Optimization Model for Network Path Allocation Based on New Railway Channel for Transporting Coal from a Western Province and Target User’s Demands_Vol. 3 No. 3 (JCTE 2026)_Journal of Civil and Transportation Engineering (ISSN: 3005-5695)

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Optimization Model for Network Path Allocation Based on New Railway Channel for Transporting Coal from a Western Province and Target User’s Demands

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.62517/jcte.202606310

Author(s)

Wei Wang*, Zheng Zuo, Maolong Wang, Jimiao Zhang, Xiuqiang Hao, Changan Li

Affiliation(s)

CHN Energy Technology & Economics Research Institute, Beijing, China *Corresponding Author

Abstract

At present, the railways for coal transportation from a western province are confronted with tight capacity constraints. To fully exert the important guarantee role of this province's coal in China's economic and social development, this study proposes a new railway channel construction plan for coal transportation out of this province on the basis of the national overall plan for coal transportation, so as to further optimize the channel layout. Taking coal supply capacity, coal-fired power demand, railway transportation capacity, transportation costs, route allocation volume and other factors as decision variables, and taking the minimum overall procurement cost of target power plants in Ningxia, Sichuan and Chongqing as the goal, a mathematical model for optimizing the route allocation of the coal transportation network is constructed. Furthermore, starting from considering the overall benefits of the integration of coal mines, railways and power plants, a mathematical model for optimizing the route allocation of the coal transportation network based on the integrated benefits of coal-railway-power plants is established. The model solution shows that from the perspective of the railway industry alone, this province's coal needed by the target power plants is mainly transported outward through the Lanxin Railway, supplemented by the Linha Railway, and the competitiveness of the new channel is general; from the perspective of the national overall benefits, all this province's coal needed by the target power plants is transported outward through the new channel, which can reduce the overall operating cost by about 3.5 billion yuan and realize the maximization of national overall benefits.

Keywords

Coal Export; the New Railway; Overall Benefits; Path Allocation

References

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