The aim of this research was to present a mathematical optimization model to determine freight routing and train scheduling (timetable) simultaneously. The objective is to minimize total fixed cost of a train, yard costs, car-time cost, and demand-specific costs to penalize delivery before and/or after a specified due date, subject to limits on train size, number of cars and trains formed by yards, and number of trains run on track sections. This compound model produces a transportation plan that completely describes the routing of freight, the set of trains to be operated, and their respective frequency and departure time. The model, which is an integer program with deterministic dynamic service network design structure, has been applied to a specific actual example and the results are presented.
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