1. Abstract The SEPTA Regional Rail system serves as an important network for the Philadelphia region, moving many commuters during the peak hours on suburb-to-city or city-to-suburb trips. Although this service fulfills commuter needs well, the opportunity exists for SEPTA to improve service during the entire day and on non-commuter trips. This project developed a new model for scheduling Regional Rail service with a focus on improving the ability to transfer among lines to encourage suburb- to-suburb trips. The model targeted operational factors, increasing the frequency of service or reducing the scheduled wait time between two given lines, while bypassing the need for expensive capital improvements. The optimization model minimized the average wait time for passengers traveling between lines according to probabilistic weightings based on the priority of a given transfer. These scheduled transfer times were subject to physical and policy constraints that limited the range of times when a given train could travel. The alternative schedules produced by the optimizations were evaluated upon their cost- performance package. Optimization and Coordination of SEPTA Regional Rail Group 16 Authors Kyle Andrews ‘09 Dan Garzarella 09 Tim Potens ’09 Jake Quain ‘09 Advisor Mr. Harry Garforth Demo Times Thursday, April 26, 2008 11:00am, 2:30pm, 3:00pm, 3:30pm University of Pennsylvania Dept. of Electrical and Systems Engineering Collect Data on Rail Network Optimal Schedule w/ Current Headways Optimal Schedule w/ 30 Minute Headways Current Schedule Optimal Schedule w/ Current Headways Optimal Schedule w/ 30 Minute Headways Wait Times for Key Transfers Departure Times at 30th Street Station Results We ran our model under several different scenarios and were able to reduce the average wait time. Here we show our results when we designed with the current headways and fleet of trains, and if we were to run smaller trains on shorter headways. Inputs of the Optimization Scheduling Model Scheduling Model Variables Departure /Arrival Times at each Station Terminal Times Policy Constraints Frequency of Service Minimum Headway Between Trains Minimum Terminal Times Train Routes Physical Constraints Track Layouts Walking Time Between Transfers Other Factors Operating Speed Station Stopping Time Maintenance/Energy Cost Per Car-Mile Cost Per Amtrak Train-Mile for Rail Use Employee Wages Number of Cars per Train Delays Design Process 30 th Street Station Track Layouts. Station Spacing Determine Priority of Each Potential Transfer Formulate Objective Function Define Constraints in Program Form Consider Ridership, Geography, and Alternative Options Minimize Passenger Average Wait Time Include Methods of Verification Create a Means for Evaluation Wait Time Charts, Cost Comparisons Produce Outputs for Multiple Scenarios Change Frequency of Each Line Evaluate Alternatives Generate and Show Conclusions Current ScheduleOptimal Schedule w/ Current Headways Optimal Schedule w/ 30 Minute Headways Avg. Passenger Wait Time 23 Minutes14 Minutes11 Minutes Incremental Cost$0/hr $3,000/hr