The system of IT support for logistics in the rail transport

The paper presents the requirements, architecture and important features of a modern IT system of logistics for rail transport. The purpose of the system is to provide logistic support of transport issues relating to the work performed in the sectors of transport and maintenance of railway enterprises. In particular, special attention was paid to optimization problems of strategic and operational planning applying modern optimization algorithms. System architecture, the basic functional modules and their relationship are presented as an example of the system used by the Polish rail operators, engaged in the transport of both passenger and freight. The system is characterized by centralized architecture, divided into an application server, a database server and a terminals server. The system takes full advantage of modern mobile technologies. The study outlines basic logistics processes implemented in the system, among others,: planning of transport using background maps and a scheme of railway network, records of vehicles and employees, allocation of transport work for individual units, planning cycles of vehicles and trains, scheduling work for vehicles, train driver crews and train attendant teams, creating work schedules, short-term and long-term dispatches, verification and accounting of the work time, accounting transport and train drivers performance.