Czech Railway Research Articles

Curving and running resistance of freight trains: current experience with on-track measurements

Curving resistance affects the railway vehicle running through curves. For its estimation in train dynamics calculations, different empirical formulas are used in various countries. It is practically impossible to determine its exact value because of its dependency on various – to some extent random – parameters. In the framework of the experimental research of running resistance of freight trains at the Faculty of Transport Engineering of the University of Pardubice, measurements in regular operation conditions on the Czech railway network were realised in recent years. Because some of these results can be used to quantify the curving resistance, the applied evaluation methods and the relevant results are presented in this paper. Besides that, a new general formula of running resistance for freight trains, based on the measurement results, is proposed. Attention is also paid to the effect of track quality on the vehicle running resistance.

Rationalization of Selected Crossing Security Devices on Czech Railways Line 201 Tábor – Ražice

The paper focuses on improving the safety of selected railway crossings on the Tábor – Ražice line of the Czech Railways. The main goal is to rationalize existing safety measures and propose alternative modifications to increase the safety of crossings. These include, for example, the use of horizontal markings and the use of lockable barriers. The work also deals with the elimination of the possibility of some crossings with the aim of minimizing the risks of traffic accidents and thus improving overall safety on the track. The results provide practical recommendations for increasing crossing safety.

Ecological solutions for freight trains

The article presents the potential of freight railway transport in terms of saving of emissions and maximizing the efficiency of operation. Attention is paid to the transport of freight trains on electrified lines with higher gradients (up to 25‰), alternatively with the possibility of a trip to non-electrified lines and sidings, which generate significant extra costs in the operation of trains and are often a reason for the carrier to deploy a locomotive of independent traction (diesel-electric) even in electrified line sections, even at the cost of increased operating costs and increased emissions. There are many such lines and possibilities of use within the Central European region and the Czech Republic.In the first part of the article, the basic categorisation of dual-mode freight locomotives and their suitability for individual operating programmes is presented. This part also describes current situation on the rolling stock market in general and directions of development taken by various locomotive manufacturers.Case studies of deployment of real freight locomotives on chosen Czech railway lines are used in the next part to present the possibilities for energy and cost savings when replacing a vehicle with independent traction by an electric or dual-mode locomotive, at least in sections equipped with overhead catenary. The pros and cons of using several possible solutions are described in detail. Further considerable savings can be achieved by, among other things, using regenerative braking and returning the generated electricity back to the catenary system when driving downhill. In this respect, however, it is also necessary to cooperate with the infrastructure manager, who must also adapt the railway lines to the operation of these vehicles.Finally, general rules for operational deployments on which the replacement of a conventional vehicle by a dual or pure electric vehicle can be considered are formulated.

Vision Zero application on Czech railways

The railway is perceived as a modern, safe and environmentally sustainable way of transporting people and goods. In the past, appropriate innovations in the field of infrastructure and vehicles, combined with an attractive operational concept, have gradually become the backbone of public transport in the country. Even in this system, similar to other transport systems, there are accidents (events of emergency) or potentially risky situations. The paper places the issue of railway safety in the legislative context and uncovers the points of view from which the safety of railway traffic can be viewed.

Efficient Deployment of Dual Locomotives in Regional Freight Rail Transport

The present article focuses on the efficient deployment of dual locomotives in regional rail freight transport considering the quantification of traction energy and energy savings. In the first part of the article, a categorization of dual locomotives, according to their power output in electric and alternative traction (and ratio of both power outputs) is proposed. The potential of deployment of chosen dual locomotives in Central European conditions (a sub-network of Czech railway network around mainlines electrified with AC) is verified by calculation of traction energy consumption of the model train (with two examples of dual locomotives). In addition to non-stop running through the entire line, traction energy consumption of stop (and following acceleration) in each intermediate station is calculated, for a particular direction. Then, appropriate freight train paths for passing passenger trains and saving of traction energy are proposed. The results are supplemented by sensitivity analysis in the form of calculation of traction energy consumption with variable numbers of loaded wagons, with the help of iPLAN/FBS timetabling software. The limitations are the maximum length or gross mass of the train. Finally, the conclusions obtained from the computational examples are evaluated and recommendations for appropriate deployment of dual locomotives and planning of targeted improvements of infrastructure are formulated.

Vegetation fires along the Czech rail network

BackgroundIn the past, fires around railways were often associated with steam locomotives. Although steam locomotives have disappeared from everyday rail traffic, fires still occur. A vegetation fire near Bzenec (Czech Republic) on 21 June 2018 affected, for example, 124,110 m2 of forest and grassland. The investigation revealed that the fire was caused by a spark from a passing train. In this study, we analyzed vegetation fires that occurred near Czech railway lines between 2011 and 2019 to investigate their temporal pattern and relation to weather conditions or to identify the most hazardous locations.ResultsFires were concentrated mainly between March and August in the afternoon. They are also more likely to occur during periods of high air temperature, low rainfall, low relative air humidity, and low wind speed. Using the KDE+ method, we identified 186 hotspots, which contained 510 vegetation fires and represented only 0.3% of the length of the entire Czech rail network. Spatial analysis revealed that there are more than 4 times higher odds that a vegetation fire occurs near an electrified railway line than near a non-electrified line or that additional 10 freight trains per 24 h increases the odds by 5%.ConclusionsAs the results show, vegetation fires near railway lines are still relatively common phenomenon, mainly due to favorable weather conditions. Grassy areas with dry or dead vegetation are particularly at risk. These areas can be ignited, for example, by sparks from the brakes of railway vehicles. Due to global warming, vegetation fires can be expected to occur more frequently in the future. The identified hotspots can thus be used to reduce the risk of fires, for example by managing the surrounding vegetation.

Role státu ve výstavbě a provozu železnice od 30. let 19. století do 20. let 20. století v interakci s vývojem ekonomického myšlení v českých zemích

The topic of this study is historical analysis of the construction of the Czech railway network and the role of the state in its development in comparison with economic thought of the time. The aim of this study is to present relations between the development of theoretical economic foundations and the actual railway construction in the Czech lands from the middle of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century. During this time, the railway network was constructed in the shape it functions until these days. The topic is examined as a historical sequence of interactions between actual railway construction and operation and economic opinions regarding the role of the state in construction and running of railways. The history of the relationship between the state and the railway went through a few periods differing in the approach of the state to ownership and operation. We can trace the private beginnings from the 1830s, to first state railways from 1841 to 1848, to privatization and indirect state subsidies, to the victorious definite idea of solely state railways in the last third of the 19th century. The study follows detailed discussions of the era together with connections to economic thought of the era.

Piwo i gospoda w kulturze czeskiej – polskie widzenie zjawiska

Beer and Local Pub in Czech Culture from a Polish PerspectiveThe article aims at outlining the most distinctive features of two elements of Czech national culture: beer and the places where it is customary consumed. Specifically, the text focuses on characteristics of the position which beer occupies among Czechs, as well as on a social dimension of the “traditional” provincial and village local pubs (specific ambience, a type of service, guests, etc.), which makes the article embedded in the cultural context. A special attention was paid to the restaurants located at the Czech railway stations, too. The analysis was carried out from the Polish perspective, that is why the article includes a range of references to the peculiarities of the Polish culture of drinking. Additionally, the observations were gathered during a number of visits the author paid in the Czech Republic. It all means that the selection of the phenomena presented in the text and the way they were valued might be different if some other national approach were employed here.

Socio-Economic Impacts of Occurrences on Railways

The paper presents partial outputs of an applied research project aimed at evaluating the socio-economic impacts of occurrences emerging on the railway and their reflection into the economic evaluation of railway construction projects. The article builds on the research results presented within previous scientific articles where the unit impacts of sub-categories of occurrences on the Czech railways were determined using a detailed Database of Occurrences for the 2011-2018 period. These impacts were related both to one railway station and one kilometre of the wide line for the occurrence sub-categories. The values obtained were subsequently verified on case studies of specific railway infrastructure projects implemented in the Czech Republic. The results of the case studies raised the need to create an alternative methodology for the evaluation of socio-economic impacts, which would more accurately reflect the real situation on the railway. The aim of the paper is to modify the originally designed methodology for evaluating the socio-economic impacts of occurrences into a new methodology, which would relate the impacts of occurrences only to a standard kilometre of wide line, i.e. without taking account of separate impacts of occurrences on one railway station. The proposed methodology was verified on a case study, which compares the real values of socio-economic impacts emerging on the railway in the period under research, the values determined using the original methodology and the values determined according to the newly modified methodology.

Maintaining the competitiveness of the czech railway industry

The development of foreign trade plays an important role in the Czech economy. The important foreign trade commodity item is Machinery and transport equipment (SITC 7). Railway vehicles is a part of this category, other means of transport (SITC 79).In order to maintain competitiveness and economic growth, it is necessary for the railway industry to intensify the innovation and the introducing of new technologies into production. One of the available options is a wider implementation of life cycle cost analysis, which enables to activate innovative efforts, as well as to improve technical and performance data.

Defect Detection of Moving Railway Vehicles on the Czech Railway Network

The objective of the contribution is to present on the basis of professional literature research the basic methods of defect diagnostics of moving railway vehicles on the Czech railway network. The contribution first presents individual types of vehicles´ detected defects and subsequently, the principles of detecting such defects and special devices (systems) for vehicles diagnostics. The defects and technologies described are then demonstrated on relevant diagrams and figures in the text. The final part of the contribution mentions the connection to higher management information systems as one of the important pillars of the automation of the entire information transfer process.

Occurrences in Czech Railway Infrastructure and their Relation to the Economic Efficiency of Investments

The paper focuses on the evaluation of impacts of occurrences in the Czech railway transport system on social and economic benefits and financial efficiency of investment projects in railway infrastructure. The evaluation of financial and economic efficiency of investment projects financed from the funds of the European Union is based on the Guide to Cost-Benefit Analysis of Investment Projects by European Commission from 2014. In the Czech Republic, this Guide has been complemented, for the purposes of economic and financial evaluation of projects in transport infrastructure, by the Departmental Guideline for the Evaluation of Economic Effectiveness of Transport Construction Projects by the Ministry of Transport of the Czech Republic which specifies economic evaluation of projects of roads and highways, railways and waterways important for traffic. The Departmental Guideline defines benefits which can be included into the economic evaluation, e.g. savings in the operation costs, the decrease in costs connected with accidents, the decrease in costs connected with the travel time or negative externalities usually related to impacts on the environment. However, in the case of the railway infrastructure, benefits connected to the increase in safety and fluency of the transport due to introducing security and information systems are not taken into account, even if these investments form a standard part of most railway infrastructure investment projects. The objective of the paper is to identify both the number and the structure of railways occurrences, which can influence effective functioning of railway transport for the purpose of their subsequent research in order to take into account decrease in their use in economic analysis. The methodology of the research is based on detailed analysis of individual occurrences which happened on Czech railways during past three years. The output of this paper provides a detailed statistic of occurrences including damage caused and propose recommendations for the next steps which should lead to the quantification of relevant benefits.

Enhancing the insight into Czech railway level crossings’ safety performance

ABSTRACTRailway level crossings (RLCs) are critical elements of both railway and road networks, where accidents mostly result in severe and fatal injuries. In the Czech Republic, most accidents occur on RLCs with flashing lights only. In order to provide insight into safety performance of this RLC category, specific risk factors need to be identified and their overall safety impact quantified. In this regards, the paper describes the application of a multivariate assessment, based on disaggregated safety performance function, developed on a level of sight triangles. The results proved the safety impacts of traffic volumes, as well as speeding and individual sight distances. In addition, this relationship may change based on a distance from RLC: while approaching sight distances were associated with reduction of accident frequency, the opposite trend was found for stopping sight distances. Next, RLC inconspicuousness and potential short storage space were found to be influential risk factors.

Possibilities of Using Tracking Methods for Trains in the Czech Republic

The aim of this paper is to familiarize readers with several telematic systems that may be observed on the Czech railway network. In order to function correctly, they use special technical devices for detecting positions of trains and their tracking. In the introductory part, a brief overview of individual ways of train detecting and tracking in the Czech Republic is given, which is then followed by a detailed description of the related telematic systems, including the principles of their functioning and graphic presentation of their practical use. The paper also contains demonstrative photo documentation and schematic illustrations of principles of functioning of the discussed systems.

Irregularities in Czech Integrated Periodic Timetable

The aim of this paper is categorization of various irregularities in Integrated Periodic Timetable (IPT), according to their impact on passengers. For instance, minor deviations in departure minutes can cause almost zero impact, provided that all periodic transfer connections are ensured for each service. On the other hand, skipping of a periodic service at off-peak hours can considerably lengthen some passenger transport chains. Chosen categories of irregularities are illustrated by examples from 2017/2018 Czech railway timetable.

Effective way to reconstruct arch bridges using concrete walls and transverse strands

There are more than 500 masonry arch bridges in the Czech Road system and about 2500 in the Czech Railway system. Many of them are cracked in the longitudinal (span) direction. The barrel vaults are separated by the cracks into partial masonry arches without load bearing connection in transverse direction. These constructions are about 150 years old and they are also too narrow for the current road system. This paper presents a strengthening method for masonry arch bridges using transverse post-tensioning. This method is very useful not only for strengthening in the transverse direction, but widening of masonry arches can be taken as secondary effect especially in case of road bridges. Several bridges were successfully repaired with the use of this system which seems to be effective and reliable.

Under sleeper pads in switches & crossings

Under sleeper pads (USPs) have been installed in the Czech railway lines since 2007 into two trial sections in switches and crossings and in a trial section with the aim to reduce rail pitch corrugation. The basic motivation for the construction of the trial track sections in turnouts was an evaluation of USPs’ influence on improvement of track quality as a consequence of ballast bed protection against extreme stress. The paper comprises experience of USPs installation in the Czech Republic in the two trial sections with switches and crossings built in 2007 and 2014. The paper particularly provides an information about USPs applications focusing on the track settlement received by an evaluation of data from the geodetic surveying by precise levelling. Some positive influence of under sleeper pads on the track quality is observed.

Identifying locations along railway networks with the highest tree fall hazard

Disruptions of railway traffic have many reasons. Tree falls onto railway tracks or overhead lines rank among the most common causes of disruptions of a natural origin. 2039 tree-fall events, containing up to 70 individual trees per event, were registered on the Czech railway network between 2012 and 2015. 32% of them were directly caused by 14 weather extremes during which more than 20 concurrent tree-fall events were registered. Moreover, 12 train derailments due to fallen trees were registered on Czech railways within the same period.We combined land use data along railway tracks and data on tree falls. Land use and railway tracks data were obtained from a freely available Open Street Map database. The tree fall hazard was then computed using empirical data, data on land use and a generalized rule of succession. The clustering approach was also applied to focus on localities where tree falls were concentrated regardless of the resulting segment hazard. There were 59 rail track segments (out of 2960) with the highest tree fall hazard and 267 clusters were finally identified. The clusters and the most hazardous railway segments will be among the first in the process of line side vegetation monitoring in order to minimize potential losses from tree fall. The presented method can be widely applicable elsewhere.

ON OPERATION OF 740 M LONG FREIGHT TRAINS ON CZECH TEN-T RAILWAY NETWORK

Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013 defines actual scope of core and comprehensive TEN-T network, including both networks for railway freight transport. For the core network, possibility to operate 740 m long freight trains is required. The aim of this paper is to analyse availability of appropriate overtaking tracks for 740 m long freight trains. Due to ETCS braking curves and odometry, such trains, after ETCS implementation, will require 780-800 m long overtaking tracks. For practical reasons (e.g. bypass lines), whole Czech railway TEN-T network is analysed. The overtaking track, whose occupation means influence on scheduled traffic or threat to boarding passengers, are excluded. The data was collected from station schemes from Collection of Official Requisites for 2015/16 Timetable, issued by SŽDC, Czech state Infrastructure Manager. Most of appropriate tracks are over 800 m long, but their density in the network and in particular directions varies considerably. For freight traffic, gradient of the line is important, so in the resulting figure, there are marked significant peaks for particular lines as well. Czech TEN-T lines are further segmented on the basis of number of tracks and their traffic character. Then, specific issues on overtaking or crossing of 740 m long freight trains are discussed. As a conclusion, for long-term development of Czech TEN-T lines, targeted investment is recommended not only for passenger railway, but also for freight railway. An attractive capacity offer for railway undertakings, which can stimulate freight traffic on European Rail freight corridors, can be represented by network-bound periodic freight train paths with suitable long overtaking tracks outside bottlenecks. After the overtaking by passenger trains, a freight train should run without stop through large node station or a bottleneck area. Before the sections with high gradients, coupling of additional locomotives should be connected with the overtaking process. Next suitable overtaking tracks should be available behind every significant peak of the line.

Excavation of the Ejpovice Tunnels

In the year 2013 the modernization of a railway track between the cities Rokycany and Plzeň had began. This project, which is part of the third Czech Railway Transit Corridor includes partly reconstruction of the existing track and partly construction of a completely new track. Because of this, in the part between Ejpovice and Plzeň, new structures like bridges, culverts as well as tunnels have to be done. Two tunnel tubes under the hills Homolka and Chlum will be excavated by S-799 Herrenknecht tunneling machine and after its completion they will be the longest railway tunnels in the Czech Republic. The complete length will be 4150 meters. Tunnel lining segments are made of fiber-reinforced concrete.