International Rail Research Articles

Impact of the armed conflict in Ukraine on rail freight between Asia and Europe

In 2021, the rail freight industry proved its competitiveness despite the restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In the segment of rail freight transport between Asia and Europe, this was achieved by positive transport results. Container transport in international rail traffic was increased. The railways carried out work on the development and organization of the transport of high-capacity containers in international traffic, including the organization of container block trains in the Eurasian space. The year 2022 has brought about fundamental changes in the perception of safety and the role of rail transport in traffic between Asia and Europe. An unexpected armed conflict caused chaos in trade, production and transport. In the corridors connecting Asia with Europe, problems arose, supply chains were disrupted. The geopolitical situation in Eastern Europe remains tense and unpredictable. This results in lasting consequences for production, supply and demand chains, transport corridors in the Eurasian space. This also applies to rail transport as part of the New Silk Road concept. The aim of this article is to provide a synthetic analysis of the impact of geopolitical changes and the armed conflict in Ukraine on the functioning of the Silk Railroad and transport volumes in rail freight traffic between Asia and Europe. The above analysis was carried out on the basis of research on secondary sources and available source materials obtained from OSJD member countries that participate in rail transport on the Silk Road.

ПРОЕКТ RAIL BALTICA ЯК СКЛАДОВА РЕАЛІЗАЦІЇ ЄВРОІНТЕГРАЦІЙНОЇ СТРАТЕГІЇ УКРАЇНИ

The article is devoted to the solution of the urgent problems of strengthening the economic potential of the national economy and improving the logistical ways of supplying Ukrainian exports. Full integration of Ukraine into the EU should be comprehensive and include adaptation to the European system of communication routes it was determined. It has been established that one of the important stages of integration into the trans-European rail transport system should be the accession of Ukraine to the Trans-Baltic Rail Baltica project. The purpose of the study is to investigate the concept of integration of the system of international rail transportation and passenger transportation of Ukraine and the EU on the example of the implementation of the Trans-Baltic Rail Baltica project. The current state, potential, stages of project implementation and prospects for Ukraine joining this project it was determined. The object of the study is the process of Ukraine's integration into the system of the trans-European network of transport routes. The methods used in the research. Method of scientific knowledge, methods of analysis, synthesis, method of generalization, comparison, methods of induction and deduction. The hypothesis of the study consists in the assumption of the need to develop an organizational mechanism ("road map") for Ukraine's integration into the trans-European transport system. Presenting main material. The article examines the current state of logistics routes that ensure the transportation of Ukrainian exports to Europe and the transit capabilities of European ports for the transcontinental transportation of Ukrainian goods. Some difficulties still exist in exporting goods through the seaports of Ukraine. The transit potential of the borders of the Baltic countries for Ukrainian exports has been determined. Attention is also focused on the fact that road transport cannot be the only alternative for transport connections between Ukraine and the EU. The main problem of delivering Ukrainian exports to the ports of the Baltic Sea, and mostly to the entire European market by rail is the different width of the railway tracks. The work describes the modern Rail Baltica project, which is aimed at integrating the Baltic countries into the trans-European rail transportation system. The importance, specifics of implementation and prospects of joining Ukraine in this project have been determined. The originality and practical significance of the study is justification of the need for Ukraine to join the Rail Baltica project from the point of view of national economic and military-political security, as well as the security of the entire region. Conclusions and prospects for further research. The conducted research made it possible to determine that the development of the process of Ukraine's integration into the EU involves the development of a strategy for the integration of Ukraine into the European system of passenger and cargo transportation. Joining the Rail Baltica project will increase Ukraine's expert potential. The Rail Baltica project with the participation of Ukraine has the opportunity to improve the logistics routes of connections on the entire European continent.

Innovative Procedures for Equipping Passengers in Railway Passenger Transport in the Conditions of Slovak Railways in the Next Pandemic Period

The global health crisis in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic affected the entire EU and seriously affected passenger rail transport as well. With the declaration of a state of emergency in the Slovak Republic, international rail transport with all neighboring countries was temporarily halted, as was the operation of IC trains. The operation of all customer centers and the reservation office for personal handling or selected sales points was also suspended. The sale of national reservations was suspended, and the queuing of restaurant wagons, sleeping wagons, couchettes and car carrier wagons was also limited. The article focuses on solving the situation of the arrival of many passengers at the same time at the railway stations, when large queues are formed in queue of the personal cash registers in the railway stations. The aim of the contribution is to propose procedures for minimizing the waiting time in personal cash registers and to minimalize the spread of the disease COVID-19. The proposal of procedures for the provision of passengers in the post-pandemic period is applied to Trnava and Košice railway stations.

Optimal design of variable suspension parameters for variable-gauge trains based on the improved CRITIC method

ABSTRACT The gauge differences of international rail lines have led to the emergence of variable-gauge trains. High-speed variable-gauge trains operating on different lines should meet the dynamic requirements. In order to achieve the above purpose and obtain better dynamic performance, a parameter optimization method for variable suspension systems is proposed. The SIMPACK dynamic model of high-speed variable-gauge trains is established. Six key parameters of the suspension system are chosen, and different suspension parameters are combined using the optimal Latin hypercube. Seven dynamic indices of the vehicle running on three different gauge tracks are solved separately. Weighted SNR is used to perform the multi-objective optimization. The improved CRITIC method is used to solve for the weight coefficients of each index, and find the optimal values of the key suspension parameters. The objective of adjusting the variable suspension parameters of variable-gauge trains is presented. Results from simulation show that the optimized suspension parameters can improve the dynamic performance of the variable-gauge vehicle, especially the derailment coefficient, the wheel load reduction rate, and the axle lateral force. The vehicle can operate with better dynamic performance on both gauge lines by using the designed variable suspension parameters.

Possibilities for the Development of International Rail Passenger Transport Between Slovakia and the Czech Republic in the Post-Covid Period

Abstract The contribution is focused on the analysis of the current state and development of traffic service in international rail passenger transport between Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The current situation in the post-covid period is analysed in more detail from several points of view. The frequency of passengers at individual border crossings in the monitored period is also briefly analysed. Part of the analysis of the work is a proposal for ways to improve the current traffic service at individual border crossings in international rail transport.

A web-based system to determine risk of investment in international rail construction projects

Manual evaluation of investment risk make results and solutions are not timely. The objective of the study is to explore intelligent risk data collecting and risk early warning of international rail construction. First, this study has identified risk variables by content mining. Second, risk thresholds are calculated by the quantile method based on data from 2010 to A.D. 2019. Third, this study has developed risk early warning system by the gray system theory model, the matter-element extension method and the entropy weight method. Fourth, the risk early warning system is verified using Nigeria coastal railway project in Abuja. This study found that: (1) the framework of the developed risk warning system contains a software and hardware infrastructure layer, a data collection layer, an application support layer, and an application layer. (2) 37 investment risk variables are recognized; (3) 12 risk variables thresholds intervals are not equally divided between 0 and 1, the others are evenly distributed; (4) based on the application of Nigeria coastal railway project in Abuja, the system verification results are consistent with real situations, which is shown that risk early warning system is reasonable and feasible. These findings offer a good reference for intelligent risk management.

The Impact of the Use of Technology in International Rail Freight Transport on Transport Processes

Transport is an integral part of any company. Nowadays, there is a great emphasis on the use of environmentally friendly modes of transport. In addition to being one of the environmentally friendly modes of transport, rail transport can carry large quantities of various goods over long distances. In order for rail transport in Slovakia to be able to compete with other modes of transport, it is important that Industry 4.0 elements are applied in the technological processes at railway stations. The aim of this article is to draw attention to the impact of the introduction of Industry 4.0 elements into the transport process in rail transport. The premise of the research task is based on the experience with the introduction of intelligent sensors in rail transport in some European Union countries. On the basis of the analysis of the use of information and communication technologies in railway transport, the article carries out a technological evaluation of the design of the wagon control unit in the transport process with regard to the speed of processing a shipment in a border-crossing station.

Optimization of Timetables on the Prague – Bratislava / Vienna and Rail Transport Route in the Post-Pandemic Period

Abstract Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for public passenger transport has decreased significantly in many European countries since March 2020. Due to several measures and restrictions adopted, this decrease was particularly pronounced in international long-distance transport due to several restrictions and measures adopted. A significant decrease in demand could also be observed on the international rail transport route Bratislava / Vienna – Prague in the form of the decline in the number of transported passengers on this railway line. Therefore, it is very important and necessary to propose various measures to increase the demand and achieve a significant long-term increase in the number of passengers in long-distance rail transport not only on the mentioned transport route. This paper analyses the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on passenger transport usage frequency and proposes solutions to improve the quality of the timetables. It deals with the long-term and systematic concept of international long-distance passenger rail transport on the Prague – Bratislava / Vienna and back in the post-pandemic period. For this purpose, specific scientific methods are selected, which can be applied in order to rationalize and optimize train timetables.

The role of consignment note in rail transport chains

International Railway Organizations functioning in the world such as e.g. e.g. the International Committee on Rail Transport (CIT), the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF), the Organisation for Railway Cooperation (OSJD) and are actively working and cooperating to improve the functioning of international rail transport and rail transport chains. Their main task is to strive to promote, cooperate, develop, improve and facilitate international rail transport as a means of transport that can meet the challenges of mobility and sustainable development. The aim is to strive for continuous improvement of rail transport by simplifying border procedures and harmonising transport documents. A special feature is the common consignment note of CIT and OSJD organizations, i.e. the CIM/SMGS waybill. The aim of the article is to indicate the role of the basic transport document, i.e. the consignment note, in the development of modern international rail transport. The consignment note is an important document in international transport. The article is based on the analysis of available sources, research conducted by the World Customs Organization and experience in the field of its implementation in the practice of business activity of entities of the rail transport market.

BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT OF RAIL TRANSPORT IN THE CONTEXT OF THE VALUE CHAIN

The value chain can be defined as a set of all processes and procedures necessary to deliver a product or service to the end-user through various stages of development. A concept of the value chain is essential in the context of transport, as the transport process is usually one of the last elements of the value chain and determines the final value of a product or service offered. In recent years, the domestic and international rail transport market has undergone significant changes, including ongoing globalisation processes, growing importance of international trade, increase in intermodal transport significance, numerous investment outlays in transport infrastructure, means of transport, and the area of rail transport interoperability. All the above-described aspects have an impact on the value chain in transport. This paper presents an analysis of the value chain in transport processes in an aspect of rail transport. Elements of the railway transport organisation process, which affect the entire value chain, were briefly characterised in this article. Moreover, based on statistical data and a literature review, factors that fundamentally impact the efficient organisation of rail transport processes were identified.

Organization of international rail transportation

In the conditions of the development of railway transport within international transport corridors and the increase in the volume of cargo transportation, the issue of ensuring a sufficient level of transportation safety is an important task. The intensification of the transportation process with significant wear and tear of fixed assets actualizes the development and implementation of methods to increase the safety of railway transportation of dangerous goods, as well as technological and organizational measures aimed at reducing the risks of emergency situations with them. The article uses methods of analysis and theories of the organization of operational work of railways. The regulatory framework for the organization of transportation of dangerous goods by railways is characterized. The main indicators of the transportation of dangerous goods in the modern conditions of railway transport were studied. The detailed structure of factors influencing the conditions for operation of stations during the transportation of dangerous goods was developed, and measures were proposed to improve the technology of operation of the railway network stations in order to increase the level of transportation safety. The authors detailed the peculiarities of the railway stations functioning during the organization of transportation of dangerous goods. Taking into account the specified factors for the implementation of the proposed measures will allow increasing the level of safety of the processing of dangerous goods at railway stations. The article examines the role of railway transport in Ukraine. The transport conditions of the railway delivery of goods and the international railway tariffs received for the carriage of goods were analyzed. The procedure for transporting goods in transit through the territory of third countries in a direct railway connection has been established. This article defines the documentation of railway transportation. The procedure for calculating freight charges and payments for cargo transportation has been considered. The study of this topic makes it possible to improve all the main indicators of the operation of the station and the railway, to improve the quality of logistics service for customers and the transportation of goods by railway transport. Keywords: international railway transportation, the Statute of Railways of Ukraine, COTIF, railway tariffs, freight payments.

Changing tracks: identifying and tackling bottlenecks in European rail passenger transport

For Europe's urban agglomerations to be economically competitive, it is vital that international destinations be easily accessible. Although much has been invested in the construction of European rail infrastructure over the past century, passenger transport by rail has not grown as fast as transport by road and air. So why do people not use international trains more, even though they have an extensive international rail network at their disposal? Based on a series of in-depth interviews with relevant public and private stakeholders and two expert meetings, we identify the main bottlenecks and constraints. In order to understand the complexity of international rail transport, we have divided the existing bottlenecks into four groups corresponding to four layers of the rail transport system: mobility services, transport services, traffic services, and the physical and digital infrastructure. We formulate concrete policy recommendations for improvements to be made in the various components of the rail transport system.

The Role of the Busan Port in the Formation of the Asian Transport Network

The importance of the port serving as a starting point for rail transport increases. However, South Korea is located on a part of the peninsula, due to historical and political differences with North Korea, it does not have a land connection with the mainland of Asia. South Korea has no experience in international rail transportation and the share of rail transportation means is also low, so it can become a weakness in the formation of the Asian corridor in the future. This paper analyzes the problems of each future hypothetical scenario and what role of Busan Port should have.

Contract of use of wagons in international rail transport law

Basierend auf dem Grundprinzip der Vertragsfreiheit im internationalen Eisenbahnverkehrsrecht in Form des Übereinkommens über den internationalen Eisenbahnverkehr (COTIF 1999) und des Allgemeinen Vertrages über die Verwendung von Güterwagen (AVV 2006) weist der Vertrag über die Verwendung von Güterwagen eine andere rechtliche Struktur und ein anderes Haftungsregime auf als der allgemeine Güterbeförderungsvertrag oder der Vertrag über die Nutzung der Infrastruktur. (xf)

ANALYSIS OF THE CURRENT STATE OF THE CONTAINER TRANSPORTATION MARKET AND WAYS OF ITS DEVELOPMENT ON THE CHINA-UKRAINE-EU ROUTE

Considering the globalization of international market relations, the article deals withthe modern market for international container traffic on the China-Ukraine-EU route. Through myresearch, it has become clear that the international rail container transportation market is evolvingrapidly and the development of railway infrastructure is rapidly becoming a lucrative investment.The potential is evident as demonstrated by the fact that China is considering rail containertransportation as an effective alternative to the traditional transportation methods such as sea- andairfreight intermodal container transportation of goods in the nearest future. There are distinctadvantages to rail container transportation, namely: versatility; mobility; distribution of containerhandling equipment; safety of cargo as well as speed of delivery. The article points out the majorproblems related to container transportation in Ukraine: poor condition of highways; deteriorationof rolling stock and railway infrastructure in general; lack of sufficient quantity and low availabilityof modern equipment at container terminals in Ukraine; a low competitive level of transport service;high level of bureaucracy on the railway and in customs clearance. In a free-market economy and,in particular, during industry restructuring, the author proposes a new approach to organizecontainer transportation in Ukraine and for the Ukrainian railway, which should reduce the costs ofrailway traffic , on the one hand, and make it more attractive to the users, thereby confirming itscompetitive advantages. The author came to the conclusion that, owing to the development of therailway infrastructure, namely the construction of a container logistics system and high-speedrailways on the territory of Ukraine, it is possible to not only reach a competitive level of transitstates on the China-EU route but also to take a preferred position as the most economical and fastest means of transit, obtaining a substantial profit and an incentive for the further development of thetransit potential of our country.

65 Years of OSJD Activities in Eurasia

The Organisation for Co-Operation between Railways (OSJD) is an international organisation established on the basis of the “Provisions on the Organisation for Cooperation between Railways” international agreement. The year 2021 is significant for the OSJD since the Organisation celebrates 65 years of its existence. The past years were a period of constant development of the OSJD, full of important events and changes, both within the Organisation itself and in the economic and geopolitical situation of the regions in which it functions. The OSJD has always been focused on the development and improvement of railway transport in Eurasia through the development and improvement of transport corridors and the harmonization of transport law. It is one of the major organisations in the railway sector, actively operating and cooperating with other important international organisations functioning in the railway transport sector, such as the International Union of Railways (UIC), the International Rail Transport Committee (CIT), and the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF), whose task is to promote, cooperate, develop, improve, and facilitate international railway transport as a means of transport that could meet the challenges in terms of mobility and sustainable transport. As part of this cooperation, the OSJD is focused on the constant improvement of railway transport through the simplification of border procedures and the harmonisation of transport documents, which is exemplified by the common CIM/SMGS consignment note. The purpose of this article is to outline the main tasks and roles of the Organisation in the development of railway transport in Eurasia in recent years. Keywords: OSJD, railway transport, international organisations, Eurasia, consignment note

Research on Hub-and-Spoke Transportation Network of China Railway Express

China Railway Express is developing rapidly, but the point-to-point direct organization mode has brought many problems to it. Therefore, this paper proposes to construct a hub-and-spoke network and adopt the “collecting and transportation” organization mode. In this paper, based on the single distribution p-hub median problem, a dual-objective planning model was constructed by considering the characteristics of CR Express in terms of cost and time. In addition, considering the port as a key node of international rail transport network, it plays a vital role for CR Express. Therefore, a hub-port allocation model was constructed to determine the hub-port allocation relationship. Furthermore, a Lagrangian relaxation heuristic algorithm was designed to solve the model built for CR Express transportation network. Finally, based on the constructed model, the actual operation data of CR Express were used in the designed example to verify the effectiveness and applicability of the models and methods.

The Implications of International Urban Rail Transit Operation Project Management: a Case Study of Jerusalem`s Light Rail Project

Jerusalem light rail project as the first light rail line in Israel has already been opened and in operation for 5 years, with good operation condition and quite similar operation mode and characteristics to Tel Aviv light rail project. The technical leading member of its operational consortium, French Veolia, has rich experience in overseas rail transit operation and had fully participated in the Jerusalem light rail project since 2005 till being expelled from Israel in 2015. This paper analysis Veolia's 10-year experience and lessons obtained from operation of the Jerusalem light rail project. It was reflected the actual operation environment of the project in Israel and can be used as a crucial reference for the operation of international rail transit.

Rail Transport Corridors of the Organisation for Co-operation of Railways

International transport corridors are part of the global transport system and are an important part of the activities of the Organisation for Co-operation of Railways2. The development activities in the Eurasian space are aimed at modernising and developing rail transport by upgrading the technical and operational parameters of the corridors in order to improve the competitiveness of railways in freight transport in Asia and Europe. These corridors are widely used to plan and organise the routing of container trains in international traffic between the OSJD member states. Today, nearly 300 container trains are in continuous operation. The aim of the article is to present the activities to date in the development of corridors, their role and importance in rail transport in the area of the member states of the Organisation for Co-operation of Railways. The article presents issues related to the development and freight transport on 13 international rail transport corridors from the Eurasian railway area. New corridor solutions were highlighted, as well as the New Silk Road3 which is part of China’s broader so-called One Belt, One Road Initiative concept. It is a global infrastructure plan developed in China and implemented in more than 100 countries, mainly in countries referred to as emerging markets. Keywords: international transport corridor, rail transport corridor, indicators for transport corridors, New Silk Road

Analysis of Customs Processing of Wagon Consignment at Slovakia-Ukraine Border

Abstract In the territory of the Slovak Republic, the transportation of goods from east to west is carried out in Eastern Slovak Trasnsshipment. The transportation of goods in direct international rail transport between the Slovak Republic, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine is carried out through the border crossing points Čierna nad Tisou – Čop and Maťovce – Užhorod. These border crossing points are places on a broad-gauge and standard-gauge railway, wherer loading, unloading, and reloading of goods from wider gauge wagons to narrower gauge wagons shall be carried out. There is also a shift of transport mode from SMGS to CIM and other services associated with this transport. An important document affecting the functioning of the single railway market is the Customs Code of the European Union and its provisions. It should be noted that the Common Economic Area of the European Union is also the common customs area of all the Member States. In the case of the cross-border international rail transport organisation, there are no control services due to the customs clearance of the goods. For carriers and customers, this means easier process organisation thanks to the provisions of the Customs Code.