Railway Business Research Articles

철도산업과 기후변화대응

The railroad industry is the best means of transportation to respond to climate change, as it is more energy efficient than the automobile and aircraft industries and emits about six times less greenhouse gases. As of 2018, the transportation sector of railroads emits 2.6% of greenhouse gases, but greenhouse gases should be reduced by converting diesel locomotives to new and renewable energy locomotives and electric locomotives. However, the Framework Act on the Railway Industry, the Railroad Safety Act, the Railroad Construction Act, and the Railroad Business Act do not have legal and institutional mechanisms to respond to climate change or adapt to the climate crisis. Review the legislation and precedents of France and the United States to seek implications for Korea. The Framework Act on the Railway Industry shall establish and implement the national freight and passenger transport sharing rate and the greenhouse gas reduction target, and shall be improved to include matters on climate change and response to the climate crisis in the national policies and basic plans. The Railway Construction Act should also monitor the effects of climate change, such as extreme heat waves, extreme cold waves, extreme strong winds (types), extreme floods, and extreme wildfires, analyze the cost-benefit analysis of adverse effects on railway infrastructure to build them in advance, and maintain them to improve the quality of railway infrastructure, and include climate change response and adaptation to the climate crisis in the railway network plan. The Railway Business Act and the Railroad Safety Act should be revised to ban the operation of diesel locomotives in stages, such as California and the United Kingdom, to raise funds for the conversion of diesel locomotives to environment-friendly locomotives, report their status to the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and stipulate that diesel locomotives cannot be idled for more than 30 minutes. Finally, railway stations and structures should be installed with geothermal power plants and solar power plants, and certified as carbon-zero buildings.

Twenty-Five Years of Engineering and Scientific Activity of Nikolai A. Belelyubsky (report by A. N. Gorchakov in the Imperial Russian Technical Society in 1892)

Archival publicationsA reproduced report in the Imperial Russian Technical Society was first published in the Railway Business [Zheleznodorozhnoe delo] journal in 1892. It is dedicated to the activities of Nikolai. A. Belelyubsky, a well-known bridge engineer who made a significant contribution to the development of transport engineering in Russia, and whose biography can excellently help to trace the evolution of Russian railway bridge construction in the 19th century.The author of the report was Andrei N. Gorchakov (1836–1914), who held the positions of head of the military road department of the field administration of military logistics of the acting army, engineer of the Ministry of Railways, was a member of the board of state railways, managed private railways, and was director of the ministerial railway department.The author’s punctuation and vocabulary are preserved as much as possible in the text.

Engineer K.O. De-Skrokhovsky: conservative versus bureaucracy

The history of discussions around economic issues and railway construction in post-reform Russia has not been deprived of the attention of modern researchers. At the same time, even in special publications on this topic, the name of one of its most prominent participants, engineer Konstantin Osipovich De-Skrokhovsky, is practically not found. This name is now almost completely forgotten; even the year of birth is missing from brief dictionary references about it. Meanwhile, the “intellectual biography” of this figure is extremely interesting in the context of studying the history of economics and railway business in the last quarter of the 19th century: it helps to better understand the socio-political context of the process of “nationalization” of railways that was then beginning. But it is not without significance (and in this context has never been considered by researchers) for a researcher of social thought in the second half of the 19th century, for understanding the history of both right-wing salons and the struggle of court groups of this period.

Electrical Traction: publication of 1912

Press ArchivesThe Journal presents a selection of two articles each of them first appeared in the journal «Railway Business» in 1912.They demonstrate the interest that was paid more than a century ago towards electrified railways considering technical (choice of electric power supply system, traction current) and economic advantages compared to steam locomotive traction.The material in some ways echoes the content of the article published in the issue on the development of transport science and the chronology of industrial revolutions.When reproducing the publication, the style, punctuation, and vocabulary of that time are preserved as much as possible.

On the Issue of Cleaning Up the Air in Passenger Coaches (1891–1892)

News from the archives This material briefly reproduces the main content of the article by Alexander Kritsky in the «Railway Business» journal in 1891 and 1892. The very fact of a multi-issue and very voluminous publication shows how much attention was paid at one time to the issue of air purity in railway passenger cars. The original punctuation, vocabulary and abbreviations adopted at that time are preserved in the text as much as possible.

Newspaper Controversy about the Institution of the Governorates General in the Western Russian Periphery

Several significant events simultaneously took place in 1888: the celebration of the 900th anniversary of the baptism of Rus’, the disaster in Borki and subsequent transformations in the railway business, the beginning of discussions about the project of land captains (head of zemstvo), the accession to the throne of Wilhelm II. In the history of Russian social thought, or rather, in the history of the conservative “camp”, this first years after the death of M. N. Katkov and I. S. Aksakov became a year of decisive crisis. The so-called “Russian conservatism” had never been a single entity. Ever since the 1860s, two different types of conservatism opposed each other aristocratic and national. One of the most important subjects of constant discussions between these camps was the Polish question, which encompassed not only national, but also social problems. It remained relevant in the late 1880s, when the nationalist camp was represented by the epigones of M. N. Katkov and by A. S. Suvorin. V. P. Meshcherskii and K. N. Leontiev stood out among the class conservatives. Both ideological and literary trends were inspired by influential dignitaries: on the one hand, by K. P. Pobedonostsev, on the other, by T. I. Filippov. The most striking episode of this ideological struggle was the controversy around the Kiev celebrations dedicated to the 900th anniversary of the baptism of Rus’. The unexpected death at these celebrations of the Kiev Governor-General A. R. Drentel’n exacerbated the debate about the need to maintain the governor-general in the North-Western and South-Western regions. This institution at the time was regarded as emergency, and the controversy about it became at the same time a controversy about the extent to which the Polish question was resolved in these regions. In the ensuing discussion, the nationalist publications “Novoye Vremya” and “Kievlianin” supported the preservation of the governorates. The cohort of opponents of the governorates included the conservative “Grazhdanin”, the liberal “Novosti”, and the Polish newspaper “Kraj”, which was published in St. Petersburg. A peculiar position was taken by the liberal “Kievskoe slovo”.

Regulars - Columnist: The Eccentric Engineer. Toys - The surprising origins of the scale model railway business

Regulars - Columnist: The Eccentric Engineer. Toys - The surprising origins of the scale model railway business

Control and coordination in railway business: Implications for intermediate organisational forms between vertical separation and integration

This study investigates possible combinations of control and coordination mechanisms with task characteristics for vertical separation, vertical integration, and a holding company structure to derive some implications for future intermediate organisational forms in the rail sector. Through quantitative analysis of surveys and interviews in Britain, Switzerland, Germany, and Japan, we found some feasible models. First, the workflow of full vertical separation shown in the case of Britain is closer to that of vertical integration shown in the cases of Japan and Switzerland than the holding company structure of Germany. Second, reciprocal or teamwork flows are related to high uncertainty, while sequential workflow involves low uncertainty. Third, the internal authority might take part in the roles in which the government or regulator plays. Fourth, under vertical integration, lateral control by a key actor is not necessarily important, as members of each department care for the entire optimisation as a company. Fifth, bargaining is most frequently used as a conflict-resolution method, especially in tasks involving high interdependence. On the contrary, smoothing over is used in Britain, probably because of a large number of actors involved. Sixth, identity as a member of the whole rail system can work effectively to integrate involved actors.

A review of agro-potential waste as a constituent in railway sleepers

Historically, concrete was used exclusively for building construction. Concrete has recently found application in the railway business, notably in the construction of concrete railway sleepers. Concrete is made up of three primary ingredients: fine aggregates, coarse aggregates, and cement. To enhance the qualities of concrete, research was conducted on the possibility of substituting wastes from other industries for the ingredients of concrete. With agriculture being one of Malaysia's main industries, ranking third in terms of national economic activity, it demonstrated the potential for using agricultural wastes as ingredients of concrete manufacturing (fine aggregate, coarse aggregate, and cement). While the characteristics of agricultural waste-derived concrete have improved, research on their use as concrete railway sleepers remains uncommon. As such, this article will examine the feasibility of incorporating agricultural waste into concrete for the manufacturing of concrete railway sleepers.

Verification of Satellite Railway Track Position Measurements Making Use of Standard Coordinate Determination Techniques

The article presents the results of satellite railway track position measurements performed by a multidisciplinary research team, the members of which represented Gdansk University of Technology and Gdynia Maritime University. Measuring methods are described which were used for reconstructing the railway track axis position and diagnosing railway track geometry deformations. As well as that, the description of the novel method developed by the authors to perform mobile GNSS measurements is included. The reported research aimed at assessing the uncertainty of railway track axis reconstruction making use of the dynamic GNSS method. To assess the applicability of this method, the obtained results were compared with those from the stationary measurement method used in railway business. The data used for comparison was recorded on the same railway track section during several measurement campaigns. In these campaigns, different types of GNSSs with different position recording frequencies (1–100 Hz) were used at different measurement speeds (5–70 km/h). The performed analysis has shown that the accuracy of railway track axis reconstruction making use of mobile GNSS measurements is sufficient for using this methodology in railway business.

Differences in railway strategies: The empirical case of private, public-owned, and third-sector railways in Tokyo

The incorporation of public transport systems, particularly railway systems, into urban plans has been suggested as a good practice recommendation for decades. The business strategy for railway network expansion can account on the existing travel demand, the envisioned or the planned travel demand. This paper aims to explore the railway business strategy impact on population growth. An empirical assessment of the influence that business strategies of railway network expansions have on population growth is presented, by examining distinct types of business models (private-owned, public-owned, and third sector) and population growth in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area during 1970–2015, according to lag effects. Road expressways and subways were also considered. The research hypothesis states that railways with distinct business models may find different patterns of rail and land co-development. A panel-correlated standard errors model was used to examine the lagged effects, assessing three lag periods (5, 10, and 15-years). According to the findings, generally, but not consistently, private-owned, that diversified business, and third sector railways were positively associated, whereas public-owned railways were negatively associated with the population growth. The lag period assessment found inconsistent results except in private-owned railways during 1970–1990 with the 5-year lag having the greatest effect on population growth, except in the prefecture of Saitama.

Voices of Guinness: An Oral History of the Park Royal Brewery

Voices of Guinness: An Oral History of the Park Royal Brewery

<b>Recent Topics on Power Supply Technology</b>

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on railway business. Although it is still difficult to have a clear vision about a Post-Covid Society will be like for the moment railway services must be more reliable in order to avoid concentrations of passengers due to delays or cancellation of trains. In the longer term, railways must focus on lowering carbon emissions and improving maintenance. To this end, RTRI has been engaged in research to improve the reliability of power supply equipment, to save energy during train operation and to improve maintainability of power supply systems. This paper describes some of the outcomes achieved at RTRI through this recent research.

New High-Speed Rail System Proposed by August Scherl. Passenger Traffic Improvement Project

We reproduce an article first published in 1910 that describes in detail engineering projects, that were not only being developed but widely discussed. Those projects were dedicated to development of rapid, and particularly high-speed transportation in Berlin. The developments of that time reflected broad engineering views. It seems to be an attempt to integrate into a single project all the promising ideas regarding technical advancements as well as optimal transport modelling, routing schemes, traffic organisation, urban spatial planning. The discussion touched upon radial and ring traffic system, integration of the urban transportation system into national and even global one, splitting of passenger and freight traffic and infrastructure, and engineering decisions have reminded about contemporary monorail, elevated railways, light metro, and even personal rapid transit systems… The article attracted attention in Germany, as well as in other countries, and was reproduced in Zheleznodorozhnoe Delo [Railway Business] journal. Probably, many described aspects besides historical ones might be of interest today as well.

On the Ways of Development of Railway Business (1910)

110 years ago, the professional railway community conducted sharp discussion on the ratio of commercial and state interests in domestic railway activity. There were attempts to use that criterion to classify the existed railways by directions and main business purposes. The discussion also referred to the aspects of monopolism and competition, strict government control over the costs of rail construction, distribution of dividends or their investment in future development, fair tariffs. The problem of, in modern terms, connectivity of territory touched upon the choice between enhancing transit capacity of main railroads and constructing of new less important railways in the regions where they have not been built yet. Quite particular topic referred to the need to pay more attention to training of economic skills of employees as to condition of successful commercial activity of railways. It concerned training of technical employees in railway vocational schools, and of the future executives in higher schools, provided that «in the nurseries of railway engineers who provide a contingent of heads of railways, students are given complete economic preparation for their future activities».

News from the Archives. On Improving the Conditions for Passenger Traffic on Suburban and Urban Railways of Petersburg Junction

The journal Zheleznodorozhnoe Delo [Railway Business] in 1910 reviewed in detail the discussion in City Duma [Council] of St. Petersburg on the report of the Commission of the Ministry of Railways, that suggested the project of comprehensive development of rail transport in the city. Using more modern terminology the discussion touched upon the aspects that are still of interest nowadays, comprising impact on urban planning and traffic jams in the downtown, private public partnership, mobility of population, system development of urban and suburban transit, possibility to use railways for intracity travels and relevant fares, prospect for construction of metro.

Research on Interactive Modeling and Intelligent Analysis Platform Based on Railway Big Data

With completing of the Railway Data Service Platform (RDSP), the railway industry has a better big data foundation. The railway industry faces difficulties in applying and promoting of artificial intelligence. Corroborating the batch data and real-time data, an intelligent corroborative analysis and learning method is constructed. Based on the storage and computing abilities of RDSP, the general artificial intelligence algorithms are embedded. Three types of railway data analysis model units are reconstructed. Try to realize the visualization and interaction of railway business modeling, which can simplify the data analysis. Based on the knowledge structure level of the railway business staff, the data analysis interaction types are designed to different models. Design and set up the prototype of Interactive Intelligent Analysis Platform based on Railway Big Data. The prototype platform improves the capacities of automatic learning from data knowledge and ensures the validity and timeliness of the data analysis.

Reduction of Life-cycle Costs of Locomotives by Leaning Maintenance Process

Increasing the role of rail in balancing the transport of goods is a big challenge all over the world nowadays. Statistics clearly show a large disproportion of the volume transported by various means of inland transport where the railway business is still in the minority. One of the reasons is the cost of transported goods. It is important to know how costs affecting the final price of transported goods by rail are divided in order to reduce them. This paper presents the possibility of using life cycle costs of the product in order to take productivity to the next level and save considerable amounts of time, money, and resources. The aim of this article is to define what are Life Cycle Costs and if lean tools may be applied in transport companies. The research has been conducted over the number of years in one of the largest rail freight operator in Poland. The main goal of the investigation was to analyze costs of the diesel locomotive maintenance process in a whole lifecycle and investigate the impact of using lean tools on those costs. In this project lean tools such as: Standard Work Combination Sheet, Spaghetti diagram, Visual Management, Cause and Effect Diagram, PDCA, 5S, standardization cards were used. For better analysis Voice of the Customer and Critical to Quality tools were added. The results of this analysis are presented in this paper and prove the big impact on reducing time, improving product quality as well as integrating people, data, processes and business systems. The use of lean is deliberate because it can lead to 50% cost reduction of the P1 maintenance level on diesel locomotives with a significant reduction of working hours up to 60%. The outcome of this analysis should help the company to achieve a significant reduction in the cost of maintaining locomotives, which will contribute to a lower cost of transporting goods by rail. Keywords: lean management, life cycle costs, locomotive maintenance process

Investigating Market Potentials and Operational Scenarios of Virtual Coupling Railway Signaling

The new concept of virtual coupling (VC) envisages autonomous trains running in radio-connected platoons to significantly improve railway capacity and address the forecasted increase in railway demand. Such a concept will introduce radical changes to current train services, technologies, and procedures, which calls for a deeper understanding of the possible modes of operation and the impacts on the entire railway business. This paper investigates market potentials and operational scenarios of VC for different segments of the railway market: high-speed, main-line, regional, urban, and freight trains. The research builds on the Delphi method, with an extensive survey to collect expert opinions about benefits and challenges of VC as well as stated travel preferences in futuristic VC applications. Survey outcomes show that VC train operations can be very attractive to customers of the high-speed, main-line, and regional market segments, with benefits that are especially relevant for freight railways. In particular, customers of regional and freight railways are observed to be unsatisfied with current train services and willing to pay higher fares to avail of a more frequent and flexible service enabled by VC. Operational scenarios for VC are then defined by setting market-attractive service headways and by characteristics of the rolling stock, infrastructure, and traffic management. An analysis of strengths and weaknesses of such a concept together with business opportunities and threats is carried out. The defined VC future scenario is set to induce a sustainable shift of customers from other travel modes to the railways.

“Side-Business”Development in Japanese Major Private Passenger Railways: ― What can we learn from their experiences? ―

Railway privatization continues to progress in Japan and overseas, but progress was not always smooth and there have been cases of management failure following privatization. Therefore, it is important to establish appropriate business management policies and strategies. Major railway companies in Japan have been operating railway businesses together with a collection of side-businesses in a unique way. The term side-business in the context of Japan’s railway industry covers a wide range of businesses, including transportation, real estate, merchandise sales, tourism and leisure. These side-businesses are no longer on the side as they currently account for about 70 to 90% of Japan’s major private railway companies’ revenues, making them important sources of revenue. The process, factors and characteristics of diversification strategies used by Japanese major railways can offer useful background information and insights for the investigation of future railway privatization methods. This study examines the details and time periods of such side- businesses and provides a model for classifying them by era and according to their characteristics. The model developed highlights the variety of ways that companies diversified their business activities and historically maps the establishment of such side-business. Moreover, in recent years, six types of structures for operating revenue have emerged, which demonstrates that side- businesses are not incidental to the railway business in Japan, but are also a driving force that creates innovation and synergistic effects.