SISCOG is proud to sponsor Optimization 2026, held from 20 to 22 July at ISEG, Lisbon, and to contribute to the conference programme with two research presentations focused on rail staff scheduling and operational resilience.
The first presentation, “Scheduling Crew Reserve Duties with Flexible Times”*, will be delivered by Maria Tovar, former SISCOG intern and MSc student at FCUL.
The research explores how introducing flexible time windows in reserve duties allows operators to adapt schedules closer to the day of operation, improving coverage of disruptions while balancing robustness and efficiency.
The second presentation, “Producing Cost-effective and Robust Schedules for Train Drivers and Guards with Optimization and Stochastic Simulation”**, will be made by Ricardo Saldanha, Optimisation Leader at SISCOG.
The work demonstrates how combining optimisation with stochastic simulation enables the creation of crew schedules that not only minimise costs, but also reduce delay propagation by dynamically adjusting critical connections based on real operational risk.
Together, the two studies show how advanced optimisation approaches can help rail operators:
- better anticipate uncertainty,
- respond more effectively to real-world disruptions, and
- strengthen operational resilience while maintaining cost-effective planning
in increasingly complex and uncertain environments.
These contributions reflect SISCOG’s ongoing commitment to advancing optimisation research and delivering practical innovations that support more efficient and reliable rail operations.
* Authors: Maria Tovar, Ana Wemans, Jorge Roussado, Ricardo L. Saldanha, Ana Paias
** Authors: Luís Albino, Rafael Mendes Borges, Ricardo L. Saldanha, Camiel Simons