An interactive train scheduling workbench based on artificial intelligence

We describe a practical train scheduling system (called TSS) designed for the Taiwan Railway Bureau (TRB). TSS has two major components. The first is Auto Scheduler which includes an initial scheduler, a conflict finder, and a conflict resolver. Auto Scheduler uses the concept of bugging as problem solving tactics. The second is Manual Scheduler which provides some effective editing functions for users to tune schedules generated by Auto Scheduler. Through an easy-to-use user interface, these components can be used to solve large-scale complex train scheduling problems.<>