Purpose-This study investigates the impact of flagship trains on high-speed railway capacity utilization and develops a brand value-oriented optimization framework that balances service quality enhancement with operat...Purpose-This study investigates the impact of flagship trains on high-speed railway capacity utilization and develops a brand value-oriented optimization framework that balances service quality enhancement with operational efficiency.Design/methodology/approach-A mathematical optimization model based on integer programming is developed,incorporating flagship train constraints into capacity optimization.Case studies compare scenarios with and without flagship train considerations using the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway data across 20 experimental groups.Findings-Operating flagship trains with hourly departure constraints results in an average decrease of 0.9 trains and an 8.4%reduction in capacity utilization rate.When scheduling 2 flagship trains within a 2-h timeframe,capacity utilization decreases from 86.43%to 83.73%,quantifying the trade-off between brand positioning and operational capacity.Originality/value-This research provides the first quantitative framework for brand value-oriented railway capacity optimization,establishing clear definitions for flagship trains and mathematical foundations for evaluating service quality versus efficiency trade-offs.The findings offer practical decision support for railway operators balancing competitive positioning with capacity maximization.展开更多
基金funded by the Science and Technology Research and Development Program Project of China Railway Group Co.,Ltd,grant number P2024X002the China Academy of Railway Sciences Corporation Limited,grant number 2024YJ154.
文摘Purpose-This study investigates the impact of flagship trains on high-speed railway capacity utilization and develops a brand value-oriented optimization framework that balances service quality enhancement with operational efficiency.Design/methodology/approach-A mathematical optimization model based on integer programming is developed,incorporating flagship train constraints into capacity optimization.Case studies compare scenarios with and without flagship train considerations using the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway data across 20 experimental groups.Findings-Operating flagship trains with hourly departure constraints results in an average decrease of 0.9 trains and an 8.4%reduction in capacity utilization rate.When scheduling 2 flagship trains within a 2-h timeframe,capacity utilization decreases from 86.43%to 83.73%,quantifying the trade-off between brand positioning and operational capacity.Originality/value-This research provides the first quantitative framework for brand value-oriented railway capacity optimization,establishing clear definitions for flagship trains and mathematical foundations for evaluating service quality versus efficiency trade-offs.The findings offer practical decision support for railway operators balancing competitive positioning with capacity maximization.
