Freight transport platoon coordination and departure time scheduling under travel time uncertainty

The paper formulates and analyzes a freight transport platoon coordination and departure time scheduling problem under travel time uncertainty. The expected cost minimization framework accounts for travel time cost, schedule miss penalties and fuel cost. It is shown that platooning is beneficial only when scheduled arrival times differ less than a certain threshold. Travel time uncertainty typically reduces the threshold schedule difference for platooning to be beneficial. Platooning in networks is less beneficial on converging routes than diverging routes, due to delay at the merging point. The model provides valuable insights regarding platooning benefits for freight transport planning. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.