Railway Passenger Transport Research Articles

Revenue management method and critical techniques of railway passenger transport

PurposeRevenue management (RM) is a significant technique to improve revenue with limited resources. With the macro environment of dramatically increasing transit capacity and rapid railway transport development in China, it is necessary to involve the theory of RM into the operation and decision of railway passenger transport.Design/methodology/approachThis paper proposes the theory and framework of generalized RM of railway passenger transport (RMRPT), and the thoughts and methods of the main techniques in RMRPT, involving demand forecasting, line planning, inventory control, pricing strategies and information systems, are all studied and elaborated. The involved methods and techniques provide a sequential process to help with the decision-making for each stage of RMRPT. The corresponding techniques are integrated into the information system to support practical businesses in railway passenger transport.FindingsThe combination of the whole techniques devotes to railway benefit improvement and transit resource utilization and has been applied into the practical operation and organization of railway passenger transport.Originality/valueThe development of RMRPT would provide theoretical and technical support for the improvement of service quality as well as railway benefits and efficiency.

Methodology for Quantification of Technological Processes in Passenger Railway Transport Using Alternatively Powered Vehicles

Due to the reduction in diesel propulsion on railway networks across the world, it is essential to consider the introduction of an alternative propulsion where electrification would not be feasible. The introduction of alternative propulsions may influence the technological processes of train processing and interrupt its quantification methodology, due to their specific operational requirements. The problem of the quantification of technological processes of train processing is not sufficiently solved even in the field of conventional propulsions; therefore, the aim of this paper is to propose a unique methodological procedure for the quantification of selected processes of train processing operated by multiple units with a conventional or alternative propulsion. The new process quantification methodology enables the duration determination of a specific process, which can be simply determined for multiple units of different length and propulsion under local conditions. The duration determination is based on the final formula or its graphical representation. The function is based on data obtained by analysing the evaluated workflow of a model and multiple units using the PERT network analysis method. The proposed methodological procedure is verified by different types of propulsions through a case study using real values. The application of the methodology can prevent the risks related to non-compliance of the required technological times and at the same time increase the sustainability of the operation stability of railway passenger transport.

Exploration of Course Ideological and Political Education in Higher Vocational Colleges Railway Passenger Transport Service Major - Taking Railway Passenger Transport Service Management as an Example

Using the Railway Passenger Transport Service Management course as the vehicle, combined with the course training objectives, the ideological and political elements are distilled and analyzed on how to subtly integrate them into the teaching design process of course design, course implementation, and course evaluation, so as to achieve the effect of nurturing people with ideological and political education in a subtle and pervasive way, thereby achieving the goal of comprehensive ideolo.

Contraband detection method in X-ray image based on improved CenterNet network

Security inspection has been played a crucial role in ensuring the safety of railway passenger transportation. The detection of contraband in X-ray images is an important part of safety inspection work. Since the X-ray image of security inspection is a pseudo color image with a unique imaging style, and the restricted objects are mostly small targets, the accuracy of the object detection algorithm using visible light images directly is not high. This research will propose an improved CenterNet method, and design a 16 times down sampling rate backbone network, which is more suitable for detecting contraband in X-ray images. This article will introduce attention mechanisms to increase attention to effective and key areas in X-ray images, and reveal the mechanisms of spatial and channel attention in X-ray images. Furthermore, by designing an adaptive feature fusion mechanism, the drawback of the original CenterNet by using only the last layer of output features is compensated. Experiments have shown that on the SIXray dataset, mAP is improved by 3.3% compared to the original CenterNet method, and 5.5%, 2.4%, 3.6%, 10.1% compared to SSD, Yolo V3, FPN, DERT algorithms. The detection accuracy of restricted items in X-ray images is effectively improved.

Prediction of Transport Performance Development Due to the Impact of COVID-19 Measures in the Context of Sustainable Mobility in Railway Passenger Transport in the Slovak Republic

Prediction of Transport Performance Development Due to the Impact of COVID-19 Measures in the Context of Sustainable Mobility in Railway Passenger Transport in the Slovak Republic

MODERN METHODS OF DIGITALIZATIONOF ENTERPRISE ACTIVITIES

The pace and scale of digitalization of modern global information society opens up new business opportunities. At the same time, they pose new challenges for business owners and managers. Increasing digitalization has enabled various new forms of enterprise operation, but it has also forced companies to reflect on their current strategy early on. Given this fact, the aim of the study is to present the impact of digitalization on enterprise activities by stimulating the use of online sales through electronic distribution channels, social networks and mobile applications. To confirm this impact, the authors propose a comparative system for assessing the parameters of digitalization impact on the activities of an enterprise. On the basis of the developed «tree of goals», the dynamics of digitalization of services is projected and prospects for the development of this field of activity are outlined. To test the proposed methodology, a railway passenger transportation company (OJSC Russian Railways) was chosen as the object of study. Research methods used in the study include: 1) statistical; 2) SWOT analysis; 3) systematization, comparative and structural-dynamic analysis; 4) expert survey. As a result of identifying the impact of individual elements of digitalization on the level of activity, a number of recommendations are proposed for the development of digitalization of services for the sale of electronic tickets and their accounting for railway passenger transportation enterprises. Given the relevance of the topic under study, the structure is understood as a solid basis for further discussion and future research. Growth strategies for companies are identified and described, as well as the assets and capabilities required for successful digital transformation. A research program is proposed to stimulate the activities of enterprises in the field of digitalization.

Passenger Rolling Stock of Indian Railways in the First Half-Century of Their Operation

In India, as in many countries, railways originated as industrial gauge tracks for the transportation of ore, timber, stone, and other building materials. These were the first industrial railways in India to deliver supplies to construction sites, in particular, Chintadripet in Madras (1835), Red Hill Railroad line (1837), Godavari Dam Construction Railway (1845), and others. Initially, the promoters of the construction of railways, based on the general social and economic situation in the country, did not count on the development of passenger traffic, taking into account the virtually impoverished situation of the vast majority of the population. Efforts were focused on freight transportation. The colonialists proceeded from the need to develop railways as an important exploitation tool for exporting the country’s natural resources to the parent country and to the world market. Throughout almost the entire period of British colonial rule, passenger transportation was intended for a narrow stratum of colonizers and a few of the richest representatives of the country’s indigenous population. By the 1860s, there was a system of dividing passenger traffic on the railways of India into four classes. Saloon coaches were used to serve the ruling elite. The difference in travel conditions in luxury saloon coaches and first-class compartment carriages in comparison with third- and fourth-class carriages was huge. It reflected the social class structure of Indian society. At the same time, railway passenger transportation did not affect the interests of the majority of the population at all, as with their level of wealth they could not afford to travel by rail at all, remaining outside the line of progress in transport of the 19th century.

Research on long term tracking of centralized power EMU wheel wear and vibration performance

The centralized power EMU is a new type of passenger transportation equipment for ordinary-speed railways in China, which can greatly improve the efficiency of ordinary-speed railway passenger transportation and improve passenger travel conditions. This paper conducts long-term dynamic tracking experiments on this new type of railway passenger car, studying the evolution laws of wheel wear, axle box vibration, bogie frame vibration, and car body vibration during long-term service, and analyzing typical vehicle dynamics phenomena that occur in long-term tracking experiments. Various studies have shown that the vehicle can maintain good lateral stationarity throughout the entire wheel reprofile cycle, and the growth rate of equivalent conicity gradually slows down as the mileage increases; However, when the mileage after wheel reprofiling is large, harmonic vibration may occur in individual sections of the frame, leading to abnormal vibration of the control car body at 10 Hz. The vertical vibration of the axle box will significantly increase at the rail joint, and its 70 Hz vibration is transmitted to the frame through the experiment suspension, stimulating the bending mode of the crossbeam of the frame, resulting in a more obvious 70 Hz vibration in the vertical direction of the frame. The RMS of the axle box, frame, and body sleeper does not show significant changes with the rise in mileage following wheel reprofiling.

TRANSFORMATION OF PASSENGER TRANSPORT MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE IN RAILWAY TRANSPORT: WORLD EXPERIENCE AND ITS ADAPTATION TO MODERN CONDITIONS IN UKRAINE

Objective. To enhance the competitiveness of railway passenger transportation in Ukraine, it is necessary to explore the experience of structural transformations in passenger enterprises of foreign railways, analyze the current state of the domestic railway passenger transportation management system, and propose an effective organizational structure for the passenger complex of Ukrainian Railways PJSC in modern conditions. Methodology. To achieve the stated objective, methods of analogy, modeling, comparative, and retrospective analysis were applied. Results. The world experience of interaction between organizational units of railway passenger complexes has been considered. An analysis has been conducted, and problems in the interaction of departments in the existing railway passenger transportation management system have been identified. A management structure for the passenger complex of Ukrainian Railways PJSC has been proposed, which will help optimize its operation and contribute to the increased efficiency of railway passenger transportation in Ukraine. Scientific novelty. The stages of transformation of the management structure of the passenger complex after the formation of Ukrainian Railways PJSC have been generalized. The passenger complex is considered as a single system: based on the visualization of the distribution of work with trains of different categories, problems of delineation of responsibility zones between the departments of the passenger complex have been identified. A model of an improved organizational structure for managing the passenger complex of railway transport has been developed in accordance with modern conditions. Practical significance. The proposed measures can be applied by Ukrainian Railways PJSC to improve the organizational structure of the passenger complex in the process of transitioning to a vertically integrated management model.

POSSIBILITIES AND TRENDS OF APPLICATION OF DIGITALIZATION IN THE ORGANIZATION OF RAILWAY PASSENGER TRANSPORTATION IN UKRAINE

Purpose. The purpose of this article is to adapt the experience of leading European countries in the implementation of digital technologies in the organization of railway passenger transportation in the transport market of Ukraine. Method. The following methods were used to achieve the set goal and solve the identified tasks: comparative and graphic method - to display trends in the development dynamics of European countries; systematization and classification - to classify areas of application of digital technologies in the organization of passenger rail transport, modeling - to form a model of the development of passenger rail transport based on digital technologies. Results. In order to increase the competitiveness of passenger transportation in the modern transport market, PJSC "UZ" in the conditions of digitalization of the industry must use the proposed digital marketing tools in the organization of passenger rail transportation and a comprehensive model of the development of passenger rail transportation based on digital technologies. Scientific novelty. Digital marketing tools in the organization of railway passenger transportation are offered. A model for the development of passenger rail transportation based on digital technologies has been created to increase competition in the market of transport services. The practical significance. The proposed digital marketing tools and the formed model for the development of passenger rail transportation based on digital technologies will allow us to adapt to the conditions of the European transport market more quickly and receive additional revenue from passenger transportation.

REVIEW OF GLOBAL PRACTICE OF USING CELL PHONE DATA TO MEASURE TRAVELLER DATA

JSC “Ukrzaliznytsia” is a national integrated railway company and the largest employer in the country, playing a crucial role in the Ukrainian economy and the labour market. The rail companies faces significant risks, mainly due to prolonged disruptions due to the ongoing armed conflict on Ukrainian territory [1]. In such conditions, the question of the need for a comprehensive solution to the problems of the functioning of passenger railway transport, where the number of travellers serves as a pivotal indicator of the demand for transportation services, offering essential information for planning and evaluations. Advancements in technology have enabled the collection of crowd-sourced traffic data [2]. Crowdsourced smartphone data can collect information about user locations, travel paths, route choices, travel times, and speeds. This analysis explores how the number of passengers in trains is measured, examining technologies and methods that use cell phone data globally to assess their potential application in Ukraine.

КОМПЛЕКСНА ОЦІНКА ЯКОСТІ НАДАНИХ ПОСЛУГ ПАСАЖИРАМ ЗАЛІЗНИЧНОГО ТРАНСПОРТУ, ЯК СТРАТЕГІЧНИЙ ІНСТРУМЕНТ ДЛЯ ЗАБЕЗПЕЧЕННЯ ЕКОНОМІЧНОГО УСПІХУ ЗАЛІЗНИЧНИХ ПІДПРИЄМСТВ

The article addresses the important issue of assessing service quality in the railway passenger transport sector. The author of the article tackles this problem by developing and proposing a modified methodology for evaluating the quality of passenger transport services by rail. The main goal of the research was to determine an integrated indicator of service quality using an economic-mathematical model. The article provides a detailed description of the essence and peculiarities of the developed methodology, highlighting key aspects of assessing the quality of railway passenger transport services. Special attention is paid to the analysis and determination of the advantages of the proposed approach compared to existing methodologies, particularly in the selection of indicators for assessing the quality of railway passenger transport services. The features of service quality assessment at three key stages: before the trip, during the trip, and after the trip, are discussed, taking into account the specifics of railway transport. The obtained results allow determining an integrated indicator reflecting the overall level of passenger service at all stages. The elucidation of the peculiarities of the proposed methodology and its effectiveness in the context of railway transport allows the author to draw reasoned conclusions about the level of passenger service and identify directions for further research in this area. The developed methodology opens up new opportunities for collecting and analyzing data on the quality of passenger service in railway transport, contributing to further optimization and improvement of passenger transportation by «Ukrzaliznytsia».

RAIL PASSENGER TRANSPORTATION IN BORDER PROVINCES IN TURKEY

Transportation plays a crucial role in the movement of information, capital, goods, and services between different points, impacting both the environment and human society. It encompasses the economic, fast, and secure movement of people and goods to yield spatial and temporal advantages. The advent of the steam engine led to the introduction and continued utilization of steam locomotives in railway transportation. In Turkey, despite the need to establish economic opportunities, resource allocation between the two main transportation subsystems, namely railways and roads, remains an issue. Railway transportation is a highly efficient mode of mass transportation, capable of transferring large numbers of passengers and cargo with minimal energy consumption and air pollution, making it environmentally friendly. It generates less noise compared to other modes of transportation, relative to the freight and passengers it carries, and requires less land and urban space. However, the efficient utilization of railway resources is contingent upon sufficient demand. Turkey's strategic location as a gateway between Europe and the Middle East underscores the need for further development of rail passenger transportation. This would optimize infrastructure resources, enhance environmental sustainability, and promote economic and social benefits through cross-border mobility. This paper examines the challenges hindering the expansion of passenger railway transport and offers solutions and recommendations for the future.

Alternative Propulsion in Railway Passenger Transport – the Way to Green Transport

Alternative and hybrid propulsions in railway passenger transport can significantly contribute to the reduction of the greenhouse gas emissions and pollutants around non or semi-electrified railway lines, what is beneficial for the environment and human health. These new technologies can bring savings in operational and societal costs. The article deals with the comparison of the production of pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions when using different rolling stocks (diesel, hybrid, etc.) on the semi-electrified railway line Vrútky - Horná Štubňa. Based on available valuations of individual types of externalities, the external costs are calculated for different rolling stocks taking into account the parameters of the selected railway line (electrified or non-electrified section of the line, rural or central area and so on).

Determination of the Long-Haul Routes Attractiveness in Railway Passenger Transport in Europe

A crucial component and system of public passenger transportation that must serve as the foundation for the national and global comprehensive integrated system of passenger transport is high-quality, appealing, and efficient long-distance railway passenger transport. The demand for public passenger transport has drastically dropped from March 2020 in numerous European countries as a result of various COVID-19 limitations. The performance of passenger transportation has been impacted by the reduction in mobility. Even though the situation has already improved, finding fresh, workable solutions is still essential for a well-functioning rail passenger transport system. The contribution proposes a method for attractiveness determining of long-haul routes for railway passenger transport in Europe. Three key indicators that have a substantial impact on this issue are suggested based on specific scientific methodologies. The paper also includes real examples and calculations for the practical use of indicators determination of chosen long-distance transport routes.

Micromobility as a Feeder for Railway Passenger Transport

The railway passenger transport is in many cases a less available mode of transport for the inhabitants of cities or villages due to the location of railway stops or stations. Passengers have to travel a distance of the so-called first and last mile to reach them. For this reason, many travellers will prefer the simplest door-to-door travel solution via private car. One option to make railway transport more available is micromobility, which can replace private car journeys for its flexibility and also can act as a feeder for railway passenger transport. In addition, micromobility, with its near-emission-free operation, can reduce the carbon footprint of general transportation and daily commuting to the work or school.

Formation of alternative routes for passenger trains in the event of non-standard situations

Railway passenger transportation has always had a significant place in the economic, material and technical development of Ukraine. The current conditions are no exception, when in connection with the beginning of a full-scale military invasion of our country, passenger transport assumed responsibility for the timely evacuation of people and their safe relocation to other regions of the country or abroad. Due to the fact that railway transport is of strategic importance for Ukraine, its infrastructure has increased risks of destruction. Each destruction of the railway infrastructure has serious consequences for the organization of the movement of passenger trains, in particular high-speed trains. Therefore, with the aim of reducing the possible costs of organizing the movement of high-speed passenger trains in the event of the destruction of the railway infrastructure and increasing the reliability of the functioning of the high-speed railway passenger transport system in Ukraine, an automated technology for providing an alternative route for the trains of the branch “Ukrainian Railway High-Speed Company” (UZShK) is proposed. The formation of this technology is considered on the example of the most popular passenger direction, namely - Kyiv-Lviv, the topology of which is represented by a weighted graph, where the vertices are railway stations, and the edges are railway sections with a weight in the form of a tuple (time to overcome each section, presence of electrification, bandwidth). The proposed technology also provides for the possibility of attracting additional “shuttle” trains or road transport, in cases where it is necessary to significantly reduce the travel time by an alternative route or the possibility of the arrival of railway transport to the station where it is necessary to board/disembark passengers is excluded. The formalization of this process was carried out by forming an optimization mathematical model according to the criterion of minimum operating costs. The formation of a set of alternative routes was carried out using the adjacency matrix of the graph representing the Kyiv-Lviv transportation direction. The developed technology is proposed to be integrated in the form of a software product for automated workplaces (AWP) of operative personnel in the form of a decision support system (DSP), the algorithm of which is also given in this publication.

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.

Comparison of the Process of Public Tender and Direct Award in Rail Passenger Transport in Slovakia

European member states have been opening to competition in passenger rail transport in recent years, while others are still on the road to liberalization. The European Commission has decided to address the significant decline in rail transport performance through its competitiveness and sustainable development policy. The most important can be considered the removal of barriers, harmonization, and harmonization of standards. Finally, it is a process of liberalization, the aim of which is to ensure non-discriminatory access to the railway network for other carriers (national and private) from any member state, as well as to make the functioning of the existing monopoly more accessible. railway companies more efficiently. The article is focused on a comparison of the form of concluding contracts for transport performance in the public interest in railway passenger transport in the Slovak Republic. The article describes the process of concluding contracts for transport services in the public interest in the form of direct assignment and in the form of a public tender. The comparison of the public tender process and direct submission is applied for the line Bratislava - Dunajská Streda - Komárno. The requirements of direct awarding and public tendering are compared, as well as their advantages and disadvantages, as well as the criteria for evaluating bids in public tendering or in the case of direct awarding. Four indicators that influence this process are also compared.

Radical timetable innovations in long-distance railway passenger transport: How might these affect railway passenger demand?

The positive impact of coordinated timetable innovations throughout national railway networks has been shown exemplarily in the 1970 s and 80 s, when so-called integrated periodic timetables (IPT) were installed in the Netherlands and in Switzerland and then gradually improved. After large-scale changes of the former train offer, rail passenger demand increased significantly. A similar timetable innovation was recently decided for the German railway network. However, the project’s impact on overall demand is uncertain. To approach this question, an elasticity-based forecast of long-distance passenger demand is proposed and adopted to a modelized railway network section that has changed to an IPT. Massive travel time reductions turned out as the most important factor for demand growth followed by demand effects due to the increase of train frequency and changes of a modelized ticket price system. Additional factors influencing nationwide rail passenger demand are conceivable but difficult to generalize.