The 2025 RAS Problem Solving Competition
Operations Research and Advanced Analytical Approaches Applied to Real-World Rail Problems
First Prize: $2,000 -- Second Prize: $1,000 -- Third Prize: $750
Predicting the Remaining Useful Life of Wheelsets
Full description of the competition(TBA)
The INFORMS Railway Applications Section is pleased to announce the 2025 Problem Solving Competition.
TTX Company has generously volunteered to sponsor the prizes and provide the problem, including data drawn from its operations. TTX Company was formed in 1955 and has grown to provide 175,000 railcars to North American railroads, investing $13 billion since 2000 and spending $800 million annually to maintain its fleet.
The 2025 Railway Application Section Problem Solving Competition focuses on predicting the remaining useful life (RUL) of wheelsets using wheel profile data and wheel mileage. Wheelsets are critical components of railway vehicles, and their condition significantly impacts the safety and efficiency of railway operations. Participants will use data from Wheel Profile Detectors (WPDs), wheel mileage, and repair history. The dataset includes five years of information on car details, car mileage, wheel information, wheel mileage, and detector data. Failures are defined using FRA/AAR condemnable failure rules. Developing an accurate predictive model for RUL will enhance the maintenance and safety of railway operations by enabling proactive interventions and reducing the risk of wheelset failures.
Awards:
- First Prize: $2,000
- Second Prize: $1,000
- Third Prize: $750
Important dates:
- Release of Full Problem and Datasets: April 1, 2025.
- Registration Deadline: June 13, 2025.
- Q&A Period: Open from May 1, until August 15, 2025.
- Solution Submission Deadline (Paper + Results): August 15, 2025.
- Announcement of Finalists: August 29, 2025
- Finalists send video of presentation: Sept 30, 2025
- Finalists video conference judges, October 7-11, 2025.
- Finalists’ Presentations and Winner Announced (if no travel restrictions, in person): October 26-28, 2025, at INFORMS Annual Meeting (RAS Cluster).
Competition chairs:
Marty Schlenker, INFORMS RAS Vice Chair and Problem Solving Competition Chair
marty@schlenkerllc.com and 817-374-2762
Masood J. Kang, Equipment Advanced Analytics Manager, TTX Company
masood.jafarikang@ttx.com and 224-301-3139