Keywords: analysis, network, optimization, railways, routing.

An investigation was made of the routing of freight and passenger trains on the Swedish national railway network, comparing actually used routes, the most direct existing routes and the most desirable existing routes. It is seen that nearly one third of all operated freight trains are routed using circuitous routes, with individual distance penalties of up to 140 km farther than the most direct existing route. For individual network links, potential utilization reductions of up to 67 trains per day, and increases of up to 64 trains per day by direct routing, are identified. Correlating these routing scenarios with the capacity utilization of the railway network, it is seen that for the 39 sections classified as presently suffering major capacity constraints, direct routing would ease congestion on 20 sections but would aggravate congestion on only four sections. High actual and potentially increasing train counts (>80 per day) are also identified for three other single-track sections, not presently classified as suffering major capacity constraints. Implementing the findings of this paper could, potentially, result in reduced running distances and eased congestion. It may influence infrastructure improvement priorities, and, is intended as an input to long-term infrastructure capacity planning. The methods used, and the results achieved, are explained.

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