Optimization of preventive condition-based tamping for railway tracks

In this work, a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model is formulated and tested on data from the railway corridor between Odense and Fredericia, part of the busiest main line in Denmark. Computational experiments are carried out to compare our model to the existing models in the literature. The results show that taking into consideration these previously overlooked technical and economic factors 3, 5 and 6 can prevent under-estimation of required tamping operations, produce a more economic solution, prevent unnecessary early tamping, and improve the track quality by 2 percent.