Chapters authored
Competitiveness and Sustainability of Railways
Part of the book: Infrastructure Design, Signalling and Security in Railway
Railways in Renaissance — Review of Achievements and Reflection on Prospects
The authors introduce railway renaissance by considering the rail mode's inherent strengths, energy frugality, and developmental role. They address the research question: Does a new post-renaissance normal now prevail? The research progresses a multivariate design that they developed to a case study approach as proliferation of private railway operators as a consequence of renaissance has constrained access to formerly public information. The study examined four countries, Brazil, Russia, India, and China, and one region, the Gulf Cooperation Council States, whose railways have advanced substantially in recent years through implementation of high speed, heavy haul, heavy intermodal, and urban rail. It also examined the migration of countries from the previously identified Fortuitous and Insecure railways clusters to the Enlightened, Progressive, and Assertive clusters. It found advances in institutional learning with respect to design of interventions to achieve renaissance, ownership and funding, market structure, as well as networking and expanding strategic horizons. It concluded that countries that have embraced the railway renaissance have been able to reposition their railways to play a substantial role in their economies and societies, and that a new normal has emerged, with the rail mode now a formidable contender in high-speed, high-volume, heavy-traffic corridors.
Part of the book: Railway Research