Transport

Rail freight accessibility of the Visegrád Group countries and Baltic States in the context of Eurasian rail transport system

Martyna Wilczewska — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 13:19:58 +0300

This study aimed to determine the level of infrastructure-based rail freight accessibility and rail freight performance of several Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries in the context of their presence in the Eurasian rail freight transport system. The study′s object was 7 CEE countries: Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary. The research methodology was based on the TOPSIS method supplemented with literature and statistical analyses. Several selected numerical indicators were considered to create 2 rankings that displayed the results achieved by countries in terms of accessibility and performance. Results showed that Czechia is the leader in infrastructure-based accessibility, with Latvia closing the ranking, and Lithuania is the leader in rail freight performance, with Hungary closing the ranking. Even though the study did not allow to confirm that a country′s rail freight accessibility affects its rail freight performance and vice versa, it can be assumed that both parameters are crucial in the context of the incoming modal shift to rail freight in Eurasia; therefore, they constitute a valuable research endeavour.

Sustainable mobility and electric vehicle adoption: a study on the impact of perceived benefits and risks

Bülent Yildiz, Şemsettin Çiğdem, Ieva Meidutė-Kavaliauskienė — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 10:02:29 +0200

The shift towards sustainable transportation is becoming increasingly important as the negative impact of traditional fuel-powered vehicles on the environment becomes more evident. Electric Vehicles (EVs) are considered a viable solution to this problem, and understanding the factors that influence consumer intention to purchase EVs is crucial for their widespread adoption. This study investigates the factors that influence individuals’ intention to purchase EVs. 4 independent variables were considered: Perceived Environmental Benefit (PEB), Perceived Performance Benefit (PPB), Perceived Performance Risk (PPR), and Perceived Financial Risk (PFR). A survey was conducted with 398 respondents, and the data collected were analysed using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The results indicate that PEB, PPB, PPR, and PFR have significant effects on Purchase Intention (PI). Specifically, PEB and PPB positively affect PI, while PPR and PFR negatively affect it. These findings suggest that improving the PEBs and PPBs of EVs and reducing perceived performance and financial risks could encourage more individuals to purchase them.

A three-stage heuristic for optimizing container relocations in maritime container terminals

Qianwen Zhu, Bo Jin — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 10:15:42 +0200

The Container Relocation Problem (CRP) is one of the most important optimization problems in maritime container terminals. The objective is to minimize the number of relocation operations for retrieving containers in a sequence. If the container to be retrieved next is not at the top of a stack, unproductive relocations have to be carried out. Due to the large number of containers handled by busy terminals, a slight reduction in relocation rates can result in significant savings in operating costs. Most of the existing heuristics make relocation decisions for the blocking containers one by one, based on simple indicators. In this article, we propose a Three-Stage Heuristic (3SH) that extends the decision horizon to multiple containers to achieve a higher-quality solution. Computational experiments are conducted on 3 sets of benchmark instances, and the results show that the proposed heuristic outperforms the state-of-the-art heuristics documented in the research literature.

Subgrade performance assessment for rigid runway using long-term pavement performance database

Guo-Guang Liu, Lei-Yang Pei, Zhi-Wei Wu — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 10:31:16 +0200

Maintaining desired subgrade performance is an effective way to reduce runway pavement deterioration. Due to lack of extensive field test data, life-cycle performance of runway subgrade has not been fully understood. In order to quantitatively estimate subgrade condition, a novel method of evaluating subgrade performance was developed and validated using the 726 sets of Heavy Weight Deflectometer (HWD) test data of ten runway sections. Statistical analysis demonstrates that the structural behaviour of rigid runway subgrade follows normal distribution in different service stages and can be efficiently evaluated by the subgrade performance index (ψ). The results of factor analysis show that Accumulated Air Traffic Volume (ATV) during service life is the major cause of spatial variations in subgrade condition. In the designed service period of runway, it validates that sea-reclaimed subgrade results in faster degradation in the initial stage of service life while thicker pavement exhibits better capability in protecting the subgrade soil in long-term view. Besides, the differences in applied loads and pavement thickness give rise to the subgrade performance variation in longitudinal direction. Meanwhile, the comparison between the main and the less trafficked test lines in transversal direction reveals that the aircraft impacts play a positive role in resisting the natural fatigue process. By the suggested method, subgrade performance of HWD test points can be categorized into 4 levels from “Excellent”, “Good”, “Fair” to “Poor” based on ψ value. It is helpful for airport agency to make scientific decisions on Maintenance and Rehabilitation (M&R) treatment by calculating the effective area of envelope (β) using the ratio of subgrade performance (η).

The impact of ESG strategies on growth in the logistics industry

Thu, 14 Nov 2024 12:54:25 +0200

The aim of the article is to analyse the relationship between company growth, measured as an increase in Earnings Per Share (EPS) in 3- and 5-year periods, and companies’ financial condition, measured using the Altman z-Score (AS) model. The study was carried out on the example of companies included in the WIG Index and Warsaw Stock Exchange Index (in Polish: Warszawski Indeks Giełdowy – WIG) Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) between 2013 and 2020. Furthermore, among the companies included in the WIG index, companies belonging to the logistics industry were distinguished. An analysis of linear and panel relationships was used to verify the nature of the relationships between the variables taken into account. The z-Altman index was found to have a positive effect on company growth in a 3-year period for companies from the transport and logistics industry and all companies included in the WIG ESG index. Regarding company growth over the longer 5-year period, the influence of the z-Altman index on growth was not observed. Therefore, the results for companies in the WIG index show that for company growth in both the 3- and 5-year periods, the financial and economic condition of a company, measured by the z-Altman index, has no impact on the size of this growth, which was also confirmed by panel models.

Examining failures in rubber-cord couplings within ER2 series electric trains

Thu, 14 Nov 2024 13:22:23 +0200

The article provides statistics on failures of rubber-cord couplings of electric trains of the ER2 and ER2T series and of the diesel trains over the past 7 years. According to statistics, over the past 7 years, 107 rubber-cord couplings have failed. Of these, the largest number of cases of failure of rubber-cord couplings occurred on rolling stock of the ER2 series. Examining failed rubber-cord couplings, it was revealed that the cause of its failure was a rupture of the side surface. Replacing a rubber-cord coupling is a labour-intensive and costly process. Accordingly, the question arises: what causes the problem and what measures should be proposed to reduce the failures. For these purposes, the work presents a number of experiments in order to identify possible causes of failure of the rubber-cord coupling. The article presents studies of the heating temperature of rubber-cord couplings in operation on motor cars, as well as a number of studies of failed rubber-cord couplings removed from motor cars. During the research, such parameters as the date of the last repair and the date of failure of the rubber-cord coupling were taken into account. The number of days the motor car was in general operation was taken into account until the failure of the rubber-cord coupling, as well as the mileage of the motor car after the repair. Measurements were carried out of the geometric parameters of the rubber-cord coupling: outer and inner diameter, thickness of the side of the rubber-cord coupling. The torque of the rubber-cord coupling acting at speeds from 5 to 40 km/h, the forces acting in operation on the rubber-cord coupling were calculated, and torsional and shear stresses were also studied and determined. Research was carried out to determine the hardness of the rubber-cord coupling in the temperature range from –20 °C to 0 °C and from 0 °C to +22 °C, as well as from +22 °C to +60 °C. These parameters were taken since a rubber-cord coupling operates under the mentioned conditions. In conclusion, possible reasons for the failure of rubber-cord couplings are given, and recommendations for reduction of their frequency are proposed.