Dynamic Pricing in High-Speed Railways Using Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Villarrubia-Martin, Enrique Adrian, Rodriguez-Benitez, Luis, Muñoz-Valero, David, Montana, Giovanni, Jimenez-Linares, Luis
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Villarrubia-Martin, Enrique Adrian
Rodriguez-Benitez, Luis
Muñoz-Valero, David
Montana, Giovanni
Jimenez-Linares, Luis
author_facet Villarrubia-Martin, Enrique Adrian
Rodriguez-Benitez, Luis
Muñoz-Valero, David
Montana, Giovanni
Jimenez-Linares, Luis
contents This paper addresses a critical challenge in the high-speed passenger railway industry: designing effective dynamic pricing strategies in the context of competing and cooperating operators. To address this, a multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) framework based on a non-zero-sum Markov game is proposed, incorporating random utility models to capture passenger decision making. Unlike prior studies in areas such as energy, airlines, and mobile networks, dynamic pricing for railway systems using deep reinforcement learning has received limited attention. A key contribution of this paper is a parametrisable and versatile reinforcement learning simulator designed to model a variety of railway network configurations and demand patterns while enabling realistic, microscopic modelling of user behaviour, called RailPricing-RL. This environment supports the proposed MARL framework, which models heterogeneous agents competing to maximise individual profits while fostering cooperative behaviour to synchronise connecting services. Experimental results validate the framework, demonstrating how user preferences affect MARL performance and how pricing policies influence passenger choices, utility, and overall system dynamics. This study provides a foundation for advancing dynamic pricing strategies in railway systems, aligning profitability with system-wide efficiency, and supporting future research on optimising pricing policies.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_08234
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Dynamic Pricing in High-Speed Railways Using Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning
Villarrubia-Martin, Enrique Adrian
Rodriguez-Benitez, Luis
Muñoz-Valero, David
Montana, Giovanni
Jimenez-Linares, Luis
Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
Multiagent Systems
This paper addresses a critical challenge in the high-speed passenger railway industry: designing effective dynamic pricing strategies in the context of competing and cooperating operators. To address this, a multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) framework based on a non-zero-sum Markov game is proposed, incorporating random utility models to capture passenger decision making. Unlike prior studies in areas such as energy, airlines, and mobile networks, dynamic pricing for railway systems using deep reinforcement learning has received limited attention. A key contribution of this paper is a parametrisable and versatile reinforcement learning simulator designed to model a variety of railway network configurations and demand patterns while enabling realistic, microscopic modelling of user behaviour, called RailPricing-RL. This environment supports the proposed MARL framework, which models heterogeneous agents competing to maximise individual profits while fostering cooperative behaviour to synchronise connecting services. Experimental results validate the framework, demonstrating how user preferences affect MARL performance and how pricing policies influence passenger choices, utility, and overall system dynamics. This study provides a foundation for advancing dynamic pricing strategies in railway systems, aligning profitability with system-wide efficiency, and supporting future research on optimising pricing policies.
title Dynamic Pricing in High-Speed Railways Using Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning
topic Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
Multiagent Systems
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.08234