Km Of Railway Research Articles

Calibration and validation of a national transport computable general equilibrium model for economic impact assessment

Infrastructure investments are being undertaken to improve efficiency, economic activity, and growth. Therefore, policy makers are increasingly looking for modelling tools that can evaluate the impact of transport infrastructure on the economy, firms and households from the lens of economic activity and equity. We have developed a large scale national CGE model for India that is calibrated to economic data as well as validated to data observed from the Indian Railways. The novelty of this work lies in three main areas (1) The CGE model incorporates multi-modal transport with road and rail (2) It is the largest model developed so far with 33 regions, 29 industries, 312,530 kms of highways and 126,366 km of Railways (3) Validation of the CGE model. The CGE model was able to predict the tonnage freighted on the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor to within 3.9 % accuracy. The Dedicated Freight Corridor Network (DFC) contributes a 2.94 % increase in the revenue for the railways as well as a 0.08 % increase in GDP. This implies that DFC can directly contribute INR 160 billion to the 2019 GDP. The CGE model distributed the benefits of faster and cheaper alternatives to the entire economy. This was observed during the evaluation of the road projects that were found to improve GDP, household welfare and rail revenue for rail, as well as improved equity.

Effects of transport infrastructures and climate change on ecosystem services in the integrated transport corridor region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The ecosystem services of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau have been hot topics in recent decades due to their unique value, and the region's sensitivity to climate change and human activities is considered to be of major importance. However, few studies have focused on the variations of ecosystem services in response to traffic activities and climate change. This study applied different ecosystem service models, along with the buffer analysis, local correlation and regression analysis to quantitatively analyze the spatiotemporal variations of carbon sequestration, habitat quality, and soil retention, further detected the climatic and traffic influences in the transport corridor region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau from 2000 to 2020. The obtained results showed the following: (1) The carbon sequestration and soil retention increased over time, while the habitat quality decreased during the railway construction period; in addition, the variations of ecosystem services between the two periods exhibited substantial spatial differences. (2) The distance trends of ecosystem service variations were similar for the railway and the highway corridors, and the positive ecosystem service trends were mainly observed within 2.5 km and 2 km of railway and highway corridors, respectively. (3) The impacts of climatic factors on ecosystem services were predominantly positive; however, temperature and precipitation displayed contrasting distance trends in their impacts on carbon sequestration. (4) The types of frozen ground and locations away from the railway or highway were the combined factors affecting the ecosystem services, among which carbon sequestration was negatively influenced by the distance from the highway in the continuous permafrost areas. It can be speculated that rising temperatures caused by climate change may intensify the decline of carbon sequestration in the continuous permafrost areas. This study provides guidance on ecological protection strategies for future expressway construction projects.

Permafrost degradation induced thaw settlement susceptibility research and potential risk analysis in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

With climate warming, numerous thaw settlements have occurred in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), but their possible distributions and potential risks are still poorly understood. The present study tends to come up with the first hazard data-driven thaw settlement susceptibility map for the QTP, and identify hazard-prone regions for settlement population, main infrastructures, and soil organic carbon (SOC). A well reliable susceptibility map was developed based on 111,510 thaw settlement sites and 12 conditioning factors using random forest (RF) model, logistic regression-based gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT-LR) model, and frequency ratio (FR) model. We found that nearly 120 thousand people, 1653 km of highway, 650 km of railway, and 3.13 Pg of the SOC were located in high and very high susceptible regions, which occupied 34.60% of the permafrost domain in the QTP. Alarmingly, the situation of Qinghai-Tibet Highway (QTH) and Qinghai-Tibet Railway (QTR) in permafrost regions seems more serious, more than 60% of them were located in high and very high susceptible regions. Our results revealed that slope aspect, volume ice content, and active layer thickness contributed significantly to the occurrence of thaw settlement. Compared with similar studies, this research performed better in model construction and accuracy. The results can provide references for decision maker in eco-environment protection and hazard risk management.

An Overview on Railway Impacts on Coastal Environment and Beach Tourism in Sicily (Italy)

The main aim of this paper is to analyze the development of the railway network in Sicily (Italy), where it runs close to the sea on two of the three sides of the island, and give an overview of the related impacts on coastal environment and tourism. In order to achieve such an objective, the impacts of the railway network were analyzed according to coastal typology (distinguishing between rocky and sandy coastal sectors) and distance from the shoreline (dividing distance values in concrete intervals). Rails were mostly emplaced in flat coastal areas due to the island’s rugged terrain: out of 1592 km of railway, ca. 350 km is located less than 1000 m from the shoreline (123 km on rocky sectors and 227 km on beaches and coastal plains). On sandy beaches and low sandy coastal sectors, approximately 6 km of track is within 25 m from the shoreline, a value rising to 16 km if a 50 m distance is considered, 48 km at 100 m and 103 km at 200 m distance. In correspondence of rocky platforms and high cliffed sectors, data reported for short distances between the rail and the shore are similar to ones observed along sandy coastal sectors, but differ when distance increases, i.e., there is only 32 and 47 km of railway respectively within 100 and 200 m from the shoreline. The emplacement of the railway embankment on beaches and dunes favored coastal squeeze and enhanced coastal erosion due to wave reflection on the embankment, which had to be protected by hard structures. Impacts on rocky sectors, with respect to beach and dune systems, are generally low because such sectors are usually stable (they do not need to be protected), less attractive to tourists and present small urban development. Tourism was affected by reducing landscape quality, beach access and width. More detailed studies and monitoring programs are necessary to locally assess the detailed impacts of the railway network, with this study constituting a preliminary but useful approximation to determine which coastal sectors are potentially the most affected. Results obtained in this paper can stimulate similar researches in other countries to prevent or decrease railway impacts on “Sun, Sea and Sand” tourism and, in general, on the coastal environment.

Road and environment

A railway at all stages of its life cycle (design, construction, operation) interacts with the environment. The environment can be divided into two components, which, depending on the geographical location of the area and its economic development, are characterized by their regional factors. Natural: climate, relief, geology, hydrology, etc. Economic: the development of the area, the density of population and transport networks, industry, etc. The environment affects the choice of the main technical parameters of the railway, design characteristics, methods of construction and operation, and therefore, construction and operating costs. For the analysis of regional factors, a conditional parameter is adopted, the value of which changes in the same direction as the regional parameters. The regression equation between these parameters and the construction cost of 1 km of railway in the considered areas was revealed.

Development of Flood Risk and Hazard Maps for the Lower Course of the Siret River, Romania

The Siret River is one of the most important tributaries of the Danube River in the Romanian territory. With a total length of 596 km in this territory, the confluence section of the Siret River with the Danube represents an area where major floods have occurred over time. In the last 50 years, over 20 floods have been recorded in the lower area of the Siret River; and the most recent important flood, which happened in 2010, had a negative impact on the local population, the environment, and the economy. Although it is a buffer zone, the Danube River has a significant impact on the discharge rate of the Siret River. Since few studies have been conducted on the prediction of flooding in the lower area of the Siret River, the present study aims at presenting the most important steps to be taken for designing risk and hazard maps for floods, which could be further applied to other rivers. The confluence of the Siret River with the Danube, a distance of 35 km upstream, was chosen as a study area. Techniques of topographic and bathymetric measurements were combined in order to design the risk and hazard maps for floods in this area and to improve the digital terrain model of the minor riverbed for the studied river area. The 1D hydrodynamic model of the HEC-RAS software was used in this research for developing the flood risk and flood hazard maps. The hazard and risk maps were generated based on 10%, 5%, and 1% flood scenarios, which are in accordance with Floods Directive 2007/60/EC; no historical data were available for the 0.1% scenarios. Thus, in a flood scenario that can occur every 100 years, about 9500 inhabitants are vulnerable at a medium flood risk. In this scenario, over 19.5 km of road infrastructure, about 16.5 km of railways, eight cultural heritage indicators, and three environmental indicators may be affected.

Targeting restoration sites to improve connectivity in a tiger conservation landscape in India.

BackgroundMaintaining and restoring connectivity between source populations is essential for the long term viability of wide-ranging species, many of which occur in landscapes that are under pressure to meet increasing infrastructure needs. Identifying barriers in corridors can help inform conservation and infrastructure development agencies so that development objectives can be achieved without compromising conservation goals. Here, we use the tiger landscape in central India as a case study to identify barriers, associate them with existing infrastructure, and quantify the potential improvement by restoring or mitigating barriers. Additionally, we propose an approach to categorize linkages based on their current status within and between Protected Areas (PAs).MethodsWe generated a hybrid landuse-landcover map of our study area by merging datasets. We used least-cost methods and circuit theory to map corridors and generate linkage metrics. We mapped barriers and used the improvement score (IS) metric to quantify potential improvement by restoring or mitigating them. Based on criteria that represent the status of corridors between-PAs and populations within-PAs, we ranked linkages into one of four categories: Cat1—linkages that currently have high quality and potential for tiger connectivity and should be maintained, Cat2W—linkages where focus on habitat and tiger populations may improve connectivity, Cat2B—linkages where focus on reducing barriers between PAs may improve connectivity, and Cat3—linkages where effort is needed to both reduce barriers between PAs and improve tiger populations and habitat within PAs. We associated barriers with infrastructure and present maps to show where restoration or mitigation measures can be targeted to have the highest potential impact.ResultsWe mapped 567 barriers within 30 linkages in this landscape, of which 265 barriers intersect with infrastructure (694 km of roads, 150 km of railway, 48 reservoirs, 10 mines) and 302 barriers are due to land-use or gaps in forest cover. Eighty-six barriers have both roads and railways. We identified 7 Cat1, 4 Cat2w, 9 Cat2b, and 10 Cat3 linkages. Eighty surface mines and thermal power plants are within 10 km of the least-cost paths, and more coal mines are closer to connectivity areas where linkages are narrow and rank poorly on both axes.DiscussionWe present spatial and quantitative results that can help conservation practitioners target mitigation and restoration efforts. India is on the path to rapid economic growth, with infrastructure development planned in biodiversity-rich areas. The mitigation hierarchy of avoiding, minimizing, and offsetting impacts due to proposed development projects can be applied to corridors in this landscape. Cross-sectoral cooperation at early stages of project life-cycles to site, design, and implement solutions can maintain connectivity while meeting infrastructure needs in this rapidly changing landscape.

Spatial Distribution of Landslide Risk and Exposure Based on CART Model and GIS Technology - Case Study of Panzhihua Basin, Yangtze River, China

Spatial distribution of natural disaster risk has been taking as a reference in urban planning and disaster management. Especially to the remote mountainous areas located in southwestern China where landslide disaster could cause enormous damage. In those areas, only few exposure researches could reveal disaster risk and exposure distribution which related to landslide occurrence since lack of landslide indicator information. This research aimed at combining landslide risk mapping with highly exposure mapping to reveal distribution of highly landslide exposure in a remote mountainous area: Panzhihua basin, Yangtze River, China. In this research, 203 landslide point data (103 occurrences and 100 absences) were collected based on governmental landslide inventory and fieldwork to build CART (Classification and Regression Tree) model, which was applied to investigate the relationship between landslide disaster and four independent variables (vegetation, elevation, slope and top soil type). Finally, we developed a landslide-prone hazard map based on transportation, threatened population and property distribution to illustrate potential socioeconomic damage of landslide occurrence. The output maps show that landslide-prone area basically follows valley stretch and Yangtze Rivers. Northeastern and center zone in study area are classified with higher risk to generate landslide disaster. Threaten population and property exposure shows similar distribution in northeastern and northwestern areas while detached in center and southeastern areas. To the transportation sector, there are 75.3km of local road, 8.6km of main road, 29.5km of railway and 39.2km of national highway are highly exposed to landslide occurrence respectively.

Neglected effects of transport corridors: attractiveness to wildlife and role in conservation planning

Neglected effects of transport corridors: attractiveness to wildlife and role in conservation planning

Grain spilled from moving trains create a substantial wildlife attractant in protected areas

AbstractTransportation corridors can attract threatened wildlife via habitat enhancement and foraging opportunities, leading to collisions with vehicles. But wildlife may also be attracted to energy‐dense food products that are spilled or discarded from moving vehicles, which is rarely studied. Therefore, we quantified train‐spilled attractants in Banff and Yoho National Parks, Canada, where agricultural products (hereafter, grain) are transported along 134 km of railway and may contribute to wildlife mortality. We measured grain deposition from 2012 to 2015 at 19 sites and assessed the performance of three structures developed to measure spilled grain. We then modeled grain deposition with respect to four types of spatial and temporal variables: those related to grain shipment, physical habitat characteristic, train‐related characteristics and variables specific to the study site. Grain was spilled at a mean rate of 1.64 g m−2 day−1 (sd = 3.60) from April to October (n = 3 years) and 1.52 (sd = 2.37) from November to March (n = 1 year). Extrapolating annual deposition across the study area yielded enough grain (110 tons) to provide 4.77 × 108 kcal of gross energy, which is equivalent to the average annual caloric needs of 42–54 grizzly bears Ursus arctos horribilis; the regional population is estimated at 50–73 animals. Much of this energy will not be accessible or available to bears; however, their attraction to it could contribute to rising and unsustainable rates of mortality. Models explained 9–31% of the variance in deposition for each grain type, primarily via coarse temporal variables of shipping rates and month. The absence of more specific predictive variables suggests that mitigation should target broader policies, such as prompt reporting and repair of leaky hopper cars, and limits to train stoppage in protected areas. We encourage more global assessment of the under‐studied issue of food attractants spilled by vehicles along transportation corridors.

Clinical and spatial features of Zika virus in Mexico

BackgroundZika virus (ZIKV) is an emerging arbovirus transmitted to humans by Aedes mosquitoes, the same vectors that transmit dengue virus and chikungunya. Recent work has suggested that prior infection with dengue could lead to more severe clinical disease in ZIKV patients. Here, we describe the spatial distribution of and clinical symptoms experienced by ZIKV cases in Mexico. MethodsWe performed Fisher’s Exact test and Pearson’s Chi-Square tests on data from Mexico’s national surveillance system on the demographic and clinical characteristics of ZIKV patients (N=84), and then a multivariate logistic regression analysis to determine demographic risk factors for patients presenting with at least 9 symptoms. We also mapped the cases to describe the spatial distribution of ZIKV in Mexico. ResultsResults from the multivariate logistic regression analysis indicate that, controlling for all covariates, sex (male) is a significant protective factor in reporting a high number of symptoms (OR=0.36, 95% CI: 0.14, 0.92), and that a one-year increase in age is associated with a 4% increase in odds of having at least 9 symptoms (95% CI: 1.00, 1.08). Spatial analysis revealed more than 50% cases reported within 50km of railways. ConclusionWe found that sex and age are both significant risk factors for ZIKV infection severity, using number of reported symptoms as a proxy. The presence of cases along railways indicates that transportation networks within Mexico may be relevant for the national and international spread of the disease.

Analysis of land bridge transportation

Land bridge transportation means transportation from one seaport to another by railway across continents instead of by ocean ship. At present, there are two common routes for using land bridge transportation in the world. One is Asia—America—Europe land bridge, the other is Europe—Asia land bridge. Eurasia land bridge has obvious advantages over Asia—America—Europe land bridge due to its shorter distance, shorter transportation time and special freight rate. China started Eurasia land bridge transportation business in 1980. It mainly used the mode of railway-railway combined transportation. The comparison between using Eurasia land bridge and using shipping transportation from China to Northern and Western Europe shows that Euraria land bridge transportation can save time and get foreign exchange in time, and commodity turnover will be speeded up. According to the port layout and railway network structure, China’s land bridge transportation projects are proposed. They are Suifenhe project, Dalian project, Tianjin project and Lianyungang project. The comparison of the four projects reveals that regarding to the total distance, Tianjin project is the shortest, but the distance covering China is shorter, and the transportation capacity of Beijing—Tianjin section is low. Lianyungang project has better geographical position and large attactive scope. The distance within China is the longest, but now there is 463 km of railway which have not been completed, and the transportation capacity is limited by Lanzhou—Xinjiang and Lianyungang—Lanzhou railway lines. From a long-term point of view, this project has a bright future.