Transport

Current state of environmental awareness of transport service stakeholders and end-customers in the intermodal transport chain

Marko Golnar, Bojan Beškovnik — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 10:27:39 +0200

Despite all the measures already taken and those still underway, pollution remains a major global problem, as the transport sector is the one where emissions are expected to increase in the coming years. Companies and policy makers are under increasing pressure to reduce the impact of their logistics activities in order to make transportation more environmentally friendly. One of the solutions to reduce emissions from intermodal transport is to choose the “right” mode of transport for each step in the transport chain. Such a measure increases the complexity of the transport chain and places an additional burden on transport companies in planning and organising transport for the entire transport chain. Additional difficulties arise from the fragmentation of information on emissions emitted for a single transport link and the lack of a unified approach to measuring and estimating transport chain emissions. As a result, this work finds that there is a lack of knowledge among users about the environmental impacts of transportation, despite the desire to contribute to greener transportation by paying more for a product or transportation service. The current research fills the gap in stakeholders’ understanding of the negative environmental impacts for individual transportation and for the entire transport chain. In addition, the study reveals a need for a systematically regulated and adapted way of informing users of intermodal transport chains due to the lack of transparency and comparison between different intermodal transport chains. To successfully address the challenges, the study proposes a 2-pillar approach. The 1st pillar approach focuses on designing a set of necessary measures (combination of top-down and bottom-up approach) for the transition to a low-carbon transport chain, while the 2nd pillar mainly focuses on mapping the level of green transport for easy comparison of similar products or services. The results of the research study show that the combination of numerical data with symbolic data is best suited to provide information on the level of green transport.

Robust optimization model of container liner routes in feeder line network

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 12:30:07 +0300

The universal application of the hub-and-spoke maritime network makes feeder line network key to restricting the quality and efficiency of maritime transportation. However, container liner routes in feeder line network are susceptible to the changes in shipment demand and international fuel prices. Therefore, based on the hub-and-spoke maritime network, this paper constructs a robust optimization model of container liner routes in feeder line network. Under the capacity and time constraints, routes optimization and ship equipment under uncertain environment are analysed. An improved tabu search algorithm was designed based on the characteristics of the model. The example analysis proves that the model can still ensure the robustness of routes under uncertain environment, which is more applicable than the deterministic model.

Tram-train system as a potential transport solution for the Olomouc Region

Stanislav Metelka, Vít Janoš — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 15:54:16 +0300

The article is focused on the frequently discussed topic of suburban and regional railway system modernization comparing different approaches to consider by local authorities. To make a precedent and to better contribute to practical problems, a middle-sized city of Olomouc (Czechia) is chosen to demonstrate the upgraded regional transport system design with respect to the regional specifics and utilizing of the current railway and tramway infrastructure. With a new, innovative approach to the potential tram-train implementation in the Olomouc Region, the technical and operational features of the current tram-train systems and vehicles are analysed. By implementing the most suitable ones, the regional tram-train system proposal in the conditions of Olomouc may serve as a guide for similar planned systems in the countries with limited legislative and technical experience regarding the tram-train systems (especially in Central Europe), their suitability for the region, their design, and introduction. For the qualitative assessment of the different relevant approaches, a comparative analysis is used. As a result of the analysis, a tram-train system is recommended for the further transport planning stages as it significantly improves both urban and suburban public transport in the Olomouc Region by increasing their average speed and accessibility. For better financial and technical implementation, the project is divided into several stages. Unlike the already presented solutions, it combines shorter travel times of the regional rail and the populated area coverage reached by regional buses and serves as both an attractive and financially sane extension of a regional public transport system.

Stability analysis for heterogeneous traffic flow with lane-change disturbance

Hao Li, Yun Pu, Lingjuan Chen, Xiaoyu Luo — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 09:17:29 +0300

Stability analysis and benefit estimation have substantial implications for lane-change decision-making to reduce delay and variation. Connected platoons drive with minor headway to increase capacity, whereas dividing or reforming platoons significantly impacts traveling efficiency. Therefore, this article focuses on the instability of the platoon caused by an en-route lane-change. Construction of platoon forming, combination rules, and car-following models for various vehicle types are presented to describe driving behaviours. Then, a velocity adjustment and a model for lane-change preparation and recovery are proposed. In addition, a group of stability recognition indexes and related stability evaluation factors are presented. Experiments involving numerical comparisons of the proposed factors are conducted to demonstrate the propagation properties of the instability and reveal the fluctuation degree. The variation duration, velocity variation range, and total delay are the primary indicators for evaluating lane-change feasibility. The models and findings can be applied effectively in practice to determine the optimal time and location for en-route lane-change and to assist with traffic management and lane selection at the entrance.

On the analytical study of the service quality of Indian Railways under soft-computing paradigm

Fri, 26 Apr 2024 10:07:10 +0300

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is among the busiest railways reservation systems since the Indian Railways (IR) is the vital and economical mode of transportation in India. Hence, rating of the trains seems to be critical aspect for selecting an appropriate train for travelling. In this study, we have considered 7 vital attributes of 500 popular trains and rate their performance based on 7 important related attributes. For this purpose, we have employed 2 different approaches to analyse of the train attributes, which eventually contribute to the overall performance of the trains. Here, we have developed a rule based rough set decision support system to analyse the criticality of the train attributes while rating the train performance. Furthermore, we have also used 3 Machine Learning (ML) model estimators: Extra Trees Classifier (ETC), Support Vector Machine Classifier (SVMC) and Multinomial Naive Bayes Classifier (MNBC) and perform their comparative analysis with respect to 7 performance metrics while predicting the overall train rating based.