01395nas a2200169   4500000000100000000000100001008004100002260001200043100002100055700001700076700002000093700002300113700002200136245006000158490000700218520100000225       2025                            d  c08/20251 aKrzysztof Domino1 aEmery Doucet1 aReece Robertson1 aBartłomiej Gardas1 aSebastian Deffner00aOn the Baltimore Light RailLink into the quantum future0 v153 a<p>In the current era of noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) technology, quantum devices present new avenues for addressing complex, real-world challenges including potentially NP-hard optimization problems. This work aims to showcase how the inherent noise in NISQ devices can be leveraged to solve such real-world problems effectively. Utilizing a D-Wave quantum annealer and IonQ's gate-based NISQ computers, we generate and analyze solutions for managing train traffic under stochastic disturbances. Our case study focuses on the Baltimore Light RailLink, which embodies the characteristics of both tramway and railway networks. We explore the feasibility of using NISQ technology to model the stochastic nature of disruptions in these transportation systems. Our research marks the inaugural application of both quantum computing paradigms to tramway and railway rescheduling, highlighting the potential of quantum noise as a beneficial resource in complex optimization scenarios.</p>