Nouveaux entrants, structure du réseau ferré et qualité des infrastructures ferroviaires en France : des stratégies d’itinéraires contrariées

The structure of the French rail network is highly centralized. It complies with the strategy of use of the incumbent operator, SNCF: the long-term trend has been rather towards the concentration of traffic on a limited number of well-equipped routes. The experience of freight market liberalization shows that seven newcomers have entered the market. They haul approximately 16% of the total volume in 2010. But they have neither the same vision of the network, nor the same use of it. They run point-to-point long-distance trains, so they try to travel via lines that are as direct as possible, thereby saving several kilometres and avoiding problematic bottlenecks. Their strategies are counteracted by the current state of the infrastructures when they try to avoid the main radial lines: limited capacity, speed and axle load restrictions, etc. Upgrading works are now in progress, under the direction of RFF, the network manager. They add perturbations to the existing restriction of use, without any satisfying alternative train path. This paper tries to emphasize the strategic divergences between operators confronted with a time-consuming (or insufficiently anticipated) network.     

Différences de sexe et rôle de l’internalisation des règles sur la propension des enfants à prendre des risques à vélo

The objective of this study is to explore gender differences and effect of internalization of traffic rules on children’s propensity to take risks as cyclists. Risk perception, internalization of traffic rules, and self-reported risk-taking propensity as cyclist were measured in a questionnaire among 145 children (86 boys and 59 girls) aged 9 to 12. The results show gender differences in cycling rules internalization, risk perception, and risk-taking propensity as cyclist. Furthermore, the results show that internalizing traffic rules is a better predictor than biological sex of the propensity to take risks as cyclist.     

Diagrammes fondamentaux de zone : estimation et influence de la régulation

Macroscopic fundamental diagrams can model the road traffic at an aggregated scale. This tool allows the evaluation of traffic management strategy at the city level while taking congestion into account. Something the usual macroscopic traffic models can’t do correctly at this scale. However, the calibration of the macroscopic fundamental relation is not easy since lots of factors, from experimental condition to traffic heterogeneities, can alter the shape of the diagram. We show that the use of electromagnetic loops can introduce huge variations in the macroscopic fundamental diagram (MFD) shape. Among the parameters that have considerable impact on the MFD shape, the traffic lights set up can alter it significantly. For a given network, a better knowledge of the link between the traffic light parameters and the MFD shape can help evaluate the network quality of service by computing the average traffic flow speed for the entire network.     

De la légitimité du transport en commun au Québec : un exemple simple de mesure de ses contributions au développement durable

While authorities consider transit as one of the solutions to enhance sustainable mobility, they do not provide a steady funding for its operation and growth. This inconsistency between political discourse and real intervention has motivated nine transit operators from six metropolitan areas of Quebec to conduct a study on the contribution of transit to sustainability. This article first presents the process of selecting indicators. For some of the indicators developed, the estimation method is detailed, which comprises of the following factors: resources, emission prevention, contribution to daily physical activity, accessibility to public transit and to activity locations, daily savings of using transit in comparison with car use, and the relative safety of transit use. Finally, the article explains the conceptual, methodological, and informational challenges that influenced the selection of indicators and their estimation methodologies.     

Mesure automatique de variables de trafic par traitement d'images application à la régulation en milieu urbain

Inductive loops are widely used for urban traffic control purposes. However, the data they provide cover too small an area to provide an accurate picture of traffic conditions at an intersection. As a result there is increasing interest in image processing techniques as these can provide more varied and more accurate data about the scene whatever the prevalling traffic, environmental and lighting conditions. This paper describes the queue length and occupancy measurement system which we have developed. We begin by outlining the constraints which are imposed by the market and the system's environment. The architecture of the system and the algorithm it uses has been specified with reference to these constraints. An account is then give of the experiments we have conducted in order to evaluate the performance of the system and an analysis of the results is presented.     

Demande de transport de personnes: une théorie unifiée de l'urbain à l'intercontinental Seconde partie: population de l'ensemble des voyages réalisés

This paper proposes a theory which links some of the characteristics of trips made by individuals to the travel price and time provided by transport supply, with reference to the socio-economic context. This model appears to be able to reproduce the phenomena that are observed when there is a change in the supply or context on a given origin-destination link. However, above all, the same model can also reproduce those phenomena (changes in urban development aside) which are different in an urban and an interurban context: greater personal mobility, shorter period away from home, lower value of time among travellers, different modal split for trips, slower increase in the number of trips as a result of the socio-economic context, etc. The first part of the paper shows how each of an individual's potential journeys may be characterized by wishes concerning different aspects of the journey and how the different alternatives for the journey in a given context of transport and accommodation supply can be assessed with reference to the gap between wishes and real characteristics. The second part shows how it is possible to determine the total population of journeys made, with reference to both the context and supply. The theory has been illustrated by numerical results obtained for a variety of situations which are representative of urban and interurban areas.     

Report modal: un problème de réseaux ou une question de services ?

Technical and morphological features of rail networks are very different from road networks. How do they influence modal shift for freight transportation? To what extent does spatial distribution of the industry contribute to the success or the failure of a policy in favour of sustainable development?     

Demande de transport de personnes: une théorie unifiée de l'urbain à l'intercontinental Première partie: modalités de réalisation d'un voyage potentiel

This paper proposes a theory which links some of the characteristics of trips made by individuals to the travel price and time provided by transport supply, with reference to the socio-economic context. This model appears to be able to reproduce the phenomena that are observed when there is a change in the supply or context on a given origin-destination link. However, above all, the same model can also reproduce those phenomena (changes in urban development aside), which are different in an urban and an interurban context: greater personal mobility, shorter period away from home, lower value of time among travellers, different modal split for trips, slower increase in the number of trips as a result of the socio-economic context, etc. The first part of the paper shows how each of an individuals potential journeys may be characterized by wishes concerning different aspects of the journey and how the different alternatives for the journey in a given context of transport and accommodation supply can be assessed with reference to the gap between wishes and real characteristics. The second part shows how it is possible to determine the total population of journeys made with reference to both the context and supply. The theory has been illustrated by numerical results obtained for a variety of situations which are representative of urban and interurban areas.     

VirMaLab — atelier virtuel de maintenance: un outil d’aide à la décision pour l’optimisation des politiques de maintenance

This article deals with a generic approach called VirMaLab (virtual maintenance laboratory) for reliabilitybased maintenance modeling for complex systems (with multi-components and multi-states). Based on the probabilistic graphical models formalism (also known as Bayesian networks), this stochastic approach takes into account both the degradation process of the considered system (an original semi-Markovian model is proposed) and maintenance strategies (from diagnosis factors to all kinds of maintenance actions). For complete decision support tools, cost parameters should also be considered (maintenance actions, unavailability of the system, running, etc.). In this article, two applications of this approach to rail maintenance are introduced. The first one focuses on the optimization of the compromise refurbishment/repairing of central part of the RER A line. The second one focuses on the comparison and evaluation of various maintenance strategies in the modernization of the command control systems of Paris metro lines.     

Le transport ferroviaire régional de voyageurs : un processus collectif d’apprentissage

Regional passenger rail services are prevalent in France, as opposed to the more marginal role they play elsewhere in the world. It is indeed at the regional level that reforms have been successfully implemented, probably because the process was gradual and cautious. Initially in 1997, seven regions began experimenting with a decentralized system of regional passenger transportation services. By 2002, all metropolitan regions, with the exception of Corsica and Ile-de-France, were involved. Today we have reached a point where this process can be retrospectively and prospectively assessed. This article is first a retrospective assessment of the role of actors and the emerging dynamic between regional passenger rail transport supply and demand. Then, a prospective evaluation is offered since regionalization is best understood as an ongoing learning process that can be discontinuous or continuous.     

Intérêt du modèle ? Hurdle ? pour la comparaison des comportements de mobilité déclarée dans un protocole d’enquête mixte

Due to decline in response rate to household travel surveys, it is essential that survey methods research explore the use of mixed-mode surveys. With this in mind, the Laboratoire d??économie des transports (Transport Economics Laboratory) conducted a web-based survey on non-respondents to a face-to-face household travel survey administered in the Lyon urban area in 2005?C2006. Comparative analysis of the figures shows that, overall, face-to-face respondents travel more than web-based respondents. This difference is partly explained by a high proportion of individuals who did not travel on the survey reference day and also by a lower trip level for those who travel. Classical regression methods can explain the individual mobility level with individuals socioeconomic characteristics, but do not take account of individuals who did not travel during the survey reference period. Using two econometric methods (simple Poisson and Hurdle Poisson regression) we examined factors affecting the decision to travel on one hand and the level of mobility on the other hand. This involves estimating the average daily mobility of individuals as a function of their socioeconomic characteristics while taking into account the fact that for a considerable part of the survey population, daily mobility is nil. Our approach intends firstly to define the causes of immobility better and secondly to characterise the mobility level with the help of a Hurdle model, so as to compare the results obtained in the web-based and faceto-face samples.     

Proximité aux infrastructures et croissance de l’emploi en ?le-de-France (1993–2008) : le r?le des transports à l’échelle intramétropolitaine

This article aims to analyze the role of proximity to transport infrastructures in employment growth within 291 municipalities located in the ?le-de-France region between 1993 and 2008. Based on the employment data from Unistatis, a multiple regression econometric model is estimated, first without variables describing proximity to infrastructure, and then integrating them in order to measure the gain in explanatory power. The results suggest that the role of infrastructure in employment growth rate is limited and varies according to economic sectors and network types.