Objective and History of Train Operation

Lecture 7: Basic Notions of Transportation Process on Railway Transport

Questions for seminar 7

1. New English; Inner history
2. Phonetics: The system of stress/ Consonants/ Vowels
3. Grammar
4. Word-stock

1. Railway transport profile

2. Objective and history of train operation

3. Constraints for railways

4. Freight operations using railways

5. Locomotive Hauled Trains

6. Locomotive Operations and Maintenance of Way Operations

7. Terminal operations

8. Multiple unit operation

9. Push-pull operation

10. High speed multiple units

11. Headways. Terminals, loops and turnbacks

12. Train service planning

13. Round trip time and train loading

14. Rolling stock concepts

15. Timekeeping

16. Crew members and their hours

Railway Transport Profile

The given lecture will provide you with basic notions about the planning, crewing, movement and control of trains. It is based on modern practice around the world, showing some examples where suitable.

First, it is important to set out some definitions. A train is defined here as one or more railway vehicles capable of being moved. It may consist of a locomotive (sometimes more than one) to provide power with various unpowered vehicles attached to it. It may consist of a multiple unit, i.e. several vehicles formed into a fixed formation or set, which carry their own power and do not require a locomotive. A train may be only a locomotive running light (deadheading) to a point elsewhere on the railway. A train may be passenger carrying, freight or, rarely nowadays, mixed.

A train may be manually driven (by a driver, operator or engineer) and may have other crew members (assistant driver, fireman, conductor and catering staff) to assist the driver and/or the passengers.

By 1900, the economic superiority of rail transportation had supplanted water transportation, on canals in particular but also on rivers, for many products and for almost all passenger traffic. Transportation of freight and passengers in horse-drawn vehicles continued, but only as short-distance feeders of traffic to and from rail terminals and from ocean, lake, and river ports. Rail transportation’s cost and service quality advantages made possible the settlement and economic development, both agricultural and industrial, of landlocked areas in all parts of the United States. Many cities and towns were either founded or experienced significant growth because they stood at key points in the rail network.

The railroad industry has stabilized in relative importance during the first part of the 21st century. This trend has been well documented and can be attributed in part to the following factors: alternate transport modes with superior services and/or cost characteristics (primarily motor carriers and pipelines); a resurgence in water transportation; and the changing needs of national economy.

A train is an expensive piece of kit. A locomotive now costs about US$ 5 million and a coach up to US$ 1 million depending on the type. A multiple unit (i.e. a self-powered train without a locomotive) can cost an average of US$ 1.5 million for each vehicle, depending on type and size of order. This is a lot of capital to invest and it is essential to make sure it earns its keep. Trains sitting in stations and sidings may look nice but they don't earn money.

Crews are also expensive. They too, must be used efficiently and safely, which means regulating their hours but they will be needed to match the times that they are required on the trains. Allocation of crews is a scientific skill just as important as train control.

The infrastructure of a railway is its most expensive asset. A new railway can cost US$ 25 million per kilometre and this price will double to US$50 million for an elevated urban line. An underground metro or subway can cost up to US$200 million a kilometre in a country where protection against typhoons and earthquakes is required.

Ukrainian railways Ukrzaliznytsia, is the State Administration of Railroad Transportation in Ukraine, a monopoly that controls vast majority of the railroad transportation in the country with a combined total length of track of over 23,000 km, which makes the Ukrainian railroad network the 14th largest in the world. Ukrzaliznytsia is also the world's 6th largest rail passenger transporter and world's 7th largest freight transporter.

The full extent of the railway system in Ukraine administrated by Ukrzaliznytsia is currently put at around 22,300 km, of which 9,752 km (44.3%) is fully electrified with the use of the overhead wire. The network is fully interconnected, central-dispatched and consists of 1,648 stations of all sizes spread throughout the country.

The Ukrainian railway network is permanently undergoing large scale reconstruction, mainly in order to reduce operating costs, inherited from the Soviet economy, and to implement higher speeds of passenger services. Particularly, around 4000 sets of switches have already been upgraded.

The objective of good train operations management is to use the route, the rolling stock and crews in the most effective way.

Intermodal competition. As noted earlier, the relative market share of railroad intercity ton-miles has been steadily declining because of increased intermodal competition. Inroads into the lucrative commodity markets have been facilitated by governmental expenditures on infrastructure that have benefited competing modes. For example, the government has provided an extensive local and national highway system, especially the interstate network, for motor carrier use.

Customers look for consistent on-time performance. Railways need to provide this level of service to stay competitive. Railroad companies usually cannot deliver freight early because the customer then has to find a place to store it.

Constraints for railways

Railways are constrained by fixed rights-of-way and therefore provide differing degrees of service completeness. For example, if both the shipper and receiver possess rail sidings, then door-to-door service can be provided. However, if no sidings are available, the movement of goods must be completed by some other mode.

The railroad system, although composed of individual companies, provides a truly nationwide network of service. Each railroad serves a specific geographic region, and freight and equipment are exchanged at interchange points. For example, a shipment between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Portland, Oregon, might be handled by two or three Railways, depending on the route chosen. The through service is unique, but multiple handlings can create rate-division problems and delays in delivery.

Although on-time delivery performance and the frequency of service had deteriorated in the past, improvements have been made in recent years. The current position of the industry has been restored to competitive levels on selected movements (particularly over long distances).

A railway has two major components: the rolling stock (the locomotives, passenger coaches, freight cars, etc.) and the infrastructure (the permanent way, tracks, stations, freight facilities, viaducts, tunnels, etc.).

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