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The Spanish passenger railway market saw the entrance of two competitors in 2022–2023: the full-service operator Iryo and the low-cost operator Ouigo. Using a unique dataset of Spanish ticket price collected throughout an entire year and the Diff-In-Diff method, this paper investigates the impact on incumbent's prices of newcomers' entrance on the less congested corridors Madrid - Alicante and Madrid - Malaga/Sevilla. The Spanish government's strategy seems to be successful: the decision to lead the liberalisation process and the choice of having up to three asymmetric competitors induced a significant decrease in price even on the less attractive corridors, stimulating the demand and addressing the problem of under-utilization of some high-speed infrastructure. The results show that prices decreased by 28%–30% after nine months of competition. The impact has been the same on both the analysed corridors, despite the competition environment has been different in terms of number of competitors, pricing strategy and market share of those. • Spain is the first country with three competitors in the high-speed railway market. • Competition in high-speed rail in Spain reduced prices by 28%–30% in nine months. • The impact on incumbent's first-class and second-class prices was the same. • Both low-cost and full-service competitors similarly affected incumbent pricing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior studies indicate that expanding the length of roadways and railways has a beneficial effect on economic performance. Nevertheless, the requirement for land transport infrastructure, which offers different degrees of accessibility and mobility, to facilitate economic expansion differs based on a country's stage of development. The present study has two objectives. Firstly, it is essential to ascertain the required investment for different types of land transport infrastructure to facilitate different stages of economic performance. Secondly, the objective is to examine the impact of different forms of land transportation infrastructure on economic performance by means of urbanization and exports. To highlight these concerns, a fixed-effects panel linear regression analysis was conducted on a panel consisting of 50 countries spanning the years 1980–2018. In countries with lower levels of urbanization and exports, improvements to road infrastructure, especially roads with high accessibility, are of greater importance for economic performance compared to the improvement of railways. Nevertheless, as urbanization and exports rise, the comparative impact of improvements in road infrastructure on economic performance in relation to improvements in railway infrastructure diminishes. Railway improvements have a more significant effect on economic performance compared to road improvements, owing to increased urbanization and export rates. During these stages of development, high-mobility roads are more crucial for economic performance compared to high-accessibility roads. The conclusion of the research examined a variety of policy recommendations derived from our findings, which are applicable to different levels of urbanization and exports. • Evaluate the economic benefits of various land transportation infrastructure. • Assess the capital needed for various transport infrastructure to help the economy. • Low urbanization and export require high-access roads to boost economy. • High urbanization and export require railways to boost economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we analyse India's transport sector policy. The study examines the two important modes of transport, viz., road and rail, and analyses the efficiency of transport infrastructure from 2011 to 2019. Through Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), we evaluate modes in terms of the capacity of registered road goods vehicles and railway goods wagons, truck km/train km and energy consumption and corresponding freight traffic. The analysis gives valuable insight into the fact that rail infrastructure is more efficient than road infrastructure. Still, current transport sector policies promote energy-intensive carbon-fuel road vehicles rather than energy-efficient alternative transport modes. The study suggests the changes that may be incorporated in inputs to improve the efficiency of the road infrastructure. The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)-Malmquist Index analysis reports the need for total factor productivity improvement in rail transport and the introduction of technological innovations in road and rail transport sector management. The study employs a well-to-wheel (WTW) based index to ascertain the energy consumed and pollutants emitted by freight-carrying road and rail modes between two leading business hubs of India, i.e., Ludhiana and Mumbai. The paper identifies policy gaps and suggests a holistic approach for need-based roadway investment and a time-bound development of railway infrastructure in India. Our study generates valuable implications for India's policy planners and government authorities and provides new insights to other countries. • The study examines road and rail transport, and analyses the efficiency and energy consumption of these modes. • The study suggests the changes to improve the efficiency of the road infrastructure. • The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)-Malmquist Index analysis and well-to-wheel (WTW) based index have been employed for the analysis. • The paper suggests a need-based roadway investment approach and a time-bound development of railway infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to data from the National Association of Railway Carriers - ANTF, the Brazilian rail network is composed of 30,557 km, being distributed in 15 networks granted to the private initiative. Of this total, about 39% (8,335.9 km) are without traffic or with low demand and sometimes completely deteriorated. Given the proximity of the end of the current railway concession contracts, studies for their Early Extension were initiated. In this context, the evaluation of stretches that are without traffic is a strategic decision, both for companies and for the Union. Thus, the article seeks, through the multi-criteria analysis method PrOPPAGA, to evaluate the economic viability of 5 railway stretches that have little or no traffic based on criteria such as demand and operating costs of the stretches. The methodology is also used to carry out the ordering of the stretches from the most viable to the least economically viable. As a result, it was recommended the return 4 of the 5 excerpts, demonstrating the viability of the method as a tool to aid decision-making in this sector. It should be noted that parameters such as strategic interest and desired profit indicators, which can be evaluated in future research, were not incorporated into the research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European rail industry has undergone a shift in its overall knowledge management (KM) policy. Since liberalisation in the 1990s, rail operators have moved from obtaining the right train for the organisation to working with product manufacturers and infrastructure managers to procure new trains. In the past, maintenance engineers and technicians had more control over the design and procurement of trains. The new approach stresses more on co-designing to ensure that purchased trains can be adequately maintained and on the long-term effectiveness of maintenance plans. This requires new ways to train maintenance personnel based on prescribed (rather than internally developed) maintenance plans and establishing new roles and responsibilities. Combined with retiring experienced personnel, prevailing silo mentality culture and increasing train digitisation, this calls for designing a more efficient KM system to manage maintenance-related information. This paper examines current practices and KM systems used within the Netherlands Railways maintenance department and identifies key challenges for organisational learning. Based on the literature review and practical insights, the authors propose a refined design of an integrated KM policy for designing maintenance-related KM systems. The proposed insights can bridge the scientific gap on how to approach KM research problems from the practical maintenance world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2009, Germany's Renewable Energy Sources Act has promoted the erection of ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV) plants next to transport routes (railways, federal roads and federal highways) as these areas are considered to be socially, economically and ecologically less valuable. Recent amendments to the act have gradually expanded this strip next to transport routes from 110 m in 2009, to 200 m in 2021 and 500 m in 2023. Our study investigated the effect of these amendments by analysing the development of ground-mounted PV systems next to transport routes between 2000 and 2023 using geo-information data on plant sites, transport networks and site properties. The area data for ground-mounted PV plants indicate that more and more PV plants are being built on land next to transport routes. Currently, 39 % of all ground-mounted PV plants (area) are located within 500 m of a transport route (6919.5 MW). Our analysis shows that the introduction of subsidies has stimulated the expansion of such installations along transport routes, however there has also been a general expansion of ground-mounted PV systems. Our research also reveals that this expansion did not start from zero, as it was already common practice that PV plants were being built on the 500-m strip many years before the subsidy was introduced. In terms of land use patterns and soil quality, the areas covered by PV plants next to transport routes are mostly agricultural areas with all levels of yield potential. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ultrasonic surface wave was explored to detect fatigue cracks located in the head of the joint bars (usually not accessible visually in tracks). • Laboratory testing has identified parameters potentially enabling detection of fatigue cracks in visually inaccessible areas of joint bar heads. • The 0.5 MHz transducer was most suitable to detect inaccessible fatigue cracks out of other transducers typically used in revenue service. • A 25.4 mm diameter 0.5 MHz transducer positioned at a 30 ° yaw axis angle and offset at 38.1 mm to the side provided best SNR for crack detections. The current method of inspecting railway joint bars involves the use of high-resolution cameras to detect fatigue cracks that have undergone significant cracking exposed to the surface. The novelty of the work presented in this paper discusses the development and application of non-contact ultrasonic surface wave approach to detect and characterize near-surface fatigue cracks in the head of the railway joint bars which is not usually accessible for inspection. Simulated cracks were implanted in the head of the two different used joint bars to assess the capabilities of the ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation (NDE) surface wave approach. One of the joint bars was implanted with 3.175 mm and 6.35 mm cracks in length, while the other joint bar was implanted with 12.7 mm and 25.4 mm cracks in length. Despite the complex geometry of railway joint bars, the laboratory proof-of-concept testing conducted in an immersion water tank demonstrated that the developed non-contact surface wave approach successfully detected implanted cracks in both joint bars. The results obtained from the study indicate that a 0.5 MHz ultrasonic transducer provided the best sensitivity for detecting implanted cracks compared to 1 MHz and 2.25 MHz transducers. Similarly, test results obtained with a 0.5 MHz ultrasonic transducer, launching a surface wave from an accessible area to an inaccessible area of the joint bar (where the implanted cracks were located) yielded a significantly higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) than the 1 MHz and 2.25 MHz transducer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although an extensive literature exists that examines efficiency in rail markets, analyses that also study the market power of rail operators are scarce. We examine the effects of competition and vertical separation on efficiency and price-cost margins. In doing so we propose a two-stage procedure. Firstly, efficiency and Lerner indexes will be obtained for a sample of rail operators for the period 2000–2016. Secondly, the determinants of both indexes are jointly estimated. Results indicate that integrated incumbents not facing competition perform worst and exert the highest market power. Vertically separated and specialized in passenger services operators display the strongest improvements in efficiency levels, while integrated incumbents facing competition show the lowest market power indexes. Finally, more efficiency translates to smaller values of the Lerner index. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents partial outputs of an applied research project aimed at evaluating the socio-economic impacts of occurrences emerging on the railway and their reflection into the economic evaluation of railway construction projects. The article builds on the research results presented within previous scientific articles where the unit impacts of sub-categories of occurrences on the Czech railways were determined using a detailed Database of Occurrences for the 2011-2018 period. These impacts were related both to one railway station and one kilometre of the wide line for the occurrence sub-categories. The values obtained were subsequently verified on case studies of specific railway infrastructure projects implemented in the Czech Republic. The results of the case studies raised the need to create an alternative methodology for the evaluation of socio-economic impacts, which would more accurately reflect the real situation on the railway. The aim of the paper is to modify the originally designed methodology for evaluating the socio-economic impacts of occurrences into a new methodology, which would relate the impacts of occurrences only to a standard kilometre of wide line, i.e. without taking account of separate impacts of occurrences on one railway station. The proposed methodology was verified on a case study, which compares the real values of socio-economic impacts emerging on the railway in the period under research, the values determined using the original methodology and the values determined according to the newly modified methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynamic pricing is a modern tool of railways, airline and bus transportation companies that aims at the revenue increase due to timely passenger demand accounting and successive adjusting ticket prices. From the passengers' side, it is therefore useful in these dynamic settings to decide when it is better to buy the desired ticket in order to save money. It brings one to the problem of forecasting ticket dynamic prices. This problem is usually solved by using historical price data and the chosen train/airplane/bus departure features (e.g. the number of days before the departure and the departure week day) as predictor variables. The purpose of our study is to investigate whether search engine query open data can improve the ticket price forecast quality for statistical and artificial neural network-based models. Our experiments with the Spanish Renfe Railways dataset and certain train ticket-related search engine query data from Google Trends show that this is indeed so for railway ticket dynamic prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of economic evaluation of investment projects is a field focusing on socio-economic impact assessment of projects implemented within the public sector. This paper is focused on socio-economic evaluation of public investment projects concerning railway infrastructure. It builds on previous research aimed at evaluating the impacts of measures implemented to increase safety and reliability of railway transport. The subject matter of the paper is the evaluation of socio-economic impacts of partial occurrences that arise in the field of railway infrastructure. From a methodological point of view, the evaluation is based on a detailed survey of occurrences incurring in the 2011–2018 period. Using the results of previous research, occurrences incurring on the railway infrastructure relevant to the evaluation were identified. Furthermore, unit impacts of occurrences in the form of health impacts, train delays and overall costs were identified. By combining the above-mentioned input information and outputs of a detailed analysis of the Occurrence Database, the average values of the socio-economic impacts of relevant occurrences were determined. The results of the research carried out shall be further used as an input for the evaluation of the benefits associated with increasing the safety and reliability of the railway infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We propose a new MILP model that integrates timetable rescheduling and passenger reassignment by applying the dispatching measures of re-timing, re-ordering, cancelling, flexible stopping and flexible short-turning trains, with the objective of minimizing generalized travel times (i.e. weighted travel times considering passenger preferences on waiting times at origin/transfer station, in-vehicle times, and the number of transfers). • For the first time the dispatching measure of flexible stopping (adding and skipping stops) is formulated with passenger re-routing in a railway network (instead of one corridor) where transfers are allowed. The positive and negative impact of adding/skipping a stop is explicitly formulated considering dynamic passenger behaviour. • We propose an adapted fix-and-optimize algorithm to efficiently solve the passengeroriented timetable rescheduling model with optimal or near-optimal solutions. The algorithm allows to find a good balance between the solution quality and the computation time by changing the input parameter. • The passenger-oriented timetable rescheduling model is able to generate rescheduling solutions with shorter generalized travel times than an operator-oriented model according to results of real-life instances in part of the Dutch railway network. During railway disruptions, most passengers may not be able to find preferred alternative train services due to the current way of handling disruptions that does not take passenger responses into account. To offer better alternatives to passengers, this paper proposes a novel passenger-oriented timetable rescheduling model, which integrates timetable rescheduling and passenger reassignment into a Mixed Integer Linear Programming model with the objective of minimizing generalized travel times: in-vehicle times, waiting times at origin/transfer stations and the number of transfers. The model applies the dispatching measures of re-timing, re-ordering, cancelling, flexible stopping and flexible short-turning trains, handles rolling stock circulations at both short-turning and terminal stations of trains, and takes station capacity into account. To solve the model efficiently, an Adapted Fix-and-Optimize (AFaO) algorithm is developed. Numerical experiments were carried out to a part of the Dutch railways. The results show that the proposed passenger-oriented timetable rescheduling model is able to shorten generalized travel times significantly compared to an operator-oriented timetable rescheduling model that does not consider passenger responses. By allowing only 10 min more train delay than an optimal operator-oriented rescheduling solution, the passenger-oriented model is able to shorten the generalized travel times over all passengers by thousands of minutes in all considered disruption scenarios. With a passenger-oriented rescheduled timetable, more passengers continue their train travels after a disruption started, compared to a rescheduled timetable from the operator-oriented model. The AFaO algorithm obtains high-quality solutions to the passenger-oriented model in up to 300 s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the governance of transport infrastructure interfaces. These are connection or touching points that bring together different city systems, technical characteristics and governance regimes. The empirical evidence comes from Ethiopia's new rail systems and is based on experiences in two cities, the capital Addis Ababa and the second largest city Dire Dawa. The techno-spatial and organisational boundaries that define infrastructure interfaces are under-researched across disciplines. Yet it is at these hotspots of urban governance where many critical questions for cities arise: who governs, what to prioritise, how to coordinate? Based on a multiple case study approach, this paper combines socio-spatial analysis with institutional analysis of infrastructure governance. The findings include the identification of highly centralised and hierarchical governance and coordination dynamics, as well as the critical role of a new bureaucracy (the Ethiopian Railway Corporation) structured around core railway engineering competence rather than urban transport and development expertise. More generally, it is a techno-political alliance in Ethiopia which shapes urban development and the rollout of infrastructure at an unprecedented speed and scale. • Transport interfaces are useful entry points to analyse urban governance. • Ethiopia managed to design and build complex rail systems at a very fast pace. • As a trade-off there was very little coordination with other sectors & stakeholders. • The federal government centralised decisions and city authorities were overruled. • Urban development in Ethiopia is highly technocratic & backed by political leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers a longitudinal study of the complex entanglements between infrastructure and sovereignty in the Horn of Africa. By analysing Ethiopia's imperial transport corridors, the political economy of Djibouti's Red Sea ports, and the Greater Nile Oil Pipeline between South Sudan, Khartoum, and global markets, we underline the co-production of infrastructure and sovereignty as a defining feature of regional politics in the last 150 years. In a region notorious for the redrawing of borders, continuous violent conflict, and contested sovereignties, we emphasize the contingency of this relationship by making two central arguments. First, infrastructures have been central to the exercise of sovereignty and the consolidation of political orders in the region; dams, pipelines and ports have spearheaded efforts to hardwire centralizing political institutions, extractive commercial relations, and centripetal sentiments of belonging. Second, in doing so these infrastructures have sought to disable infrastructural alternatives because rival infrastructural visions embody competing claims of sovereignty. However, as state-building projects and the infrastructures they prioritize have often failed to successfully neutralise opposing articulations of political authority and belonging, we argue that the vulnerability of existing infrastructures contributes to the vulnerability of political order in the Horn. This article draws attention to the roads not taken and how those could have changed -and might still reconfigure-the politics of the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Review of train timetable rescheduling (TTR) under uncertain conditions. • State-of-the-art approaches for managing uncertainty in real-time TTR. • Uncertainties involved in real-time TTR in railway practice. • Identifying research gaps and proposing future research directions for TTR. External and internal factors can cause disturbances or disruptions in daily train operations, leading to deviations from official timetables and passenger delays. As a result, efficient train timetable rescheduling (TTR) methods are necessary to restore disrupted train services. Although TTR has been a popular research topic in recent years, the uncertain characteristics of railways have not been sufficiently addressed. This review first identifies the primary uncertainties of TTR and examines their impacts on both TTR and passenger routing during disturbances or disruptions. It finds that only a few uncertainties have been investigated, and the existing solution methods do not adequately meet practical requirements, such as considering the dynamic nature of disturbances or disruptions, which is crucial for real-world applications. Therefore, the review highlights problems associated with TTR uncertainties that need urgent attention and suggests promising methodologies that could effectively address these issues as future research directions. This review aims to help practitioners develop improved automatic train-dispatching systems with better train-rescheduling performance under disturbances or disruptions compared to current systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU Commission launched its rail liberalization policy around 2002 and since then it has been a policy extensively analyzed by the economic literature, but with unclear conclusions. Many studies are based on a loose concept of rail liberalization, which entwines legal reforms, vertical disintegration and the introduction of competition into simple dummy-variables. In this paper, we estimate efficiency frontiers based on different methodologies to analyze the relative position of 27 European rail systems. Efficiency scores are afterwards analyzed with a Tobit model, using several dimensions of the rail liberalization process plus some structural variables as explanatory factors. Our findings indicate that, globally, there is a weak positive link between EU rail liberalization and higher efficiency, and that effective competition is the most relevant factor to achieve efficiency gains. However, for some EU countries, measures adopted to liberalize railways may have resulted in lower levels of efficiency. • We study the impacts on efficiency of EU rail reforms, vertical dis-integration and competition. • DEA and Stochastic efficiency frontiers are estimated and compared. • Efficiency results are studied with a Tobit model using a rail liberalization index and structural variables. • A positive but weak impact of rail liberalization on productive efficiency is found. • However, for some countries, advances in liberalization have resulted in lower efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A "traverse" is the passage over a level crossing by a road user. • New data on traverses in Britain are used to give fatality rates per traverse. • Fatality rates for pedestrians are ten times higher than for road vehicle users. • Fatality rates at passive crossings are 100 times higher than at controlled crossings. • The valuation of delays and of fatalities at active crossings are compared. This paper investigates relationships between traverses, delays and fatalities to road users at railway level crossings in Great Britain. A 'traverse' means a passage across a level crossing by a road user, who may be a pedestrian, cyclist, or occupant of a road vehicle. The paper finds that the road users with the highest fatality rate per traverse are pedestrians at passive crossings. Their rate is about three orders of magnitude higher than that of users with the lowest risk, who are road vehicle occupants at railway-controlled crossings. The paper considers the choice between automatic and railway-controlled crossings on public roads. Railway-controlled crossings are widely used in Britain. They are about one order of magnitude safer than automatic crossings, but they impose greater delays on users. A formula is developed to give the overall delay to road users at either type of crossing in terms of the numbers of road users and trains per day, and in terms of the length of time that the crossing must be closed to the road to allow the passage of one train. It is found that automatic level crossings cause substantially less delay than railway-controlled level crossings. The official monetary values of road user delay and of preventing a fatality were used to estimate the valuations of delays and fatalities at hypothetical but representative automatic and railway-controlled crossings. These valuations were then used to explore the effect of replacing representative railway-controlled with automatic crossings or vice-versa. It is found that the valuation of the reduced delays from adopting automatic crossings typically outweighs the valuation of the losses from the increased casualties. However, in practice Britain has chosen to retain a large number of railway-controlled crossings, which implies accepting the delays in return for a good level crossing safety record. Finally, an analysis is carried out to determine the additional risk of typical car and walk journeys that involve traversing a level crossing compared with similar journeys that do not. It is found that the additional risk is small for motor vehicle journeys, but substantial for walk journeys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Review of different design and modelling methods for track drainage in railways. • Classification of drainage systems in railways. • Construction description techniques. • Highlights and recommendations to choose the best system. • Adaptation and resilience in drainage. A new design tool. Abstract The effect of water must be considered during the different phases of the life cycle of infrastructures. When it is not properly managed, it can generate problems that may lead to infrastructure closure or even destruction. This paper presents a review of the different drainage systems existent in railway infrastructures. Current design criteria have become obsolete in many cases due to effects of climate change. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to serve as a starting point for new designs. To offer measures to address this problem and increase the resilience of the structures by means of a new design tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Railways are a rather efficient transport mean, and yet there is increasing interest in reducing their energy consumption and making them more sustainable in the current context of climate change. Many studies try to model, analyse and optimise the energy consumed by railways, and there is a wide diversity of methods, techniques and approaches regarding how to formulate and solve this problem. This paper aims to provide insight into this topic by reviewing up to 52 papers related to railways energy consumption. Two main areas are analysed: modelling techniques used to simulate train(s) movement and energy consumption, and optimisation methods used to achieve more efficient train circulations in railway networks. The most used methods in each case are briefly described and the main trends found are analysed. Furthermore, a statistical study has been carried out to recognise relationships between methods and optimisation variables. It was found that deterministic models based on the Davis equation are by far (85% of the papers reviewed) the most common in terms of modelling. As for optimisation, meta-heuristic methods are the preferred choice (57.8%), particularly Genetic Algorithms. Highlights • Modelling and optimisation methods for railways energy efficiency are reviewed. • Modelling methods provide reliable simulations of the trains' energy consumption. • Optimisation methods help obtaining the most efficient solutions for train traffic. • Most used modelling methods are deterministic, based on Davis equation. • Most used optimisation methods are meta-heuristics, mainly genetic algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A new timetable rescheduling model is proposed, which includes flexible stopping and flexible short-turning as well as retiming, reordering, and cancelling trains. • The model deals with all phases of a disruption. • Adjusted train running times due to saved (extra) decelerations and accelerations are explicitly considered when skipping (adding) stops. • Station capacity is considered by ensuring that each train corresponding to passenger boarding/alighting stops at a platform track while the minimum headway times are taken into account. • Rolling stock circulations at the short-turning and terminal stations of trains are included. • Dispatching decisions are optimized with the objective of minimizing passenger delays. Abstract Railway operations are vulnerable to unexpected disruptions that should be handled in an efficient and passenger-friendly way. To this end, we propose a timetable rescheduling model where flexible stopping (i.e. skipping stops and adding stops) and flexible short-turning (i.e. full choice of short-turn stations) are innovatively integrated with three other dispatching measures: retiming, reordering, and cancelling. The Mixed Integer Linear Programming model also ensures that each train serving a station is ensured with a platform track. To consider the rescheduling impact on passengers, the weight of each decision is estimated individually according to the time-dependent passenger demand. The objective is minimizing passenger delays. A case study is carried out for hundreds of disruption scenarios on a subnetwork of the Dutch railways. It is found that (1) applying a mix of flexible stopping and flexible short-turning results in less passenger delays; (2) shortening the recovery duration mitigates the post-disruption consequence by less delay propagation but is at the expense of more cancelled train services during the disruption; and (3) the optimal rescheduling solution is sensitive to the disruption duration, but some steady behaviour is observed when the disruption duration increases by the timetable cycle time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Railways are treated as the lifeline of India, as they play a major role in the transportation of passengers and goods due to their cost effectiveness and large network. From 1970 to 2014, passenger and the net ton kms increased by a factor of 4 and 10, respectively. This significant increase in transportation demand was met by the transition of locomotives from steam to diesel and electric in the last few decades, as better energy efficiency led to lower operation costs. For policy making, emission inventory of locomotives is essential for better understanding of the relation between air quality and the choice of traction. However, the available national emission inventories developed by the top-down approach using the national fuel consumption statistics contain huge uncertainties due to non-consideration of activity data, such as age, power and type of locomotive. To estimate this uncertainty, for the first time, a bottom-up approach using link specific activity data was used to develop the emission inventory for North-eastern Indian states. In comparison to the bottom-up approach, the emissions calculated by top-down approach were lower in case of passenger transport (246% for NO x) and higher (36% for NO x) in case of goods transport. Further analysis indicated that, even though the estimated emissions were sensitive to emission factors used, role of activity data was more significant. Assuming that this difference is representative for other parts of the country, a national emission inventory for Indian Railways was developed using a modified top-down approach. Using the newly developed emission inventory for railways and the existing fuel based emissions for roadways, it was estimated that if road based freight transport is switched to rail, an average decrease of 58% and 50% of NO x and CO 2 , respectively can be achieved. Highlights • The possible uncertainties using top-down approach for estimating greenhouse gas and criteria pollutant emissions from Indian railways was estimated. • In comparison to the bottom-up, the emissions calculated by top-down approach were lower in case of passenger transport and higher in case of goods transport. • Around 147 and 2 Gg/y of reduction in CO 2 and NO x emissions can be achieved by shifting from road to rail transport in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disruptions occur frequently in railway networks, requiring timetable adjustments, while causing serious delays and cancellations. However, little is known about the performance dynamics during disruptions nor the extent to which the resilience curve applies in practice. This paper presents a data-driven quantification approach for an ex-post assessment of the resilience of railway networks. Using historical traffic realization data in the Netherlands, resilience curves are reconstructed using a new composite indicator, and quantified for a large set of single disruptions. The values of the resilience metrics are compared across disruptions of different causes using Welch's ANOVA and the Games-Howell test. Additionally, representative resilience curves for each disruption cause are determined. Results show a significant heterogeneity in the shape of the resilience curves, even within disruptions of the same cause. The proposed approach represents a useful decision support tool for practitioners to assess disruptions dynamics and propose best measures to improve resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competitive passenger rail can help people access new or better jobs or bring new business opportunities. This paper studies the wider economic impacts on local unemployment of the liberalized passenger rail between Ostrava, the third-biggest city in the Czech Republic, and Prague, its capital. The local impacts are estimated at the LAU 1 level (administrative districts) using the event study and difference-in-differences method. The liberalization motivated the entry of two new private providers to compete with the public provider. The resulting competition in ticket prices, the number of connections, and service quality had a strong beneficial effect on labor market connectivity and business opportunities in connected districts. It significantly reduced unemployment in the districts along the rail line compared with the control districts. The effect, however, weakens with the level of urbanization of the treated district and with the distance from the rail. It could partly be transmitted through better skill matching on the back of higher inward and outward migration, higher firm entry and lower firm exit from the local market, as well as more business opportunities for self-employed entrepreneurs. • We study the effect of liberalized passenger rail on local unemployment in the Czech Republic. • The local impacts are estimated at the district level using the dynamic difference-in-differences. • Competition on service price, quality, and frequency reduced unemployment along the rail line. • The effect weakens with the initial level of urbanization of the treated district. • Transmission works via greater churn of local workers, job opportunities, and better skill matching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing demand on heavily-used rail corridors in line with the modernization of the signaling architecture are key drivers for migrating to modern, moving-block based train control in the European railway network. In order to maximally profit from the increase of reliability and reduction of costs associated with shifting towards full ETCS Level 3 from a network management perspective, additional requirements on the fleet management level arise. Amongst other things, if track vacancy detection equipment is to be eliminated, all trains operating on these lines need to be equipped with on-board train integrity (OTI) monitoring solutions. In order to facilitate the planning of the OTI network migration processes, a MINLP-model is proposed which allows economic optimization of OTI migration in view of fleet allocation and the removal of trackside equipment for train integrity verification within the network. The model is tested in a case-study based on a generic network abstracted from the Austrian mainline network and found to significantly enhance planning compared to heuristic migration strategies. • Optimization of on-board train integrity (OTI) technology migration strategies. • MINLP economic optimization by removal of track vacancy detection equipment. • Methodology supports rollout decision making on train fleet equipment with OTI. • Comparison of heuristic and optimization approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed a dramatic effect on the mobility habits of both passengers and freight in the rail sector. Since the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions worldwide, rail transport has been revitalised gradually. However, the new normal emerges with unprecedented issues, such as changed travel behaviour, lost profits, and a lack of personnel. In this paper, we determine the arising challenges due to COVID-19 and pandemics in general and subsequently propose several solutions to tackle these challenges in rail transport. These solutions cover multidisciplinary aspects such as passenger demand management, freight demand management, service design, automation, decentralisation and advanced railway technologies. By reviewing the relevant literature on COVID-19, public transport and particularly rail transport, we synthesise and identify promising lines of research that should devote more attention to a more efficient, effective and sustainable rail transport service. This paper provides policymakers, researchers, railway infrastructure managers and undertakings with an overview and an outlook for the impacts of the pandemic crisis and similar situations. It supports decision-making with more evidence and facilitates rail transport to restore its performance and reach its societal goal. • We determine the arising challenges due to the pandemic in rail transport. • We propose multidisciplinary solutions to tackle pandemic challenges in railways. • We synthesise promising lines of research related to COVID-19 and rail transport. • We support the decision-making of the rail sector with more evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A meta-analysis on railways studies was presented. • A permutation test was used for the robustness of the findings. • Location and type of service were significant to explain efficiency estimates. • Methodology applied and model characteristics were significant to efficiency scores. • Public policies based on findings were commented. Abstract Meta-analysis is a statistical method used to make a systematic review of the literature to integrate the results of a series of studies. It is increasingly adopted in social sciences but according to our best knowledge used for the first time to aggregate and contrast findings on rail transport efficiency. The experiment adopted a permutation test to evaluate the influence of variables discussed in the literature in the mean efficiency scores. The results suggest that railways located in Japan and in the US have characteristics that push them toward increasing efficiency. The passenger rail systems reached significantly higher estimates than conventional cargo systems. Estimates from parametric and nonparametric models showed significant difference, while from nonparametric models including Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and from Network DEA did not. The number of variables and the ratio between the number of decision making units and the number of variables employed significantly influenced the scores. Unexpectedly, different data structures did not. Validation methods are presented. Public policies based on the empirical results are commented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Over the last few years there has been considerable interest in research into open-access passenger rail competition in Europe. However, the competition that existed in long-distance services in Poland between 2009 and 2015 has yet to be analysed. Surprisingly, there was fierce market rivalry between two state-owned enterprises answering to different levels of government: PKP Intercity (the central-government-run incumbent) and Przewozy Regionalne (a challenger owned by regional authorities). In comparison with the experience of other countries, this challenge was exceptional in terms of territorial reach and acquired market share (33%). In the polycentric Polish network, the challenger's services (branded under the name of Interregio) not only served up to 62% of all possible direct connections between the largest Polish cities, but also reached into more peripheral regional centres. Interestingly, we found no evidence of responsive price cutting in regular fares. In order to counteract aggressive low-cost entry, the incumbent opted for a differentiation strategy combined with a strategic use of political action. We found that although the incumbent's strategic behaviour did indeed contribute to the challenger's withdrawal from the market in 2015, its failure was mainly the result of a departure from the principal source of competitive advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Buffer times are an important factor in railway timetable design preventing the propagation of delays and ensuring timetable robustness. Determining the required amount of buffer times, such that a certain level of service quality is achieved, falls within the responsibility of railway capacity analysis. This is why capacity analysis is intrinsically linked to delay propagation modelling. Currently, delay propagation modelling in this context relies on the assumption of random, exponentially distributed or deterministic buffer times. Real-world timetables tend to deviate from this behaviour, such that a more general modelling of buffer time distributions is desirable. In this paper the impact of different buffer time distributions on the build-up of knock-on delays in delay propagation modelling is analysed using a Monte-Carlo simulation approach. It is shown that the choice of distribution has a significant impact on performance metrics. In a sensitivity analysis line capacity is observed to vary by as much as 17 % as a function of the underlying buffer time statistics in the investigated scenarios. Highlights • The role of buffer time distributions in delay propagation modelling is investigated. • The choice of buffer time distribution is shown to be crucial for delay build-up. • Rail capacity is found to vary up to 17% depending on buffer time statistics. • In a sensitivity analysis the effects of input parameters on capacity are analysed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Comparative analysis between two Brazilian sub-ballast specifications derived from American specifications. • Analysis of the requirements for sub-ballast materials. • Qualitative tests of granular materials and their results. • Analysis of the results obtained in current requirements from non-American sources. Abstract In the period 1975–1985 several new railway infrastructures were built in Brazil. After this period the construction of new railways stopped. With the new railway concessions in 1996, minor maintenance work was undertaken on the old railway infrastructures and only in the last six years have new railway infrastructures begun to be constructed. In São Paulo, between 1978 and 1985, some old railways infrastructures were also rebuilt using sub-ballast or platform with granular soils in the track layers. This paper presents a comparative analysis between two sub-ballast specifications, one used in the 1975–1985 period and another used nowadays for new railway constructions in Brazil. The main sub-ballast functions were identified, including the bearing capacity and the hydraulic conductivity. To assess the sub-ballast in terms of these technical criteria, samples were collected from two railways built more than 30 years ago, one on sandy soil and the other on stony fine aggregates. Samples of the typical fine silty soil of UNICAMP campus were also collected to evaluate the possibility of using the two types of sub-ballast on this type of soil. The samples collected in the field were tested in laboratory for evaluation of particle size, load capacity and hydraulic conductivity. Finally, the performance of each of the two granular mixtures used as sub-ballast layer in Brazilian railway infrastructures was analysed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Although efficiency measurement has become relevant for logistics infrastructure planning, research on railway efficiency still remain scarce and rather focused on discussing rankings to the detriment of possible improvement paths. In fact, while the use of multi-activity models is increasing in railway efficiency research, previous studies fail short to assess their drivers at each operational stage. Here, we develop a novel super-efficiency Multi-activity Network DEA (MNDEA) model - based on directional distance functions (DDFs) and capable of handling undesirable outputs - to assess how different contextual variables impact railway efficiency levels in Asia. Two case studies are provided: one focused on six different countries, taken in aggregate (Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Indonesia). The other, on major state-owned Chinese railways. Differently from previous research, Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape (GAMLSS) are used for the first time to regress super-efficiency scores on the contextual variable set. Findings reveal that the Asian railways are strongly marked by heterogeneity, the Chinese railways need to improve passenger-operation efficiency, while the other countries need to increase the cargo-operation efficiency. It also sheds lights on the design of policies for efficiency improvement in several different areas for the Asian railway system. Highlights • Develop a novel super-efficiency Multi-activity Network DEA model. • Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape are used in regression. • The Asian railways are strongly marked by heterogeneity. • The Chinese railways need to improve passenger-operation efficiency. • The other countries need to increase the cargo-operation efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although underpasses are low-cost solutions widely used in high-speed railway lines, their dynamic analysis is complex given the large number of variables involved in the problem and the high computational cost of detailed 3D models. The objective of this study is therefore to present a simple and fast 3D method for estimating the dynamic behavior of culvert-type underpasses subjected to dynamic loads induced by high speed trains under normal operating conditions. This model was adjusted to data gathered in situ during a measurement campaign on the high-speed line between Segovia and Valladolid in Spain. The prediction method is based on a sub-structuring approach with three key ingredients: an emission 2D finite element model that simulates the track; a slab model based on Kirchhoff theory and the Rayleigh-Ritz method using trigonometric shape functions; and sidewall-models using a formulation of a finite-length beam on a viscoelastic foundation. The emission model estimates the contact forces for the slab using the vertical dynamic behavior of the railway track, and the slab model accounts for the contribution of the soil-structure interaction that takes place at the sidewalls by means of the frequency-dependent stiffness at the corresponding joints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practical challenges of mineshaft detection under railway embankments are discussed, together with typical mineshaft properties over the centuries. The paper focuses on the broadside shot seismic transmission method to detect abandoned mineshafts, with the potential to be used in the vicinity of embankments. A numerical model was developed, using a new type of absorbing boundary condition, which is referred to as the Recursive Integration Perfectly Matched Layer. From a series of simulations using this model, a series of practical outcomes were identified regarding the feasibility of the broadside seismic transmission method. These include the layout of the geophones, the frequency of the shot source together with ways of improving the signal to noise ratio. The results from a field trail in East Lothian, Scotland are compared with the output from the numerical model and good agreement was identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing rail liberalisation process in European Union is presently considered as a credible model for rail transport development for Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). The paper reviews background and literature on rail liberalisation policy in European Union (EU), ASEAN and Thailand. Since Thailand is now facing a fast approaching rail reform initiative the paper shows an example of how the rail sector reform might be tackled at the very beginning, starting from analysing various rail models, identifying the knowledge of existing actors and the environment where these reforms need to be implemented. Three case studies of different EU liberalisation models, as adopted in the United Kingdom, Germany and France, are presented. Next, the perception of 18 Thai policy makers and 15 Thai academics toward rail liberalisation implementation in Thailand is examined based on the data collected via a questionnaire. The findings of the study indicated that rail liberalisation could be applied to solve some of the key problems of railway sector in Thailand and some other ASEAN countries. Statistical analyses of the results emphasize the differences between the opinions of the policy makers and the academic experts, where for example the majority of the first group is split between the partial separated rail model (33.3%) or none of the three models’ (33.3%) analysed while the majority in the second group prefers the integrated rail model (66.7%) as an option for Thailand. The findings suggest that Thai rail transport problems should be solved by knowledge exchange, dialogue and integration between professional and academic views. Similar to several prior studies, it is recognised that there is no one solution that will fit all the countries involved in restructuring of national railways. However, this study has identified the possibility that, according to the opinions of the experts surveyed, the combination of an integrated model and regulatory body under the ministry could potentially be applied in a Thailand’s context. In addition, this research also suggests application of several practices, such as introduction of assessment indicators and supporting policies and consideration of possible obstacles to the further development of rail market in Thailand. Moreover, the results of the study could be applied in ASEAN and any other developing country with a similar context, e.g. in Africa (Kenya) or South America (Brazil). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper represents a final stage in the assessment of granular sub-ballast materials mixed with tyre-derived aggregate (TDA) without binder material. The objective is to evaluate such mixtures through a full-scale test under real traffic conditions. An experimental track with three 30-metre long sections was constructed: one section was built with conventional sub-ballast; and the other two sections were built with mixtures containing increasing rubber content. This track was then monitored using accelerometers. The results show a clear reduction in the acceleration peaks as rubber content increases. Moreover, the excited frequency bandwidth tends to become narrower and shifts to lower frequencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the potential cost savings of introducing a maintenance option known as ‘Economic Tyre Turning’ (ETT) in railway wheelset maintenance in Great Britain. It first develops a life-cycle cost model and puts forward a Monte Carlo simulation procedure to assess the life-cycle costs of different maintenance strategies, including ETT. This Monte Carlo simulation procedure samples from statistical degradation models that estimate the evolution of wear and damage trajectories of different wheelsets, and the maintenance impact of wheel turning in the loss of diameter in a more realistic manner by controlling random effects related to unit, vehicle and month of measurement. The main findings suggest that ETT may provide potential savings of around 0.8% up to 4.4% when compared to a simple wheelset renewal strategy, and between 2.0% and 4.7% cost savings when ETT is used in association with more complex strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a self-learning decision making procedure for robust real-time train rescheduling in case of disturbances. The procedure is applicable to aperiodic timetables of mixed-tracked networks and it consists of three steps. The first two are executed in real-time and provide the rescheduled timetable, while the third one is executed offline and guarantees the self-learning part of the method. In particular, in the first step, a robust timetable is determined, which is valid for a finite time horizon . This robust timetable is obtained solving a mixed integer linear programming problem aimed at finding the optimal compromise between two objectives: the minimization of the delays of the trains and the maximization of the robustness of the timetable. In the second step, a merging procedure is first used to join the obtained timetable with the nominal one. Then, a heuristics is applied to identify and solve all conflicts eventually arising after the merging procedure. Finally, in the third step an offline cross-efficiency fuzzy Data Envelopment Analysis technique is applied to evaluate the efficiency of the rescheduled timetable in terms of delays minimization and robustness maximization when different relevance weights (defining the compromise between the two optimization objectives) are used in the first step. The procedure is thus able to determine appropriate relevance weights to employ when disturbances of the same type affect again the network. The railway service provider can take advantage of this procedure to automate, optimize, and expedite the rescheduling process. Moreover, thanks to the self-learning capability of the procedure, the quality of the rescheduling is improved at each reapplication of the method. The technique is applied to a real data set related to a regional railway network in Southern Italy to test its effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As railway traffic levels increase in Britain and elsewhere, improved understanding of the trade-offs between capacity provision/utilisation and service quality is increasingly important, as Infrastructure Managers and Railway Undertakings seek to maximise capacity provision while maintaining service reliability and punctuality. This is particularly true of the stations and junctions forming the nodes and capacity bottlenecks of railway networks, for which the relationships between capacity utilisation and performance are less well understood than for their intermediate links. Following work undertaken for the OCCASION project on the calculation of nodal Capacity Utilisation Indices, and on the application of these techniques to the recalibration of the Capacity Charge element of the Track Access Charges in Britain, one objective of the DITTO Rail Systems project is the further investigation of the relationship(s) between capacity utilisation and performance, as indicated by congestion-related reactionary delay levels at railway stations and junctions. Historic timetable and delay data for selected stations have been used to investigate these relationships, which take the expected form and tend to suggest lower maximum capacity utilisation levels for stations than for the links between them. Work is ongoing to develop these datasets and relationships further, and to identify suitable capacity utilisation upper limits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disruptions of railway traffic have many reasons. Tree falls onto railway tracks or overhead lines rank among the most common causes of disruptions of a natural origin. 2039 tree-fall events, containing up to 70 individual trees per event, were registered on the Czech railway network between 2012 and 2015. 32% of them were directly caused by 14 weather extremes during which more than 20 concurrent tree-fall events were registered. Moreover, 12 train derailments due to fallen trees were registered on Czech railways within the same period. We combined land use data along railway tracks and data on tree falls. Land use and railway tracks data were obtained from a freely available Open Street Map database. The tree fall hazard was then computed using empirical data, data on land use and a generalized rule of succession. The clustering approach was also applied to focus on localities where tree falls were concentrated regardless of the resulting segment hazard. There were 59 rail track segments (out of 2960) with the highest tree fall hazard and 267 clusters were finally identified. The clusters and the most hazardous railway segments will be among the first in the process of line side vegetation monitoring in order to minimize potential losses from tree fall. The presented method can be widely applicable elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European railways have been shaped by multiple reforms since the mid-1990s, covering industry structure, market opening and economic regulation. However, the literature has given little attention to the latter; namely the evolution and impacts of regulatory reforms amongst Europe's railways. This paper fills this gap by providing an up-to-date, bottom-up assessment of current rail regulatory practice in Europe. We develop a survey of economic regulators across Europe, thus complementing top-down studies of the impact of economic regulation by enabling a richer insight into regulatory activity and its impacts. The questionnaire is based on a review of the literature on ideal regulatory characteristics across multiple industries. Our results show that European rail regulators, in general, exhibit many of the features of ideal regulation; in particular around key features such as independence, resourcing, longevity and expertise, transparency and in turn stability and predictability. However, we find that rail regulatory bodies could take a more proactive role in shaping track access charges, given their importance in respect of efficient use of the network and maintaining non-discriminatory access. Importantly, there is also scope for regulators to play a greater role in regulating the efficiency and quality of infrastructure managers, and potentially becoming more involved in the designing stages of passenger market opening as it emerges; and these changes could deliver substantial beneficial impacts for rail users and funders across Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In passenger railway operations, unforeseen events require railway operators to adjust their timetable and their resource schedules. The passengers will also adapt their routes to their destinations. When determining the new timetable and rolling stock schedule, the railway operator has to take passenger behavior into account. The operator should increase the capacity of trains for which the operator expects more demand than on a regular day. Furthermore, the operator could increase the frequency of the trains that serve stations with an additional demand. This paper describes a real-time disruption management approach which integrates the rescheduling of the rolling stock and the timetable by taking the changed passenger demand into account. The timetable decisions are limited to additional stops of trains at stations at which they normally would not call. Several variants of the approach are suggested, with the difference in how to determine which additional stops should be executed. Real-time rescheduling requires fast solutions. Therefore a heuristic approach is used. We demonstrate the performance of the several variants of our algorithm on realistic instances of Netherlands Railways, the major railway operator in the Netherlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the direct, indirect and total impacts of all transport modes on industrial employment in Spain from 1995 to 2008. Through spatial econometric methods, this study finds that only ports are able to generate positive total effects, and that the increase in industrial employment that a region obtains from having more kilometers of motorways results in less industrial employment in other nearby regions. In contrast, airports and railways do not have a relevant impact on industrial employment. Overall, the level of employment in a country's manufacturing activities is related with those transport infrastructures that improve its international connectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past years a new management approach has been developed to stimulate and monitor energy savings at the largest Dutch Train Operating Company (TOC), Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS). This so called “Energie Zuinig Rijden” (EZR), or eco-driving approach has led to yearly energy savings of up to 5% from 2010 to 2015. The EZR approach is a bottom-up approach which intends to bring about behavioural change. This approach starts by teaching the drivers an eco-driving method, then coaching driver managers into enhancing performance, and finally involving regional managers in setting, and upholding realistic energy saving targets. The EZR approach has proven to be successful in bringing about the necessary changes to run a more energy-efficient TOC. To support the management, an energy saving monitor has been developed, and implemented. This monitor measures the amount of energy savings per team of 30 drivers on a monthly basis. Thus giving feedback to the managers, and enabling them to take additional actions in order to enhance performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are some rules for 3,000 V DC electrification in the network ruled by the Spanish Railway Infrastructure Authority (ADIF). As far as we know, the correction of the installations is nowadays manually checked by an expert, as expert systems were verified years ago. We propose a computer tool that is an aid for the expert in checking that the positioning of the insulators, circuit breakers, load disconnectors, feeders, etc. fulfills the requirements established. The computer tool allows the expert to automatically check the sections fed in the different scenarios proposed in the requirements. We have found no comparable work in the literature (moreover, this work applies the Spanish railway specifications). In fact, the second author works in a railway electrification company and this work addresses a real world need. Therefore, this is, as far as we know, a novel application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This article presents a comprehensive literature review and bibliometrics of systems thinking accident analysis in railways. • HFACS, AcciMap, STAMP, and FRAM methods are compared regarding systems theory criteria and application characteristics. • The review has shown the popularity of HFACS and STAMP in railway accident studies, with recent attention to FRAM. • The application of systemic methods in railway accident modelling has usually been associated with qualitative and quantitative improvements. Accident analysis methods are used to identify contributory factors and the entire cause-effect process leading to an accident. The safety science literature has emphasized the suitability and popularity of systems thinking accident analysis methods, particularly Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS), AcciMap, Systems Theoretic Accident Model and Processes (STAMP), and Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM), for analyzing accidents in sociotechnical systems. However, a comprehensive literature review and bibliometric analysis of systemic accident modelling in railways are missing. This paper aims to fill this gap and analyze the state of the art of systems thinking accident analysis with application to the railway from 2000 to November 2022. Moreover, the systemic methods are compared regarding the systems theory and practical characteristics. By employing a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach, 32 relevant studies were identified from Scopus and Web of Science databases and a backward search. The review highlights the popularity of HFACS and STAMP in railway accident studies, with recent attention on FRAM. The research direction in applying systemic accident modelling for railways focused on analyzing railway accidents along with qualitative and quantitative improvements of the methods. The qualitative improvements were mainly related to making the techniques more compatible with the systems theory criteria, and the qualitative advancements comprised an estimation of relationship strengths. We gleaned additional findings and several future research directions, including suggested developments and further applications of the systems approach in rail accident analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermite field welds are the link of rails; however, they experience plastic deformation (batter) along the area above the heat affected zone (HAZ). Here we present the benefits of using laser cladding to minimize the plastic deformation on the HAZ. Our test consisted of a laboratory and a full scale approach under the most extreme revenue service conditions known in North America. The laser cladding coatings were used in the past for rails but its life was terminated in their infancy (after approximately 3–4 MGT) due to the presence of un-tempered martensite that negatively affected the rail toughness. The new tested laser cladding design is capable of producing a sound coating with tunable hardness (from 360–430 HBN). This is possible through a new heat treatment procedure carried using a propane torch or induction heating at temperatures between 400 and 500 °C and cooling rates below 3 °C/s. The microstructure shows that the rail after laser cladding is fully pearlitic. The laser cladded welds sustained up to 42 million gross tons in heavy haul traffic that is between 1000 and 1400% improvement when compared to other previous works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research on regulatory reform has identified and measured three types of costs associated with the shift from monopoly to competition: transaction costs, misalignment costs and transition costs. In this article we use a case study approach to measure and compare these costs during the deregulation of the Swedish railway system from 2000–2015. Our case studies confirm earlier research that vertical separation and the introduction of competition in the railway markets result in comparatively small direct transaction costs. Extraordinary transaction costs in the form of interrupted contracts are also a minor problem for the railway system as a whole but might create major problems for the affected region. Our research concurs with earlier research on the British railway system and a CER study that misalignment costs seem to be significantly bigger and more troublesome to handle than direct transaction costs. Railway maintenance costs in Sweden using competitive tenders are increasing four to five times faster than railway operations with no measurable improvement in performance. Transition costs have been and continue to be important in the deregulated Swedish railway system. First, procrastination in the form of delayed changes in the allocation of train paths results in misalignment costs that seem to be growing. Second, adjustment costs in the form of handouts to the former monopolist have been ten times higher than the costs for interrupted contracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crashes at railway level crossings are a key problem for railway operations. It has been suggested that a potential explanation for such crashes might lie in a so-called size speed bias, which describes the phenomenon that observers underestimate the speed of larger objects, such as aircraft or trains. While there is some evidence that this size speed bias indeed exists, it is somewhat at odds with another well researched phenomenon, the size arrival effect. When asked to judge the time it takes an approaching object to arrive at a predefined position (time to arrival, TTA), observers tend to provide lower estimates for larger objects. In that case, road users’ crossing decisions when confronted with larger vehicles should be rather conservative, which has been confirmed in multiple studies on gap acceptance. The aim of the experiment reported in this paper was to clarify the relationship between size speed bias and size arrival effect. Employing a relative judgment task, both speed and TTA estimates were assessed for virtual depictions of a train and a truck, using a car as a reference to compare against. The results confirmed the size speed bias for the speed judgments, with both train and truck being perceived as travelling slower than the car. A comparable bias was also present in the TTA estimates for the truck. In contrast, no size arrival effect could be found for the train or the truck, neither in the speed nor the TTA judgments. This finding is inconsistent with the fact that crossing behaviour when confronted with larger vehicles appears to be consistently more conservative. This discrepancy might be interpreted as an indication that factors other than perceived speed or TTA play an important role for the differences in gap acceptance between different types of vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]