Analyzing the theoretical capacity of railway networks with a radial-backbone topology

In this work we propose a mechanism to optimize the capacity of the main corridor within a railway network with a radial-backbone or X-tree structure. The radial-backbone (or X-tree) structure is composed of two types of lines: the primary lines that travel exclusively on the common backbone (main corridor) and radial lines which, starting from the common backbone, branch out to individual locations. We define possible line configurations as binary strings and propose operators on them for their analysis, yielding an effective algorithm for generating an optimal design and train frequencies. We test our algorithm on real data for the high speed line Madrid–Seville. A frequency plan consistent with the optimal capacity is then proposed in order to eliminate the number of transfers between lines as well as to minimize the network fleet size, determining the minimum number of vehicles needed to serve all travel demand at maximum occupancy.     

Marginal railway track renewal costs: A survival data approach

In this paper, renewal costs for railway tracks are investigated using survival analysis. The purpose is to derive the effect from increased traffic volumes on rail renewal cycle lengths and to calculate associated marginal costs. A flow sample of censored data containing almost 1300 observations on the Swedish main railway network is used. We specify Weibull regression models, and estimate deterioration elasticities for total tonnage as well as for passenger and freight tonnages separately. Marginal costs are calculated as a change in present values of renewal costs from premature renewal following increased traffic volumes. The marginal cost for total tonnage is estimated to approximately SEK 0.002 per gross ton kilometre.     

Exchange rate and transport cost sensitivities of bilateral freight flows between the US and China

This paper explores the long-run impacts of gross domestic product, exchange rate, and transport costs on bilateral air and ocean freight flows between the US and China. The study employs a cointegration framework by using export and import data over the period of 2003:Q1-2014:Q2. Results show that gross domestic product is the key determinant of bilateral freight flows, indicating that real income of a trading partner is a driving force of the bilateral freight flows between the US and China. In examining the sensitivities of the bilateral trade flows, air freight flows are found to be more responsive to a real income change than ocean freight flows. The bilateral exchange rate is a significant factor affecting the freight flows from China to the US, suggesting that a US dollar appreciation against the Chinese yuan increases the inflows of Chinese commodities to the US. The impacts of the bilateral exchange rate and transport cost are found to vary at industry and commodity levels. These findings support the importance of employing disaggregate data in the bilateral freight flow analysis.     

An integrated assessment of alternative land-based passenger transport policies: A case study in Tenerife

Over recent decades, there have been numerous cases of land-based transport policies that have lacked clear and coherent strategies. This has not only hampered the resolution of issues like road congestion, but has also created new ones (e.g. strong social opposition to new train infrastructures). The absence of such strategies highlights the need for long-term transport policies with a wider vision of the issues, since land-based transport cannot be considered from just a technical perspective.The main objective of this article is to implement a participatory integrated approach to facilitate the understanding of land-based passenger transport governance issues on Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. Relevant policy issues and alternatives are identified by the stakeholders involved. The inclusion of stakeholders in the assessment process is crucial to frame transport governance issues appropriately and to define and assess plausible policy alternatives. This assessment process even included a final step of validation of the results by stakeholders to foster discussion among them about transport issues and policy alternatives.Finally, due to the obstructive role played by some stakeholders in influencing past transport policies, an analysis of possible coalitions among stakeholders is also discussed.     

The role of transportation sectors in the Korean national economy: An input-output analysis

The transportation industry has been playing an important role in the economic development of Korea and, thus, has become a critical factor in sustaining the well-being of the Korean people. This paper attempts to analyze the economic impacts of four transportation modes using input-output (I-O) analysis, with specific application to Korea. To this end, we apply the I-O models to the Korean I-O tables generated by the Bank of Korea, paying particular attention to the four transportation sectors in Korea (rail, road, water, and air transportations), considering them as exogenous, and then determining their impacts. Specifically, the production-inducing effects, supply shortage effects, sectoral price effects, forward linkage effects, and backward linkage effects of the four transportation modes are quantitatively derived over the period 2000–2010. For example, the production-inducing effect of a KRW 1.0 production or investment in transportation is larger in the petroleum and transportation equipment sectors than in other sectors. Furthermore, the rail and road transportation sectors have greater supply shortage effects than the other transportation sectors. Finally, the potential uses of the results of this analysis are presented from the perspective of policy instruments, and policy implications are discussed.     

Forecasting travel behavior using Markov Chains-based approaches

Recent advances in agent-based micro-simulation modeling have further highlighted the importance of a thorough full synthetic population procedure for guaranteeing the correct characterization of real-world populations and underlying travel demands. In this regard, we propose an integrated approach including Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulation and profiling-based methods to capture the behavioral complexity and the great heterogeneity of agents of the true population through representative micro-samples. The population synthesis method is capable of building the joint distribution of a given population with its corresponding marginal distributions using either full or partial conditional probabilities or both of them simultaneously. In particular, the estimation of socio-demographic or transport-related variables and the characterization of daily activity-travel patterns are included within the framework. The fully probabilistic structure based on Markov Chains characterizing this framework makes it innovative compared to standard activity-based models. Moreover, data stemming from the 2010 Belgian Household Daily Travel Survey (BELDAM) are used to calibrate the modeling framework. We illustrate that this framework effectively captures the behavioral heterogeneity of travelers. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the proposed framework is adequately adapted to meeting the demand for large-scale micro-simulation scenarios of transportation and urban systems.     

Subsidy and public transit performance: A factor analytic approach

The need to measure and evaluate transit system performance has led to the development of numerous performance indicators. However, depending upon the indicator, we oftentimes reach different conclusions regarding transit system performance. The research reported in this paper uses factor analytic methods to generate a set of underlying attributes (factors) that capture the performance of public transit systems in Indiana. Similar to what is reported in the literature, this study finds three attributes that best describe transit system performance: efficiency, effectiveness, and overall performance. Based upon systemsÕ factor scores, the study finds that systems scoring highly on one attribute generally perform well on the remaining attributes. Further, there is an inverse relationship between system performance and subsidies, a finding that supports performance based subsidy allocations.     

石化装置腐蚀环境中有机非金属管材的应用

针对石化装置普遍应用的几种有机非金属管材,通过对其物理机械性能、耐腐蚀性能的对比,并结合兰州石化公司有机非金属管材应用实际情况,对有机非金属管材的使用范围及其局限性进行综合分析,最后重点讨论氯化聚氯乙烯非金属管道的性能特征,为石化生产装置合理选择非金属管道材料提供一定的参考.     

土压平衡盾构法隧道施工中影响地表沉降的因素浅析

地层损失是盾构法隧道施工引起地表沉降的主要原因,正常地层损失不可避免,而非正常与灾害性地层损失仍困扰着工程技术人员。文章结合南京地铁土压平衡盾构施工实践,根据监测数据结果,对影响地表沉降的主要因素,即土压设置、注浆参数与出碴控制进行了分析,并讨论了由于操作失误、施工参数设置不当引起的非正常地层损失,以及灾害性地层损失的实例,总结了一些经验,希望对类似工程有所帮助。     

再生混凝土路面双层滑模摊铺施工模拟试验研究

对复合式再生混凝土路面结构进行了摊铺施工模拟试验,并对再生路面的弯拉强度、劈裂强度等使用性能指标进行了正交试验测试分析。总结对比试验数据、统计分析,验证了双层滑模摊铺机理从保证路面强度方面是完全可行的。