Efficient crew management is one of the most complex challenges for railway operators. Balancing regulatory compliance, staff availability, and service reliability requires tools that combine automation with operational flexibility. 

The MAIOR Suite streamlines crew work management by consolidating duties, rest days, and non-driving activities into weekly rosters, all while adhering to union, regulatory, and business rules. The Rostering module provides planners with the flexibility to define multiple rotation tables or bid packages, optimized weekly or monthly to ensure fair distribution of working hours and full compliance with safety requirements. 

Key Benefits of the Rostering Module 

The MAIOR Suite allows planners to easily create and optimize crew rosters, leveraging advanced algorithms while maintaining full manual control when needed. 

✅ Compliance by design – The system automatically validates each roster against company, regulatory, and union rules.
✅ Scenario simulation – Planners can compare alternative solutions, testing the impact of different labor or business rules.
✅ Flexible overrides – Schedulers can fine-tune algorithm-generated rosters and apply justified exceptions when necessary.
✅ Partial solutions – Focus on specific depots or subsets of staff without redesigning the entire roster plan.
✅ User-friendly visualization – Rosters are displayed in an intuitive matrix format for quick adjustments and clear decision-making.
✅ Data portability – Export results in CSV or PDF, or integrate them into third-party systems via standard APIs. 

The Power of Automation with Full Flexibility 

The embedded rostering optimization algorithm is designed to deliver high-quality weekly or monthly rosters, balancing multiple cost and compliance objectives. 

Common optimization goals include: 

• Equalizing average working hours across all rosters 

• Minimizing overtime and premiums 

• Reducing repetition of specific duty types 

• Maximizing rest periods 

• Integrating existing duties and non-driving activities seamlessly 

The algorithm also considers: 

• Driving license and route constraints for specific traction types or line knowledge 

• Union and national rules, ensuring that every roster remains compliant 

• Quality of life parameters, allowing operators to prioritize crew satisfaction alongside operational efficiency 

Streamlined Day-Off Management 

The Rostering module automatically calculates and allocates rest days according to labor and union agreements. 

• Multiple day-off rotations can be predefined, imported, or generated by the optimization algorithm 

• Weekly schedules are applied consistently across the rostering period 
• Rest days are automatically distributed in future weeks to maintain fairness and compliance 

This functionality ensures that rest periods are both correctly allocated and transparent, reducing administrative complexity while supporting crew wellbeing. 

From Rostering to Daily Operations 

Once rotation tables are created, the Crew Assignment module enables railway operators to assign weekly schedules to crew members, either through a bidding process or predefined rules. 

This seamless integration ensures: 

• End-to-end workflow – from roster creation to daily duty assignment 

• Operational flexibility – immediate reassignment when disruptions occur (e.g., absences, delays, or route changes) 

• Transparency for crew – via the integrated Crew Portal, where drivers can view duties, request changes, or propose swaps, all within company rules 

Why Railway Operators Choose the MAIOR Suite 

By combining automation, compliance, and human-centered flexibility, the MAIOR Suite helps operators: 

• Optimize crew productivity 

• Ensure adherence to safety and labor regulations 

• React quickly to operational disruptions 

• Improve staff satisfaction and retention 

With its continuously evolving, cloud-based platform (and on-premise option for specific IT policies), the MAIOR Suite provides railway operators with the intelligent, adaptive tools they need to manage today’s complexity and tomorrow’s challenges. 

Discover the full potential of the MAIOR Suite solution for Rail services.