Abstract
Freight rail transport plays key role in the transition to sustainable development. However, on European mainlines, freight trains have to cope with busy passenger operation—mostly in the form of (integrated) periodic timetables. Freight trains are characterized with very diverse parameters, so scheduling pre-arranged periodic freight train paths (PFTPs) on the basis of one sample freight train does not meet the needs of most freight operators. This article introduces new detailed framework process for hierarchized construction of differentiated (segmented) pre-arranged PFTPs. The process considers fluctuations in demand for capacity from freight rail operators, so the quality of a freight train path in terms of number of stops is related with its construction priority. This way, the process enhances competitiveness and decreases energy consumption of freight railway, as a factor for sustainable development. Correctness of the framework process is tested on the example of the Prague—Dresden mainline, in the context of prospective (denser) model passenger timetable. Results show that above 70% of real freight trains from the available historical data can fit into the proposed PFTPs. As a conclusion, the authors recommend reduction of service of the least frequent stops of regional trains to reduce number of scheduled stops for freight trains.
Highlights
The timetabling experiment has resulted in scheduling of eight pairs of hourly periodic freight train paths (PFTPs) with unified symmetry
Three pairs of global PFTPs proceeded during the whole solved mainline, three pairs between Děčín-Prostřední Žleb and Dresden,one between Prague and Ústí, and one between Ústí and Děčín
The “tight” periodic pattern of passenger timetable, where regional trains are overtaken as well, and no time windows that remain for the freight trains to run through without a stop, further deteriorate the quality of PFTPs
Summary
Academic Editors: Jozef Gašparík and Davor Dujak. Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Rail transport plays key role in the transition to sustainable development, contributing to UN goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities—see the list [1], as stated in the UN General Assembly Resolution 70/1 [2]. In the case of electric traction, which the majority of the busiest European mainlines are equipped with, there are zero local emissions
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