U.S. Freight Rail Economics and Policy

U.S. Freight Rail Economics and Policy

Author: Jeffrey Macher

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-04-25

Total Pages: 309

ISBN-13: 0429633645

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The passage of the Staggers Rail Act in 1980 led brought a renaissance to the freight rail industry. In the decade following, economists documented the effects of the Act on a variety of important economic metrics including prices, costs, and productivity. Over the preceding years, and with the return of the industry to more stable footing, attention to the industry by economists faded. The lack of attention, however, has not been due to a dearth of ongoing economic and policy issues that continue to confront the industry. In this volume, we begin to rectify this inattention. Rather than retread older analyses or provide yet another look at the consequences of Staggers, we assemble a collection of ten chapters in four sections that collectively provide fresh and up-to-date analyses of the economic issues and policy challenges the industry faces: the first section sets the context through foundational discussion of freight rail; the second section highlights the role of freight rail in an increasingly interrelated economy; the third section examines industry structure and scope in freight rail; and the fourth section assesses current regulatory challenges that confront freight rail. This book will be of great value to researchers, academics, policymakers, and students interested in the fields of freight rail economics and policy, transportation, business history, and regulatory economics.


The Economics and Politics of High-Speed Rail

The Economics and Politics of High-Speed Rail

Author: Daniel Albalate

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2012-06-14

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 0739171240

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The technological revolution linked to high speed rail (HSR) has been accompanied by myths and claims about its contribution to society and the economy. Although HSR is unquestionably a technological advance that has become a symbol of modernity, this review and analysis of the international experiences shows that the conditions necessary to have a positive impact, economically, socially and environmentally, are enormously restrictive. The Economics and Politics of High Speed Rail: Lessons from Experiences Abroad, by Daniel Albalate and Germà Bel, introduces the main questions policy makers and scholars should examine when considering and studying HSR implementation, with particular emphasis on the US’s recent interest in this technology and possible application in California. Albalate and Bel then review the experiences of the most significant implementations of HSR around the globe. This in-depth international perspective includes chapters on the pioneers of HSR (Japan and France), the European followers (Germany, Spain and Italy), as well as Asian experiences in China, Taiwan, and Korea. Albalate and Bel’s study provides a clear distinction between the myths and realities associated with this transportation innovation. Among the most relevant findings, this study highlights how HSR projects that do not satisfy highly restrictive conditions—on mobility patterns, measured costs, and economically rational designs—that make it desirable have been the source of huge financial debacles and the economic failure of HSR in most cases, which result in unfortunate consequences for taxpayers. The Economics and Politics of High Speed Rail is a rigorous investigation of the economic and political challenges and ramifications of implementing new public transportation technology.


The Elements of Railway Economics - Scholar's Choice Edition

The Elements of Railway Economics - Scholar's Choice Edition

Author: W. M. Acworth

Publisher:

Published: 2015-02-08

Total Pages: 162

ISBN-13: 9781294963745

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.


Operations research models for scheduling railway infrastructure maintenance

Operations research models for scheduling railway infrastructure maintenance

Author: Gabriella Budai-Balke

Publisher: Rozenberg Publishers

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 190

ISBN-13: 9036101263

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This thesis can be divided into two parts. In Part I we are dealing with the problem of finding optimal time intervals for carrying out routine maintenance works and large projects in such a way that the track possession costs and maintenance costs are minimized. In Part II of this thesis we focus on rescheduling of the rolling stock in the passenger railways due to changing circumstances and more precisely on the Rolling Stock Rebalancing Problem (RSRP). The main objectives of this thesis are formulated as follows: 1. Review the existing literature on maintenance planning in relation with production. 2. Identify some tactical and operational railway infrastructure maintenance planning problems and develop operations research models for providing decision support. Investigate the effect of planning railway infrastructure maintenance on the train operation and identify rolling stock planning problems that occur during planned infrastructure maintenance. 3. Analyze the considered models, investigate their computational complexity, propose solution methods and test the solutions of the models.


Railway Management and Engineering

Railway Management and Engineering

Author: V Profillidis

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-11-30

Total Pages: 500

ISBN-13: 1351150839

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In a rapidly changing world, with increasing competition in all sectors of transportation, railways are in a period of restructuring their management and technology. New methods of organization are introduced, commercial and tariff policies change radically, a more entrepreneurial spirit is required. At the same time, new high-speed tracks are being constructed and old tracks are renewed, high-comfort rolling stock vehicles are being introduced, logistics and combined transport are being developed. Awareness of environmental issues and search for greater safety give to the railways a new role within the transportation system. Meanwhile, methods of analysis have significantly evolved, principally due to computer applications and new ways of thinking and approaching old problems. Therefore it becomes necessary to come up with a new scientific approach to tackle management and engineering aspects of railways, to understand in-depth the origins and inter-relationships of the various situations and phenomena and to suggest the appropriate methods and solutions to solve the various emerging problems. This book aims to cover the need for a new scientific approach for railways. It is written for railway managers, economists and engineers, consulting economists and engineers, students of schools of engineering, transportation and management. The book is divided into three distinct parts: Part A deals with the management of railways, Part B deals with the track and, Part C deals with rolling stock and environmental topics. Each chapter of the book contains the necessary theoretical analysis of the phenomena studied, the recommended solutions, applications, charts and design of the specific railway component. In this way, both the requirement for a theoretical analysis is met, and the need of the railway manager and engineer for tables, nomographs, regulations, etc. is satisfied. Railways in Europe have separated activities of infrastructure from those of operation. In other parts of the world, however, railways remain unified. The book addresses both situation. Railways present great differences in their technologies. Something may be valid for one such technology, but not for another. To overcome this problem, regulations of the International Union of Railways (UIC) as well as European Standardization (CEN) have been used to the greatest extent possible. Whenever a specific technology or method is presented, the limits of its application are clearly emphasized.


Intelligent Transportation and Planning: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice

Intelligent Transportation and Planning: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice

Author: Management Association, Information Resources

Publisher: IGI Global

Published: 2018-02-02

Total Pages: 1134

ISBN-13: 1522552111

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From driverless cars to vehicular networks, recent technological advances are being employed to increase road safety and improve driver satisfaction. As with any newly developed technology, researchers must take care to address all concerns, limitations, and dangers before widespread public adoption. Intelligent Transportation and Planning: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice is an innovative reference source for the latest academic material on the applications, management, and planning of intelligent transportation systems. Highlighting a range of topics, such as automatic control, infrastructure systems, and system architecture, this publication is ideally designed for engineers, academics, professionals, and practitioners actively involved in the transportation planning sector.


Discrete Choice Methods with Simulation

Discrete Choice Methods with Simulation

Author: Kenneth Train

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2009-07-06

Total Pages: 399

ISBN-13: 0521766559

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This book describes the new generation of discrete choice methods, focusing on the many advances that are made possible by simulation. Researchers use these statistical methods to examine the choices that consumers, households, firms, and other agents make. Each of the major models is covered: logit, generalized extreme value, or GEV (including nested and cross-nested logits), probit, and mixed logit, plus a variety of specifications that build on these basics. Simulation-assisted estimation procedures are investigated and compared, including maximum stimulated likelihood, method of simulated moments, and method of simulated scores. Procedures for drawing from densities are described, including variance reduction techniques such as anithetics and Halton draws. Recent advances in Bayesian procedures are explored, including the use of the Metropolis-Hastings algorithm and its variant Gibbs sampling. The second edition adds chapters on endogeneity and expectation-maximization (EM) algorithms. No other book incorporates all these fields, which have arisen in the past 25 years. The procedures are applicable in many fields, including energy, transportation, environmental studies, health, labor, and marketing.


Global Trends 2040

Global Trends 2040

Author: National Intelligence Council

Publisher: Cosimo Reports

Published: 2021-03

Total Pages: 158

ISBN-13: 9781646794973

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"The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political, and security implications that will ripple for years to come." -Global Trends 2040 (2021) Global Trends 2040-A More Contested World (2021), released by the US National Intelligence Council, is the latest report in its series of reports starting in 1997 about megatrends and the world's future. This report, strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, paints a bleak picture of the future and describes a contested, fragmented and turbulent world. It specifically discusses the four main trends that will shape tomorrow's world: - Demographics-by 2040, 1.4 billion people will be added mostly in Africa and South Asia. - Economics-increased government debt and concentrated economic power will escalate problems for the poor and middleclass. - Climate-a hotter world will increase water, food, and health insecurity. - Technology-the emergence of new technologies could both solve and cause problems for human life. Students of trends, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, journalists and anyone eager for a glimpse into the next decades, will find this report, with colored graphs, essential reading.