BALTIMORE (Map, News) - A Dutch railway won an annual research and analysis prize for its schedule restructuring that improved on-time performance.

Netherlands Railways was awarded the 2008 Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Operations Research and the Management Sciences. The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences presented the award Monday night in Baltimore. The institute is based nearby in Hanover, Md.

The competition recognizes operations research-based projects that have transformed companies, industries and people's lives.

Traffic on the railway nearly doubled between 1970 and 2006, but its timetable had not changed, leading to commuting problems, the institute said.

Restructuring increased the percentage of trains arriving within three minutes of schedule from 84.8 percent in 2006 to 87 percent in 2007, while the number of passengers increased 2 percent in the first six months of 2007.

Profit, meanwhile, rose $60 million and the changes made additional capacity available, the institute said.

Other finalists for the 2008 award included the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; the Norwegian team of StatoilHydro ASA and Gassco AS; the city of Stockholm, Sweden; and Xerox Corp.

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