Development of the quality assessment system of passenger and suburban train traffic: raising an issue

Abstract

Introduction.The currently applied system of passenger and suburban train traffic in the Russian railway transport does not completely consider the passenger satisfaction of the provided service quality. The authors suggest determining whether supplements of the existing quality assessment method of passenger and suburban traffic are reasonable in terms of the arrival, departure, running schedule and considering the passenger satisfaction of the existing train traffic.Materials and methods.The researches proposed the concept of “passenger dissatisfaction of the provided service quality in terms of passenger and suburban train traffic” (or “rate of passenger dissatisfaction of the train schedule implementation”). The passenger and suburban trains with the schedule deflection should be rated by the weighting coefficient of significance. It is necessary to consider not only train capacity and delay duration, but also the purposes of the trip and technological factors of the train running.Results.The authors determine the numerical value functional of the delayed passenger and suburban trains. Moreover, the authors identify both the initial value of the train capacity and the train delay and the corresponding coefficient of the passenger dissatisfaction growth. The article presents requirements to the studies concerning the rate of passenger psychological sensitivity to the train delays. The developed model allows conducting the necessary research for the quality assessment system of passenger and suburban train traffic.Discussion and conclusion.The solution of the presented problem is important both for the protection of passenger interests and for maintenance and improving of the railway transport image. In addition, the detailed solution will minimize losses in goods traffic while passenger and suburban train commitment to timetable.