 2015-November 16, 2017

The TOSA catenary-free electric bus system is the ABB response to the challenge of decreasing the environmental impact of public transportation. The project builds on the previous CTI project - myTOSA - and it aims to introduce new business analytics features and to improve the fidelity of the simulation and (robust) optimization modules used for a cost-optimal deployment of the TOSA charging infrastructure and component sizing.