Rail crew management

CRS is an award winning software system that optimises the rail crew management process. CRS quickly generates optimal shifts and rosters for all on-train staff. The system combines state-of-the-art algorithms with the constraints of train operations to produce efficient and practical crew plans.

The deployment of CRS not only delivers the operational effectiveness and agility that train companies require, it also enables a reduction in operating costs.

CRS delivers:

• increased crew efficiency
• a reduced crew planning effort
• equitable crew plans
• improved management of period changes, minimising overtime usage and ensuring train coverage
• improved operational decisions reducing crew related disruptions and standby and relief crew requirement
• controlled and automated generation of crew pay requirements reducing errors, disputes and administration costs
• providing fast, accurate and robust analysis of crew options facilitating better management decisions.

Fleet management

The new Fleet modules of CRS allow railway operators to reduce their capital costs by making more efficient use of their rolling stock. The software enables modelling of a railway's track facilities, rolling stock inventory, timetables, constraints, and customer demand. Using Carmen Systems' world-leading optimization algorithms, the Fleet software delivers a movements schedule that represents the most cost-efficient way of meeting the demand.

Carmen Systems' Fleet solution also allows simulation of a railway network relative to traffic demands. This allows railways to make accurate equipment cost estimates when, for example, adding new train unit types or bidding for the franchise rights to run new rail services on foreign track.

CRS Fleet software enables:

• More efficient use of locomotives, train units, passenger and freight cars
• Significant reductions in time required to plan allocations of rolling stock, train compositions, coupling/decoupling operations
• Modelling of track topography
• Modelling of compatibilities and restrictions between all rolling stock types
• Planning for maintenace of rolling stock at defined depots
• Simulation of proposed changes to existing network as well as new network proposals, proposing the most efficient and economical solutions according to constraints given.