Evaluation of railway surrounding areas: the case of Ostrava city

Abstract

The status of railway stations depends not only on a nodal position in the transport network, but also on the conditions, structure and capacity of its local surroundings. The level and potential of railway stations surroundings is studied on the case of Ostrava, the third largest city of the Czech Republic. Various data sources are used in the context of the Bertolini node-place model to reach a complex evaluation. The original methodology was adapted to national conditions due to significant differences in transport behaviour of passengers between post-communist countries and highest-ranked economies. The place aspect of the Bertolini’s methodology is considerably enlarged. Parameters of buffers around all railway stations respects original values (700 metres long perimeter, etc.), but other features are properly adjusted. The place conditions are analyzed mainly from the socio-demographical (population, unemployment, etc.), economical (structure of companies, retail, etc.) and urban (land use, land price map, etc.) points of view. The node aspect is described by various transport indicators as number of departing trains, parking capacity, accessibility of stations by urban transport, etc. Also other factors which helped to start the regeneration process of important European railway stations are discussed. The results show significant differences among these localities, different temporal trends and requirements for regeneration which lead to optimization of transport services. The adapted methodology with extended and adjusted range of place and nodal indicators seems to provide satisfactory inputs for re-engineering of transport nodes essential for further successful development of any city.