Is Freight Really Flexible in the Timetabling Process for a Mixed‐Use Rail Network? Some Considerations Based on French Experience

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Is Freight Really Flexible in the Timetabling Process for a Mixed‐Use Rail Network? Some Considerations Based on French Experience

Blanquart, Corinne / Clausen, Uwe / Jacob, Bernard

The operation planning of mixed‐use rail infrastructures is complex because it requires the infrastructure manager (IM) to cope with heterogeneous requests for a scarce resource: infrastructure capacity. In Western Europe, operation has traditionally been timetable‐based but in recent decades an increasing tendency for anticipation came to light through the implementation of regular‐interval timetables. France has recently implemented this scheduling approach for the sake of a more efficient capacity allocation process. This chapter focuses on the position of freight in this peculiar timetabling context and addresses the specific issue of freight flexibility based on current French experience. It provides an overview of the key elements that are required to design a train path. The chapter explains the main differences between freight and passenger traffic requirements. It also focuses on the nature and degree of constraint when fitting freight train paths into the timetable.