Railway Freight Transportation Research Articles

Integrated Optimisation Model of Daily Freight Train Scheduling and Dynamic Railcar Routing Based on a Two-Layer Space-Time Network

This paper focuses on daily freight train scheduling and dynamic railcar routing problems for rail freight transportation at the operational level. Two mixed integer linear programming models that adopted different strategies were formulated based on a continuous two-layer time-space network. We simultaneously considered the benefits of railroad company and service quality when setting the objective function. By solving the models, we can distribute the dynamic railcar flows to the train paths in the basic train timetable to obtain the daily train operation plan over a short time horizon (e.g. a day), which will be helpful for dispatchers to make decisions such as the empty railcar distribution and car routing (trip planning). Finally, we compared two models on a part of the Chinese railroad network. The results show that the second model can effectively improve the efficiency of railroad freight transportation.

Bridge-Borne Noise Induced by High-Speed Freight Electric Multiple Units: Characteristics, Mechanisms and Control Measures

The high-speed freight electric multiple unit (EMU) is one of the important development directions for railway freight transportation. To investigate the bridge radiation noise induced by the freight EMU, a noise prediction model consisting of the containers–vehicle–track–bridge dynamic model, finite element model, and boundary element model are established and validated. Through simulation, the bridge radiation noise under different train loading conditions is compared, and the noise radiation mechanism is revealed. Moreover, the noise reduction effect of the noise wall is studied, and the influences of noise wall heights and sound absorption materials are investigated. Results indicate that the bridge sound power and the sound pressure levels (SPLs) of near-field points increase slightly with train loads in the frequency range below 20 Hz and above 125 Hz, with a maximum increase of about 6.8 dB. The structure resonance, intense local vibration, and high acoustic radiation efficiency cause strong bridge radiation noise. The noise wall can realize a good overall noise reduction effect in the sound shadow zone; nevertheless, SPLs increased in areas between the bridge and the noise wall. The ground reflection affects the superposition of transmitted, reflected, and diffracted sound waves, which causes nonlinear relationships of noise reduction effects with the noise wall height. From the perspective of human hearing sensitivity, the loudness levels of typical field points increase with the frequency in the range of 20~80 Hz, and SPLs below 25 Hz are less than the threshold of hearing. Setting the noise wall can effectively reduce the loudness levels, and the reduction effect increases with the noise wall height.

Research of the modern state of railway transportation of freight

Railway transport in the overall transport potential plays a decisive role, ensuring logistics processes in the country. In the conditions of extraordinary events such as military actions, social upheavals, natural disasters, man-made disasters, railway transport provides the economic and social needs of the country, thanks to its reliability. The current state of railway freight transportation in Ukraine, the structure of transportation, and its adaptation to modern conditions have been studied. The advantages of railway transportation include: - the possibility of sending a large volume of cargo; - saving time when passing dimensional and weight control; - independence from weather conditions; - cost of transportation. With the beginning of the russian aggression, logistical connections were lost. all Ukrainian farmers faced the problem of grain transportation and export. The grain cargo was concentrated on the borders with European countries. The main technical reasons for the limited ability to transport export goods through the western crossings: - different width of the railway track - in Europe it is 1435 mm, while in Ukraine - 1520 mm.; - shortage of transshipment capacities at the border; - lack of rolling stock; - limited capacity of certain sections of foreign railways; - presence of weight restrictions; - insufficient number of carriages for repositioning. In August 2023, there were positive changes to overcome the decrease in cargo exports that occurred due to port blockades. Polish and Ukrainian railways agreed on joint work on the development of passenger and freight rail transport between the countries in order to increase the export-import potential. The formation of a long-term strategy regarding the possibility of expanding railway corridors to Baltic ports has begun. During 2022, the railway suffered losses; - the acquisition of their own parks by farmers led to a surplus of railway containers; - the increase in tariffs for freight transportation did not compensate for the losses of the railway; - changes in the tariffs for railway transportation led to an increase in transportation by road transport.

Evaluating the Performance of Railway Transportation Companies Using Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Methods

The purpose of performance evaluation is to generate measurable data on an organization's performance, with the goal of assisting managerial decision-making and enhancing overall performance. In this study, the key performance indicators (KPIs) for railway transportation companies are identified based on expert opinions and previous frameworks. The operational performance of various railway freight transport companies was evaluated using multi-criteria decision-making methods (MCDM). Among the MCDM approaches, the Evaluation Based on Distance from Average Solution (EDAS) method was applied as the main method. In addition to the EDAS method, alternative MCDM methods such as TOPSIS, PROMETHEE II, and COPRAS were used to highlight potential deviations when compared to the results obtained with the EDAS method. Based on the research findings, three out of the seven KPIs, namely safety, have the highest weight at 38%, followed by punctuality at 19%, and journey time at 12%. Subsequently, companies were ranked according to their performance based on all KPIs. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to demonstrate how changes in the relative weights of KPIs can affect the results.

A novel method for evaluating load restraint assemblies to ensure the safety of railway freight transportation

The violent goods vibration during curve negotiation is a huge threat to the vehicle running safety. Qualified load restraint assemblies that can significantly suppress the cargo vibration are necessary. This study proposes a novel method for evaluating the essential restraint strength, focusing on the relative motion between cargo and wagon. In the beginning, as a comparison, current methods are used to calculate the necessary stiffness of lashings, which are adopted to restrain the cargo vibration on the wagon. Based on the data of the field test, the accuracy of the established wagon-cargo coupled dynamics model is validated. The loaded wagon model negotiates the curve under different running and loading conditions. The simulation results and analysis demonstrate effective strategies for suppressing the vibration of the cargo and reveal the necessary lashing stiffness. The comparison among the results of different evaluation methods shows that the stability of the cargo can be improved by optimizing the lashing stiffness with the method of dynamics simulations. We hope this study will make a positive contribution to the safety of railway freight transportation.

Optimization design of railroad freight station computer inquiry system based on robot intelligent configuration system

In recent years, China’s railroads have been rapidly developed, but to improve the quality of service to customers and the rapid passage of passengers is a major problem facing the railroad operation. It is the era of information development at present, China’s railroad operation has also been unprecedented rapidly developed and has significant achievements. In order to meet the growing demand and improve the level of information technology, the information system platform for railroad freight transportation has been created, because each system is not connected with each other and is independent of each other, thus creating an upgrade of the system. To solve the above-mentioned problems, it is necessary first of all to establish an intelligent freight station inquiry system, which is one of the ways for the customers to experience the convenience directly. In this paper, by understanding and analyzing the inquiry system of freight stations, we address the shortcomings and deficiencies of the system now. Using the development concept of information technology and the general development goals of Chinese railroad passenger and freight stations, the development has been carried out through the two levels of the total structure and performance of the system. Current successful modifications and enhancements of the Chinese train transportation system show promising experimental results. It has been confirmed by these tests that the system demonstrates a high level of stability and dependability while skillfully meeting the intelligent inquiry needs of travelers at railroad freight stations.

Method for calculating the supply of transport and logistics services depending on the demand for freight transportation

The article examines the problems that arise in railway freight transportation when determining the optimal size of rolling stock fleet under seasonal fluctuations in the volume of transportation and ensuring a certain reserve of vehicles. In order to optimize the number of vehicles in the fleet, it is necessary to find a balance between undesirable expenses for maintaining wagons in periods of falling demand for them (surplus supply of transport and logistics services) and unearned income from their lack (deficit) in periods of maximum growth of transportation volumes. The methodology and example of calculating the fleet of freight wagons, the efficiency of their use and determining the optimal number of rolling stock and the need for a certain reserve of vehicles are presented. It is noted that the railway transport of Ukraine was and continues to be one of the main types of transport in the transportation of goods and passengers. However, considering the long operating time of the rolling stock, more than 70% of semi-wagons and more than 80% of grain wagons require replacement or extension of their service life due to capital repairs. The role of railways is especially critical in the current period of russia's war against Ukraine, due to the lack of air transport, river and sea transport and the insufficient capacity of highways and border railway stations. Determining the required number and optimizing the number of vehicles in the fleet can be carried out according to the calculation methodology, which is based on the analytical determination of the minimum of the objective function of the total operating costs associated with both the deficit and the surplus of vehicles compared to the demand for transport and logistics services. It has been established that the application of this calculation method allows to optimize the inventory and working fleet of wagons taking into account the different cost per day of shortage and surplus of the fleet of wagons (supply of transport services compared to their demand). Compared to traditional methods of calculation, the proposed method saves operational costs for maintaining the fleet of wagons in the amount of 2-5%.

Prioritizing solutions to mitigate the risks due to adoption of intermodal railroad freight transportation for achieving sustainable development goals

Multiple cleaner strategies are being devised by governments worldwide to incorporate approaches aligning with sustainable development goals (SDGs), placing particular emphasis on the modal shift from unimodal road to intermodal railroad (IRR) freight transportation. This shift is gaining traction due to its documented positive impact on environmental, economic, and social sustainability. However, adopting IRR freight transportation in emerging economies faces hurdles, primarily attributable to inherent modal shift risks (MSRs). Addressing these MSRs requires the implementation of modal shift solutions (MSSs). This study aims to prioritize the MSSs to mitigate the impact of MSRs in IRR adoption, focusing on achieving SDGs with a case study conducted in the Indian logistics sector. The study is structured into four phases. The first phase identifies 37 sub-MSRs, categorized into seven main MSRs, accompanied by the 39 MSSs for IRR freight transportation adoption. The second phase employs the spherical fuzzy Bayesian best-worst method (SF-BBWM) to assess the relative weights of main and sub-MSRs. The third phase uses the spherical fuzzy C-means clustering (SF-CMC) algorithm to identify crucial MSSs. Finally, the fourth phase utilizes the spherical fuzzy combinative distance-based assessment (SF-CODAS) to prioritize these crucial MSSs. From the identified MSSs, pivotal solutions include developing an integrated physical IRR network across the freight transport chain and fostering relationships between stakeholders through long-term contracts and strategic partnerships. The available results are discussed to facilitate logistics stakeholders’ understanding of the implementation of MSSs aligning with SDGs to mitigate the impact of MSRs.

Dynamic pricing analysis of railway freight transport under different carbon emission penalties

in order to better promote the transportation industry to reduce carbon emissions and improve the competitiveness of railway freight in the whole freight market, to achieve the “double carbon” strategy and promote the “transit rail”. In this paper, considering the dynamic pricing of freight volume and freight price, a two-layer programming model is established under the minimum social total cost of railway and road. The upper level considers the income of railway freight, and the lower level considers the total social cost of freight transportation, so as to realize the increase of railway freight revenue and the decrease of the general total expenditure paid by freight owners. Considering the transportation of bulk commodity freight from shandong to sichuan, it is concluded that the railway freight market has a good development prospect under the consideration of the total social expenditure such as carbon emission. Under the carbon emission charge, the appropriate increase of railway freight rate will not lead to the reduction of railway freight volume. As rail freight becomes more competitive under increasingly stringent carbon emissions penalties, the volume of rail freight will continue to rise even after appropriate increases in rail freight fees. At this point, rail freight companies can transport more goods and gain higher returns, slightly increasing the overall cost borne by shippers in a broad sense, and helping to reduce carbon emissions in the process of freight transport.

Forecasting the demand for railway freight transportation in Kazakhstan: A case study

Effective resource planning in railway freight transportation necessitates precise demand forecasting, shaped by a complex array of dynamic variables. In Kazakhstan, the National State-owned Railway Company (KTZ) underwent a transition from traditional expert-based forecasting methods to the application of mathematical models, notably the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model. Employing historical data spanning from 2012 to 2016, this shift signifies a significant evolution in KTZ's approach to anticipating freight demand.The primary objective of this study is the empirical assessment of the efficacy of the ARIMA model in comparison to conventional qualitative forecasting techniques. Through the analysis of actual data from 2017, utilizing established metrics such as the Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and the Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE), this research substantiates the utility of time series analysis through ARIMA. The findings not only confirm the model's effectiveness but also emphasize its superiority in refining the precision of railway freight demand forecasts, particularly within the unique context of Kazakhstan.Beyond the validation of methodologies, this research serves as a precursor to advanced forecasting practices, offering the potential to redefine resource planning in the railway industry. By extending the predictive horizon to 2024, the manuscript aligns with contemporary standards, providing nuanced insights for operational and developmental considerations in Kazakhstan's railway freight sector. This expansion positions the study within the evolving landscape of the industry, ensuring a comprehensive and forward-looking contribution to efficient resource allocation and modernized planning practices.

Analytical model of reliability of the freight rail transportation forecasting system

The purpose of the study: to develop an analytical model of the reliability of the freight transportation forecasting system by railway transport. Methods: economic and mathematical methods and models of transportation forecasting adapted to the peculiarities of railway freight transportation –models based on “Bottom/Top” approaches, methods of predictive adjustment by types of cargo, methods of scenario forecasting. Results: an analytical model of the reliability of the freight rail transportation forecasting system has been developed, the distinctive feature of which is the integration of cargo transportation evaluation indicators, characteristics of scenario methods and parameters of the forecasting process, a forecast has been formed for the volume and structure of freight traffic following through the Oktyabrskaya railway landfill for the future up to 2030 in the category of main types of cargo.

Evaluation of benefits due to adoption of enablers of unimodal road to intermodal railroad freight transportation

The adverse environmental consequences arising from road-based logistics operations have prompted stakeholders, including transport service providers, logistics managers, and shippers, to initiate a modal shift from unimodal road to intermodal railroad (IRR) freight transportation. However, the adoption pace of IRR in developing nations is slow. Modal shift enablers (MSEs) facilitate IRR adoption, while modal shift benefits (MSBs) signify favorable performance outcomes from MSEs' application. The main objective of this study is to rank the MSBs resulting from the adoption of MSEs in IRR freight transportation. This study proposes an integrated multi-criteria decision-making framework utilizing the spherical fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (SF-AHP) to evaluate MSEs' weights and the spherical fuzzy technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (SF-TOPSIS) to rank the MSBs. The case study performed in the Indian logistics sector reveals that ‘government policies and legislation enablers’, ‘infrastructural enablers’ and ‘strategic and management enablers’ are the most significant MSEs, whereas reduction in vehicular pollution and related negative externalities as well as reduction of the freight transport costs including storage and handling charges are most crucial MSBs realized due to adoption of MSEs. A sensitivity analysis is conducted to assess the stability of the ranking. The results help decision-makers in implementing MSEs for MSBs and develop effective IRR adoption strategies. This study also promotes sustainable freight transportation and provides logistics practitioners, researchers, and policymakers with a precise, systematic, and practical decision-support tool.

Possibilities of Implementing Augmented Reality in Railway Freight Transport

Abstract The analysis of technological procedures in transport and logistics with the aim of innovating the usual procedures is an ongoing process, not only in the present. The development of information technology in recent decades has created new opportunities for innovative procedures, but the innovations themselves do not take place as quickly as the development allows. There are many reasons for this, from the point of view of operational safety to the relevance of technological progress to rail transport. Based on the analysis of technological processes in rail freight transport at the Žilina - Teplička marshalling yard and the characteristics of Augmented Reality, the aim is to assess the possibilities of implementing Augmented Reality technology in the conditions of the processing procedures of sets of vehicles of the destination train in freight transport. The implementation options will be evaluated based on their feasibility in three variants. The implementation of augmented reality must always represent a simplification, acceleration, or cost reduction of the usual technological procedures.

Proposal of operational concept for bulk substrates transport by freight trains and its application within case study of aggregate transport for construction of Vlachovice dam

Railway freight transport represents an advantageous way for regular transport of bulk substrates. As a result of changes within the industry and energy sectors as well as in the field of consumer behaviour, such business cases decline significantly. Nevertheless, transport such of the characteristic have being (and will be) still realized however, in addition, quantities of transported goods will be known in advance – as a part of major construction or environmental remediation projects.In the period of 2020–2021, the Department of Transporting Systems in the CTU in Prague, Faculty of Transportation Sciences prepared the study “Vlára, Vlachovice Hydraulic Structure, Logistic Study of Material Transport for the Dam Construction” for the state enterprise Povodí Moravy (the Morava River Basin). Among other things, the study dealt with transport of more than 2.5 million tonnes from two quarries to the construction site of the Vlachovice dam by goods trains (the Vlachovice dam will be built in Moravia – the eastern part of the Czech Republic). It was necessary to determine an optimal route of the goods trains, their parameters and general operating concept so that the transport costs would be minimised and, concurrently, the transport performance would be as high as possible.This paper sets itself a goal to present a general procedure and principles for proposal of freight trains for a business case characterized by long-term and regular transport of large quantities of goods. For the stated case study, transport technology in the railway station Bohuslavice nad Vláří is discussed in detail.

ESTIMATING THE DEMAND FOR RAILWAY FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION: A CASE STUDY IN KAZAKHSTAN

This article focuses on the critical importance of demand estimates for effective planning and decision-making in the railway freight transportation industry. Various departments within transportation companies, including marketing, production, distribution, and finance departments, heavily rely on accurate demand forecasts to make informed decisions. Forecasting demand is a crucial aspect of managing business processes, and the methods for doing this can vary across different industries. The ultimate goal remains consistent—to obtain precise predictions of future demand by analyzing historical data and current environmental factors. In the context of transportation services, accurate demand forecasting is essential for successful operational planning and management of functional areas such as transportation operations, marketing, and finance. The current case study specifically examines the National Company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), a transport and logistics holding engaged in rail transportation in Kazakhstan. KTZ’s main sources of income are related to freight transportation. The volume of cargo transportation (in tons) and the freight turnover play a significant role in assessing demand and forecasting future revenues from freight traffic. Different techniques for demand forecasting are explored, including qualitative and quantitative methods. Qualitative methods rely on judgments and opinions, while quantitative methods utilize historical data or identify causal relationships between variables. Overall, the present study highlights the critical role of demand forecasting in the railway freight transportation industry and its impact on efficient planning and decision-making processes.

Optimization of the loading plan for a railway wagon from the perspectives of running safety and energy conservation

The improvement in running safety and energy efficiency of railway freight transportation brings about great social and environmental benefits. This paper proposes a novel strategy for promoting the curving performance and reducing driving energy consumption by optimizing the position of the wagon's combined center of gravity (CCOG) when loading the cargo. The dynamics analysis of the vehicle model is conducted to reveal the effect of CCOG position. Based on the simulation results of the established and verified multibody dynamics model, the critical role that CCOG plays in driving energy consumption is investigated, which is proved to be different from the relationship between CCOG and the wheel unloading ratio. Furthermore, the optimal velocity of the specified loaded wagon is inferred to be about 26 m/s, and the small radius curve is demonstrated to be the worse working condition in most cases. Finally, the Pareto-optimal solutions of the CCOG position are derived, and their superiorities in running safety and energy conservation are validated. The proposed methodology which realizes the multi-objective optimization of the CCOG position can be applied to set other parameters of the railway wagon.

Will China complete the 4.79-billion-ton railway freight transportation goal: An incremental potential research from the supply side

In 2018, China's State Council proposed a 30% increase in railway freight volume (RFV) to 4.79 billion tons in 2020 over 2017. Subsequently, more than 30 provinces and cities in China have issued corresponding transportation structure adjustment plans, but the completion of this task has not been very smooth. The growth rate in 2019 is slower than that in 2018, and the incremental task in 2020 still remains 42.7%. China's railway freight transportation capacity (RFTC) used to be in short supply for a long time, which has only eased in recent years. In order to explore the adaptation of China's current RFTC and incremental targets, and fully tap RFTC potential to formulate reasonable freight increment policies in the future, this article combines the simultaneous production and consumption feature of transportation sector and SBM-GRS (slack based measure-general returns to scale) data envelopment analysis to measure China's RFTC surplus space. The study found that from the supply side the incremental potential of China's railway freight turnover (RFT) is greater than that of RFV, which is caused by the imbalance of regional railway freight transportation. If the current RFV goal was replaced by RFT, RFTC input would save about 3%. This article suggests that China's future railway freight increment policy should take into account the regional imbalance of bulk cargo transportation, pay more attention to the growth of RFT, actively take advantage of railway container long-distance transportation, and make full use of overall RFTC.

Optimization design of railway logistics center layout based on mobile cloud edge computing.

With the development of the economy, the importance of railway freight transportation has become essential. The efficiency of a railway logistics center depends on the types, quantities, information exchange, and layout optimization. Edge collaboration technology can consider the advantages of cloud computing's rich computing storage resources and low latency. It can also provide additional computing power and real-time requirements for intelligent railway logistics construction. However, the cloud-side collaboration technology will introduce the wireless communication delay between the mobile terminal and the edge computing server. We designed a two-tier unloading strategy algorithm and solved the optimization problem by determining the unloading decision of each task. The cost of every task is calculated in the onboard device calculation, vehicular edge computing (VEC), and cloud computing server calculation. Simulation results show that the proposed method can save about 40% time delay compared to other unloading strategies.

Алгоритмизация производственных процессов

Purpose: To develop algorithm for the technology of interaction between main participants of railway freight transportation, ensuring downtime reduction and safety of cargo transportation. Methods: Algorithmizing method was used — development of flowchart for the process, reflecting the logic of traceability of requirements to working functions, basing on projecting functional-logical architecture for the process of freight transportation paperwork. Results: Intellectualization of transport company employees’ actions is associated with a variety of transportation technologies, including digital ones. Namely this is becoming a key element which ensures meeting requirements of speed and safety of transportations to working competences and intensity of transport organizations’ employees. Main research results are: formalization of JSC “Russian Railways” employees’ and consignors’ actions and their compliance with processing results; flowchart building for process “Way Bill Approval” with fixating the process main tasks with their corresponding linkage to fulfiller’s labor functions. Effectiveness evaluation of algorithmizing the process “Way Bill Approval” in accordance with the algorithm target functional was performed. Practical significance: Time savings at the formation of waybills, reduction of direct costs on the actions of freight transportation informational provision and increasing customer focus of the company were proved by conducted monetization assessment.

Construction of quite interpretable non-elementary linear regression models

Subject of research: mixed-integer 0-1 linear programming problem for choosing optimal structures for non-elementary linear regression models.
 Purpose of research: integrate into the mixed-integer 0-1 linear programming problem additional constraints that will guarantee the construction of quite interpretable non-elementary linear regressions.
 Methods of research: regression analysis, mathematical programming, method of successive increase the absolute contributions of variables to the general determination.
 Object of research: non-elementary linear regression models.
 Main results of research: in the mixed-integer 0-1 linear programming problem, designed to construct non-elementary regressions, additional linear constraints on the absolute contributions of variables to the general determination are integrated, allowing you to control both the contributions themselves and multicollinearity in the model. It is shown how it is necessary to regulate these constraints so that the non-elementary linear regression obtained as a result of solving the problem is quite interpretable. The proposed mathematical apparatus was used to model railroad freight transportation in the Tyumen region. An interpretation of the obtained high-precision and quite interpretable non-elementary linear regression is given.