Multi-actor systems and its organizational form: planning and communication of dispatchers and passengers in the Netherlands Railways (NS)

Abstract

In innovating its planning processes, passenger involvement in dispatching is one of the directions the Netherlands Railways is exploring. Multi-agent systems (MAS) provide a way to study the organizational aspects of the dispatching task that aims to bridge functional differences between passengers and dispatchers. In this study, besides the technical, especially the coordinating and organizational implications of such a change will be investigated. Two versions of a multi-agent system have been constructed: NS-MAS 1 and NS-MAS 2. The involvement of active passengers as is realized in NS-MAS 1, provides the organizational specifications of realizing dispatcher-passenger communication. Furthermore, this implementation provides indications for bridging the functional differences between passengers and dispatchers. NS-MAS 2 operates with simulated passive passengers, based on statistical data of passenger movements, and implements the coordination possibilities taking into account passenger involvement in dispatching.