Blainey, SP, Armstrong, J, Smith, ASJ et al. (1 more author) (2015) New routes on old railways: increasing rail’s mode share within the constraints of the existing railway network. Transportation. ISSN 0049-4488
Abstract
This paper describes an integrated methodology for identifying potential ‘quick wins’ for mode shift from road to passenger rail transport. Firstly, a procedure for analysing rail’s relative competitiveness in the market for passenger transport between large urban areas is developed and then applied to a UK case study. The purpose of such analysis is to allow the identification of flows where rail is currently relatively uncompetitive (in terms of journey time in particular) and to assess the reasons for this poor performance, so that the issues which suppress rail use may be addressed. In parallel, a framework, methodology and tool for the assessment of existing and potential capacity (trains, seats, TEUs, etc.) is developed for both passenger and freight traffic, to identify and address network constraints. An illustrative example of the use of these demand and capacity assessment tools is then presented, with the tools used to identify and evaluate flows where rail demand is suppressed by poor service quality and where spare capacity exists which would allow the passenger rail service to be improved without requiring significant investments in infrastructure. The effects of such improvements on demand are predicted, and the cost implications of operating such additional services are discussed. The analysis suggests that there may be significant potential for increasing rail’s mode share by providing additional inter-urban services where rail currently offers an inferior service.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Transportation. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11116-015-9582-5 |
Keywords: | Rail capacity; Rail demand; Rail costs; Modal shift |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > Institute for Transport Studies (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 18 Feb 2015 14:34 |
Last Modified: | 05 Nov 2017 23:02 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11116-015-9582-5 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer US |
Identification Number: | 10.1007/s11116-015-9582-5 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:82987 |