Service quality assessment of international rail transport: Framework and future directions

Research output: Contribution to book/conference proceedings/anthology/reportConference contributionContributedpeer-review

Abstract

International rail transport plays an essential role in the supply chain, Eurasian rail transport has been a successful example since its launch in 2011 and has increased over the last decade. However, a crucial question arises: does this intercontinental rail service fulfil the transport requirements of the supply chain, and can it be quantified? Cost, reliability, transport time, and flexibility are essential factors in selecting transport modes in the supply chain. The most used volume metric (TEU) and the number of block trains in the Eurasian rail transport cannot adequately capture the requirements of the global supply chain. Our literature review revealed a need for standardized service attributes for rail services and misalignment with the performance demands of the global supply chain, which may hinder the integration of international rail transport into the global supply chain. This paper proposes standardization of key performance indicators for service quality assessment, linking international rail service and the transport demands of the global supply chain. This developed assessment framework is based on the Supply-chain operations reference (SCOR) model and commonly used performance attributes in intermodal transport. Our initial assessment revealed that Eurasian rail transport has potential for improvement. The developed KPIs bridge the gap between the supply chain and international rail transport, providing railway companies with a tool to design and monitor their services and, for further research, could easily integrate them into rail planning.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication10th International Conference on Railway Operations Modelling and Analysis (ICROMA) - RailBelgrade 2023
Number of pages19
Publication statusPublished - 27 Apr 2023
Peer-reviewedYes

Conference

Title10th International Conference on Railway Operations Modelling and Analysis
SubtitleRailBelgrade 2023
Abbreviated titleICROMA 2023
Conference number10
Duration25 - 28 April 2023
Website
Degree of recognitionInternational event
LocationUniversity of Belgrade
CityBelgrade
CountrySerbia

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0003-4111-2255/work/149798012

Keywords

Research priority areas of TU Dresden

Subject groups, research areas, subject areas according to Destatis

Keywords

  • International rail transport, Rail Supply Chain integration, Intercontinental rail freight, Rail service measurement, Rail service quality