Showing papers on "Rail freight transport published in 2016"

Railway Transportation Systems: Design, Construction and Operation

Abstract: This book presents an overview of railway passenger and freight transport systems. The book focuses on issues related to safety, interface with the environment, cutting-edge technologies, and techniques that govern the stability and guidance of railway vehicles on track. The chapters of the book include: The Railway as a Transport System; Loads on Track; Behavior of Rolling Stock on Track; Tramway; Monorail; Automatic Passenger Transport Railway Systems of Low and Medium Transport Capacity; Suburban Railway; Rack Railway; Cable Railway Systems for Steep Gradients; Organization and Management of Passenger Interurban Railway Transport; High-Speed Trains; Tilting Trains; Metric Track Gauge Interurban Railway Networks; Organization and Management of Freight Railway Transport; Heavy Haul Rail Transport; Impact of Traffic Composition on the Economic Profitability of a Railway System; Railway Safety; Railway and the Natural Environment; and Cutting-Edge Technologies in Railways.

Rail freight transport and demand requirements: an analysis of attribute cut-offs through a stated preference experiment

Abstract: This paper analyses the choice between road and rail in Spain where rail market share for freight is still residual. Discrete choice models are estimated with data obtained through a two-phase fieldwork, thus allowing us to carry out a stated preference efficient design for each interviewee. We analyse the existence of attribute cut-offs and the presence of a segment of the population with a zero value of frequency. Our results show that ignoring the existence of cut-offs and segments of the population with polarised valuations can lead to erroneous conclusions in terms of the possibilities of rail for absorbing significant quota.

The Freight Train Routing Problem for Congested Railway Networks with Mixed Traffic

Abstract: We consider the following freight train routing problem (FTRP). Given is a transportation network with fixed routes for passenger trains and a set of freight trains (requests), each defined by an origin and destination station pair. The objective is to calculate a feasible route for each freight train such that the sum of all expected delays and all running times is minimal. Previous research concentrated on microscopic train routings for junctions or inside major stations. Only recently approaches were developed to tackle larger corridors or even networks. We investigate the routing problem from a strategic perspective, calculating the routes in a macroscopic transportation network of Deutsche Bahn AG. In this context, macroscopic refers to an aggregation of complex and large real-world structures into fewer network elements. Moreover, the departure and arrival times of freight trains are approximated. The problem has a strategic character since it asks only for a coarse routing through the network witho...

Simulation of longitudinal dynamics of a freight train operating through a car dumper

Abstract: A heavy haul train and car dumper model was created to analyse train longitudinal dynamics during dumping. Influence of such factors as performance curve of draft gears, total free slack in couplers, operating mode of train positioner and braking of last two cars of train on the in-train forces was considered.

Analysis of Collision Risk for Freight Trains in the United States

Abstract: Railroads support the national economy by carrying 43% of intercity freight ton-miles in the United States. At the same time, train accidents damage infrastructure and rolling stock, disrupt operations, and may result in casualties and environmental damage. While the majority of previous studies focused on the safety risks associated with train derailments or highway–rail grade-crossing incidents, much less work has been undertaken to evaluate train collision risk. This paper develops a statistical methodology for risk analysis of freight train collisions in the United States occurring between 2000 and 2014. Negative binomial regression models were developed to estimate the frequency of freight train collisions as a function of year and traffic volume, both by track type and accident cause. Overall, the rate of train collisions declined in the study period on both main line and yard tracks. Severity of train collisions, as measured by the average number of railcars derailed, varied with the type of track ...

Green Rail Transportation: Improving Rail Freight to Support Green Corridors

Abstract: The objective of this chapter is to illustrate the current state of European rail freight research and how this can improve rail freight to support green and sustainable transport, as promoted by the governments of the European Union (EU). Since much of EU policy is based on EU funded research, a review of such rail- and freight-related research, carried out over the past 20 years under the EU/EC framework programmes, will help to contextualize the challenges faced in promoting the governance of green corridors. International rail freight systems, improvement of rail-road modal transfer points, unexploited markets, vehicle design, train productivity, energy use, signalling and governance of multimodal corridors, are all discussed. We argue that green corridors, as a strategic freight transport policy, can only realistically be implemented alongside improvements to the long distance transportation sector, where rail becomes the backbone network of land surface transportation. Additionally, with the trend towards urbanization, where road would serve pretty much the last mile freight operation, a reliable, efficient, safe and environmentally sound inter-urban long distance rail freight system is needed, to support economic growth and to maintain the quality of life of every EU citizen.

Innovative Project of Prototype Railway Wagon and Intermodal Transport System

Abstract: A special wagon with a low rotatable loading platform for transportation of truck vehicles by rail was developed in Military University of Technology in the Department of Mechanics and Applied Computer Science in Warsaw. The essence of such reloading is to place the semitrailer on a special rotatable platform with the use of a truck tractor. The structure can be used for transportation of different types of vehicles such as tractors, trucks, trailers, semitrailers and cargo containers. The wagon allows quick and fast loading and unloading without any platform infrastructure or terminals. An intermodal transport system based on an innovative concept of the railway wagon, which will use the national railway infrastructure, was developed. The process of loading and unloading the trailers can be performed considering a whole train or individual wagons from any part of the train (no cranes needed). This type of railway wagon will allow transport companies to save time and money for road transport. The advantages of this construction are reduction of the negative impact on the environment as well as an increase of road safety by reducing the number of vehicles on the roads. As part of the work on the wagon and the intermodal transport system, a strength test of the wagon structure was carried out and the effort of the basic components of a the wagon and a complete structure was estimated. For this purpose, numerical analysis was used.

Delay management and energy consumption minimisation on a single-track railway

Abstract: To become more competitive, railways are developing methods and technologies that enable cost reduction, higher capacity, better punctuality and greater sustainability. The authors of this study address the last two objectives and propose a method that can be used to minimise the impact of a single delay on the system by reducing both the deviation from timetabled arrival at timing points and the energy consumed by trains. The technique uses a combined macro- and microscopic level approach in an optimisation algorithm to calculate the maximum speed a train should travel at on different sections of its route, so that the train meets time constraints and saves energy. The algorithm interacts with the traffic management system to obtain the applicable time constraints. The initial results from a case study based on a single-track railway line show that applying this method to a freight train that needs to pass a late running passenger train at a loop and to arrive on time at its last station allows a 9% reduction in energy use by comparison with a situation where the freight train trajectory is not adjusted as a function of the actual traffic conditions.

Liberalization of the Railway Freight Market in the Context of a Sustainable Transport System

Abstract: Transport is one of the most important economic sectors; it directly employs around 10 million people and it is concerned in gross domestic product (GDP) approximately 5% in the European Union (EU). The White Paper of 2011 underlines the need to create new traffic models that will make it possible to meet increasing demands for services through the effective use of various modes of transport and multimodal chains to reduce the external costs of transport. One of the important tools required to ensure sustainable transport is the liberalization of the railway freight transport market, whose main objective is to increase the competitiveness of railway transport reducing the negative impacts of transport on the environment. Actual problems from the view of sustainable transport are mainly those to do with in limited capacity and the level of transport infrastructure and the major differences between the capacity and quality of transport infrastructure in Western and Eastern Europe. The aim of the authors research is to design measures for the creation of free and undisturbed competition in freight transport to reduce the use of public resources, improving the quality of service even while reducing the social costs of transport. Support for this primary goal will be represented by the definition and description of the complex characteristics of: traffic flows and demand on logistic systems, multimodal chain, business conditions in the transport market, the role of managers of the railway infrastructure in the railway market, system of tolls of the railway infrastructure in terms of minimum access package and additional services in selected EU countries, the social costs of transport, including quantification of external effects, natural and value indicators in relation to the quality of transport processes. The paper deals with research conditions of the liberalization of the railway freight market in the context of a sustainable transport system. The authors have analysed the charging of the railway infrastructure in the V4 countries and Austria in order to compare charges for model trains. The paper presents a comparative analysis of the number of rail freight operators in individual countries vs rail freight transport performance. Based on this analysis, the authors investigated whether the liberalization of the rail freight market is reflected in the modal split for the benefit of rail transport.

Costs Comparison and the Possibilities of Increasing the Transport Capacity with a Selection of the Appropriate Railway Wagons

Abstract: The paper is focused on the possibilities of increasing the transport capacity of the selected train (train number 51712) with more appropriate selection of wagons and cost analysis using the wagons, irrespective of their advantage, and after application of the new proposal. The transport capacity of the selected train was characterized through the transport indicators - the technical coefficient of tare and the ratio of the maximum loading weight to tare of railway wagon

Analyzing the transition from single- to double-track railway lines with nonlinear regression analysis

Abstract: The demand for freight rail transportation in North America is anticipated to substantially increase in the foreseeable future. Additionally, government agencies seek to increase the speed and frequency of passenger trains operating on certain freight lines, further adding to demand for new railway capacity. The majority of the North American mainline railway network is single track with passing sidings for meets and passes. Expanding the infrastructure by constructing additional track is necessary to maintain network fluidity under increased rail traffic. The additional track can be constructed in phases over time, resulting in hybrid track configurations during the transition from purely single track to a double-track route. To plan this phased approach, there is a need to understand the incremental capacity benefit as a single-track route transitions to a two-main-track route in the context of shared passenger and freight train operations. Consequently, in this study, the Rail Traffic Controller software is used to simulate various hybrid track configurations. The simulations consider different operating conditions to capture the interaction between traffic volume, traffic composition and speed differences between train types. A nonlinear regression model is then developed to quantify the incremental capacity benefit of double-track construction through exponential delay–volume relationships. Adding sections of double track reduces train delay linearly under constant volume. This linear delay reduction yields a convex increase in capacity as double track is installed. These results allow railway practitioners to make more-informed decisions on the optimal strategy for incremental railway capacity upgrades.

Analysis of the Possibilities of Using “Light Freight Railway” for the Freight Transport Implementation in Agglomeration Areas (Example of West Pomerania Province)

Abstract: The article presents the concept of using self-propelled railway sets, as a system to increase the share of rail transport in total freight transport. The area taken into considerations is the West Pomerania Province, including in particular the Szczecin Metropolitan Area. Considerations taken in the article arise directly from the author's previous publications, including the developed feasibility study on the opening of the passenger rail network (Szczecin Metropolitan Railway) on the designated area, fully integrated with other forms of passenger transport - organized and individual. Modernization of the railway infrastructure assumed in the study may also constitute the potential for the future development of rail freight transport in the region - in the form of the “Light Freight Railway”.

Advances in the competitiveness of pan-European rail freight services: findings from a case study

Abstract: The European rail freight market is ostensibly a free market where, from 1 January 2007, both incumbent and new-entrant operators are able to compete on every line and in every European Union country. The main objective of this research paper is to assess the advances in the competitiveness of the pan-European rail freight services operated by a new-entrant (private) operator. Its main focus is to assess and contribute to the understanding of the advances towards competitiveness and the future prospects in the open European rail freight market, including dealing with challenges (e.g. dormant and departure of partners, suspension of the project, indistinct roles and responsibilities of operating partners) at different phases of the research, development and service offerings, that will be an important contribution to the Research and Development (R&D) policy and management arena in the Europe rail freight transport sector. The current research applies a case study research approach. The assessment of the rail freight service is performed by conducting two phases: first, a comparison of the progress between first and second year of the REorganisation of Transport networks by advanced RAil freight Concepts (RETRACK) rail freight service, operated by a new entrant and conducted on the corridor between two hubs – Cologne, Germany, and Gyor, Hungary, and secondly a comparison of the opinions of customers on the RETRACK service and its competitors. From the comparative study between the first and second years, the study finds that the new-entrant operator was able to offer an increased number of services by consolidating cargo from satellite connections at both ends of the operational corridor by adopting a pragmatic and flexible approach. The customer satisfaction survey suggests that the new-entrant operator offered better service in terms of price, transit time, reliability and information flow/management compared to its competitors' services (offered by incumbent rail operators) on the corridor. However, their service was inferior to that of its competitors, in terms of frequency and availability of service. These less-well performed service factors have improved gradually over time. The study suggests that intra-rail competition has improved, but that inter-modal completion is yet to be achieved. The ups and downs of the project provide important lessons for R&D management, academia and policy makers. The study suggests that a pan-European rail freight service can be efficiently and effectively run by new-entrant operators, and this will lead to more intra-modal competition. However, they have yet to achieve competitiveness that will result in a shift of cargo from road to rail by offering an improved service that at least matches the major attributes of road freight service, e.g. price, transit time, door-to-door service and working in a collaborative way with other actors.

Probabilistic analysis of the release of liquefied natural gas (LNG) tenders due to freight-train derailments

Abstract: Liquefied natural gas (LNG) has emerged as a possible alternative fuel for freight railroads in the United States, due to the availability of cheap domestic natural gas and continued pursuit of environmental and energy sustainability. A safety concern regarding the deployment of LNG-powered trains is the risk of breaching the LNG tender car (a special type of hazardous materials car that stores fuel for adjacent locomotives) in a train accident. When a train is derailed, an LNG tender car might be derailed or damaged, causing a release and possible fire. This paper describes the first study that focuses on modeling the probability of an LNG tender car release incident due to a freight train derailment on a mainline. The model accounts for a number of factors such as FRA track class, method of operation, annual traffic density level, train length, the point of derailment, accident speed, the position(s) of the LNG tender(s) in a train, and LNG tender car design. The model can be applied to any specified route or network with LNG-fueled trains. The implementation of the model can be undertaken by the railroad industry to develop proactive risk management solutions when using LNG as an alternative railroad fuel.

Informatization of Rail Freight Wagon by Implementation of the RFID Technology

Abstract: This paper deals with the informatization of railway freight wagon using elements of IoT for monitoring the technical condition of selected elements of the chassis. The introduction is devoted to the current state of the issue of maintenance of rail freight wagons. The core of the paper is a technical solution for collecting, storing and analyzing data about the technical condition of the chassis with the use of RFID technology. Where are described each joints of technical solutions. Further discusses about the detailed monitoring of an error condition of bearing chamber by using RFID technology. In the conclusion is evaluated the technical solution using elements of the IoT and its possible impact on the safety of rail freight transport.

Why Does a Railway Infrastructure Company Need an Optimized Train Path Assignment for Industrialized Timetabling

Abstract: Today’s timetabling process of German rail freight transport is a handicraft make-to-order process. Train paths are only planned when operators apply for specific train services including specific train characteristics such as train weight, train length, accelerating and braking power, etc. What seems customer-friendly, has indeed many disadvantages: frequent mismatch of demand and supply, long customer response times and general lack of service level differentiation for the train operators; inefficient use of network capacity and timetabling resources for the rail infrastructure manager. Modern and industrialized supply chain concepts do not feature pure make-to-order processes but often prefer a mix of maketo-stock/make-to-order processes, namely assemble-to-order processes. The paper shows how an assemble-to-order process can eliminate the aforementioned disadvantages of today’s make-to-order process in rail freight timetabling. It then focuses on the assembly phase of the new process and gives a basic introduction to the underlying optimization model. Some test scenarios illustrate the performance of the optimization model.

Comparison of Three Models for Introducing Competition in Rail Freight Transport

Abstract: Though European rail policies are aiming to introduce intra-modal competition in the railway sector, there are different ways to introduce intra-modal competition in the rail freight transport. This study compares three models for introducing competition in rail freight transport in the three countries; the UK, India, and Japan. The three cases show that there are different types of intra-modal competition in the freight rail transport. This study briefly explains the models adopted by each of the three countries for introducing competition in the rail freight sector and investigates the advantages and disadvantages of each. The comparison among the three cases shows that a certain type of intra-modal competition cannot be applied to another country necessarily since the background and characteristics of the rail transport market vary depending on the countries.

A Game-based Analysis of Freight Paths Allocation with a Case Study on Great Britain Brighton Main Line☆

Abstract: In recent years the rail sector has experienced significant demand growth that leads to increased competition for the scarce resource of railway capacity. In Great Britain, the current policy tends to favour passenger trains to freight operators. This study explores how existing railway capacity allocation process can be improved in order to strengthen the competitiveness of freight train operators. A decision that is faced by the Infrastructure Manager herein is to determine how the scarce resource should be allocated among the different operators such that the overall social welfare can be maximised. In particular, we are interested to look at the implications on social welfare, system efficiency, and (re-)distribution of benefits among operators should more capacity be allocated for freight trains. The research questions were investigated through a set of simulation games based on a real world scenario collected from the Brighton Main Line (BML) in Southeast England. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to model and analyse impacts of the hypothesised preferential treatment of freight operators under several sets of regulations and bidding frameworks on efficiency, equity, and social welfare. Our findings reveal improvements in social welfare and equity among different operators, but loss of rail system efficiency due to the increased level of heterogeneity seen in the train mix. From the perspective of infrastructure utilisation, on heavily congested mixed traffic lines, investments for freight train services should be prioritised in order to reduce the speed differentials between slower freight and faster passenger trains and increase flexibility of scheduling and reduce capacity loss. It is also found that infrastructure managers’ expertise has an important impact on the quality of the initially proposed timetabling solution. We conclude with a list of suggested improvements to the current Great Britain policy so that the needs of freight operators and hence their customers are better represented.

Design and its characteristic analysis of a wheeled train uncoupling robot with multi-degrees-of-freedom:

Abstract: Freight trains play a vital role in cargo transportation in the world. The freight cars need to be redistributed for marshalling according to different destinations in the hump yard. Humans are usu...

Organizacija rada željezničkog prijevoznika robe s povezivanjem riječnog prometa

Abstract: The transport system has an important role in the functioning of the entire society and its activities, in particular, economic development is highly dependent on appropriate railway network. Rail freight transport has been fully liberalized in the territory of the European Union, and this situation has created the conditions for the establishment of new transportation companies, aggressively fighting for their market segment. Railway is the massive operator, and another, in quantities competative transport mode is river traffic. Together, they can in many cases be complementary transport modes, particulary for bulk and intermodal transport. The orientation of European countries including Croatia is focused on the reorganization of the railway system which includes modernization, to follow the social and econiomic requirements , and to be able to cooperate well with river traffic. European transport policy emphasizes exactly that, a modal shift from road to rail and river transport. Croatian eastern borders are on the Danube, the second most important river in Europe, which connects the Port of Rotterdam on the North Sea and the Port of Constantza on the Black Sea by canal Rhine - Main - Danube. Also, the Danube is the only fully water corridor in the TEN-T network , so in the Port of Vukovar as one of the most important ports in Croatia and it is necessary to connect with the railway traffic.

What Are New Insights Using Optimized Train Path Assignment for the Development of Railway Infrastructure

Abstract: The train path assignment optimization algorithm generates an optimal solution for freight train service applications by connecting available slots between several construction nodes without conflicts. This method is not only used for a real timetable e.g. for the following year but also for timetable-based development of railway infrastructure in long-term scenarios. However, for infrastructure development the actual slot connections are not the main concern in this planning step. The railway infrastructure company rather wants to detect bottlenecks in the infrastructure and needs to get evidence for necessary developments of its railway network. By presenting results of a real world German railway network’s test case, this paper shows which bottlenecks can be derived from an optimized slot assignment and which measures (in timetable and infrastructure) could eliminate the detected bottlenecks. Necessary key figures for discovering bottlenecks will be introduced, too. It is shown that shadow prices of the developed column generation method are a good indicator for the identification of bottlenecks. For the first time with the comparison of different scenarios one can deliver a clear monetary benefit for the removal of a single bottleneck, e.g. the revenue advantage of an additional track for dwelling of freight trains. Hence, using the developed optimization algorithm for train path assignment leads to new useful insights for a railway infrastructure company to develop its railway network.

Study of a dual radio sensor platform for effective on-board real-time monitoring of freight trains

Abstract: The advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) has proliferated the use of connected sensors to observe and control the world around us. Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) are becoming ubiquitous tools that monitor their surroundings and also oftentimes provide actuation to affect the state of their environment. One of the key application domains for real-time monitoring and control is the freight railroad sector in North America. North America's freight railroad industry is responsible for transporting nearly 40% of goods, making it an inseparable aspect of national economic well-being. The current stationary wayside methodology of monitoring freight trains and the goods they transport is not effective and cannot provide the breadth of capabilities required to ensure safe and efficient operations. The use of otherwise popular existing communication technologies like ZigBee for this scenario were found to perform insufficiently due to the unique network topology imposed by the freight train. The Hybrid Technology Networking (HTN) protocol has been proposed to alleviate these issues. In this work a custom hardware platform is presented to optimally implement and deploy networks of sensors using the HTN protocol. A model for predicting network performance metrics using this platform along with performance test results are presented.

A secure freight tracking system in rails using GPS technology

Abstract: The freight tracking system provides security to the freights. It is a more common occurrence of various theft activities in goods train. The GPS and GSM tracking systems have been introduced to avoid such undesirable situations. This paper is also provided with the concept of One Time Password (OTP) system and fingerprint system for the purpose of secured transportation. The full fledged security and monitorization of freights is made possible through the latest GPS tracking system. The system enables to track the freights with necessary safety measures. Although the intelligent train tracking system was introduced in various European countries for providing best service and protection of freight trains, the task of providing high level security to freight trains were missing. However this freight tracking system can able to overcome such kinds of security issues and gives high level security. Also the tracking system has not been implemented in the present and related works of freight tracking system followed in trains. GPS is a satellite that is placed in the top positions that updates the required current location information which is the most vital key for tracking the freights. Improved tracking solutions will reduce the damages to freights. The possibility of delay may occur in the process of transportation of freights from the sender to receiver. This tracking system can overcome such delays through the complete monitorization process of freight trains. Safety to freights is also a major concern of issue in the existing tracking system of trains that can be corrected in this freight system of tracking in trains.

Evaluation and Modelling of Short Haul Intermodal Transport Systems

Abstract: Conventional intermodal rail freight transport systems have proved themselves competitive and able to offer cost-leadership on long distances and in endpoint relations between two nodes. Several st ...