An Analysis of Users’/Customers’Perceptions of the Nigerian Rail Transport Services

Rail transport has and continues to play a key role in the movement of goods and passengers in many countries around the world including Nigeria.However,while rail transport continues to enjoy relative importance in terms of investment,growth and contribution to the national economy in several countries,it has suffered and declined(in terms of modal share contribution which has led to decreased patronage)in Nigeria.However,there are new developments and investment on rail and some measures are being put in place to revive the Nigerian rail transport system.As these new developments and rehabilitations are going on,it will be imperative to know what the users/customers think as well,so that they are not left out because under normal circumstances,customers need transport services and not rail transport services.Therefore,if they were not satisfied with rail transport services they would simply turn to other modes of transport.As part of an on-going PhD research project,this paper focuses on the perceptions of Nigerian rail transport users/customers regarding the quality of rail services provided.Data was collected by the use of structured/semi-structured questionnaires,which were distributed,to the respondents.The study sample included 474 respondents between the age range of 20-70 out of which just 21(4.4%)have used rail transport;this low patronage figure is as a result of the long time neglect of the Nigerian rail transport system while 474(100%)of the correspondents use road transport daily which has led to an increasing pressure on road transport and infrastructures.Data was collected respectively from the following cities:Lagos,Warri,Ughelli and Benin.

A New Multi-Objective Model to Optimise Rail Transport Scheduler

The sugarcane transport system plays a critical role in the overall performance of Australia’s sugarcane industry. An inefficient sugarcane transport system interrupts the raw sugarcane harvesting process, delays the delivery of sugarcane to the mill, deteriorates the sugar quality, increases the usage of empty bins, and leads to the additional sugarcane production costs. Due to these negative effects, there is an urgent need for an efficient sugarcane transport schedule that should be developed by the rail schedulers. In this study, a multi-objective model using mixed integer programming (MIP) is developed to produce an industry-oriented scheduling optimiser for sugarcane rail transport system. The exact MIP solver (IBM ILOG-CPLEX) is applied to minimise the makespan and the total operating time as multi-objective functions. Moreover, the so-called Siding neighbourhood search (SNS) algorithm is developed and integrated with Sidings Satisfaction Priorities (SSP) and Rail Conflict Elimination (RCE) algorithms to solve the problem in a more efficient way. In implementation, the sugarcane transport system of Kalamia Sugar Mill that is a coastal locality about 1050 km northwest of Brisbane city is investigated as a real case study. Computational experiments indicate that high-quality solutions are obtainable in industry-scale applications.

Politics of Rail Transport Development in Developing Countries： Case of Nigeria

Rail transport in most developing countries, is usually the least developed mode. For instance, in Nigeria the vibrant fortune of rail transport operations and development has been on decline since mid 1970s.The developmental gap in rail transport in Nigeria is responsible for a significant level of access denial to a safer, affordable and environmentally-friendly mode of transport, to the younger generation of Nigerians. Through a critique of past railways developmental projects and policies, this paper was able to identify the principal factors responsible for its intangible contributions to the socio-economic development of Nigeria. It further highlighted the role（s） politics of policies inconsistency and somersault plays, to the detriment of realization of a vibrant railway system in Nigeria. The findings revealed that discontinuity and incoherence in policy implementation by successful governments, policy reversal as well as uncoordinated national transport policy goal and objectives as clogs in the wheel of progress of railways development in Nigeria. In conclusion, the paper hinged the rapid development of the rail industry in Nigeria on institutional paradigm shift, whereby the rail authority will enjoy a reasonable level of autonomy in decision making, finance and investment in rail operations, infrastructure supply and technological advancement in Nigeria.

Experimental Characterization of Shape of an Aggregate by a Numerical Value—Application to Senegalese Basaltic Aggregates for Rail Transport

This article first talks about railways in general and ballast in particular. An inventory is then made on the modernization of the Senegalese ballast railways. In the second phase, an experimental work of characterization of basaltic aggregates of Diack (Locality of Ngoundiane, Thiès region, Senegal) is presented. The grain size studied is 25/50 mm as for any material studied for use as railway ballast. Experimental work presented consists of the characterization of the shape of an aggregate using the NF P 18-301 standard. The test consists of comparing the volume of the aggregate to that of an equivalent sphere with the largest diameter of the aggregate, by calculating the average volume coefficient. With a Representative Elementary Volume (REV) of 6 aggregates, the volume coefficient “Cv” fluctuates between 0.27 and 0.49 with an average volume coefficient of 0.39 which is well above 0.15. The grains studied are polyhedral and therefore have a high mechanical resistance.

Demand Elasticity of Capacity Offered for Urban Rail Transport

The high peak hour demand in Urban Rail Transport (URT) is usually met by supply side measures such as pushing more number of trains/cars in peak hour by the operator. This additional capacity generates more demand due to a positive elasticity of demand with respect to services. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), India has converted its fleet from 4 cars per train to 6 cars per train and finally to 8 cars per train on its Broad Gauge section. The ridership of the system has also witnessed double digit growth during this conversion period. The demand elasticity w.r.t services for the passengers of DMRC has been estimated as 0.512 on the basis of growth of demand and increase in capacity after adjusting for natural growth. So a 10% increase in supply results into 5% increase in capacity. A simple service elasticity model has been developed to estimate demand with increase in supply. The model has been applied to Line 2 (yellow line), the busiest line of DMRC, to estimate the demand for different level of services (trains/hour). The efficacy of supply side measures is limited by the design capacity of the system beyond which any increase in supply would require disproportionate investment. An optimum combination of supply and demand side measures would perhaps be the best way to address peak hour congestion in Urban Rail Transport.

The Development of Rail Transportation and the Application of High Technology

Many developed countries in the world have adopted high technology to rebuild and improve the rail transportation industry actively. It has greatly increased the security and automation degree of rail transportation. Since “the ninth five year plan", the velocity and quality of rail transportation infrastructure construction have been improved quickly by applying high technology in China. However, there still exist many differences between China and the developed countries in the development of rail transportation. In this paper the author systematically introduced the application of high technology in rail transportation such as railway, metro, light railway, railway nearby su\| burb, maglev railway, etc. and also the development road to high technology industrialization in transportation field, on the basis of viewing the current development condition and the trend of rail transportation in the world and analyzing the development status and trend of rail transportation in China.

Optimization of Urban Rail Transportation in Emerging Countries Using Operational Research Techniques

Rail systems are gradually becoming the most desirable form of transit infrastructure around the world, partly because they are becoming more environmentally friendly compared with airplanes and automobiles. This paper examines the place of emerging countries in this move of implementing modern rail system that will eventually enhance the realization of a low-carbon society. Network model, transportation model and linear programming algorithms are used to model the present urban rail transport system in Nigeria, as an emerging country, in order to optimize it. Operational research methods, including simplex method and MODI, with the aids of computer software (excel solver and LIP solver) were adopted to solve the resulting models. The results showed that optimization of rail transport system will not only reduce carbon emission but also bring about economic development which is required for the eradication of prevalent poverty in these emerging countries.

An overview of bearing voltages and currents in rail transportation traction motors

In modern rail transportation,inverter drive systems have been extensively used due to their excellent speed control capabilities.However,in recent years,premature failure problems caused by bearing voltage and current phenomena have been frequently reported in electric motors,with electrical bearing failures making up a considerable percentage.The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview of facets relating to the electrical erosion of bearings in an electrical environment represented by railway vehicles.First,the origins of the phenomenon as well as typical bearing electrical failure modes are discussed.Next,we introduce the distinctive features of the electrical environment of railway traction motor bearings,including output voltages with high common-mode components and systems with complex grounding configurations.Then,we classify the fundamental mechanisms for generating bearing voltages/currents into four groups,and present their modeling processes,including equivalent circuit establishment and parameter determination methods.Furthermore,we summarize the strategies frequently used to protect bearings,and describe a typical solution to suppress electrical bearing failures in railway vehicles.Finally,we present a case example to illustrate a research procedure for systematic investigation of inverter-induced bearing currents in rail transportation.

A Perspective on Solar Energy-powered Road and Rail Transportation in China

As essential pillars of passenger mobility and freight transport,road and rail transportation have experienced a rapid increase over the past years.This trend indicates an increase in energy consumption,especially electricity,due to higher energy efficiency and less carbon emission,but it exacerbates the contradiction between the power supply and demand.Nowadays,for additional power sources,increased solar power generation has been widely installed in their own available spaces for road and rail transportation,which has attracted a great deal of attention.This paper reviews the current status of solar power generation and its integrated application in the transport sector.Then,the photovoltaic generation potential of road and rail transportation in China are evaluated.Finally,further developments and perspectives of solar energy-powered road and rail transportation are presented,which not only contributes to lower-carbon and green transportation,but also promotes the development of renewable power generation for energy transformation.It is confirmed that solar energy-powered road and rail transportation is a promising approach for sustainable transportation with more renewable energy and less carbon emission.

Rail Transport in Urban China ──A Hard Process

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ComplexTrans-Global Rail-Road Transportation System Economical and Clustered Individual and Individualised Public Transport also Prevents the Spread of Covid 19

Land transport can no longer meet the requirements.European transport can be described by these words−crowded motorways and cities,dangerous emissions,ubiquitous traffic accidents,delays,expensive railways.Solutions are being sought to transfer a large part of passengers and especially freight transport to(high-speed)rail,and efforts are moving towards electromobility,car-sharing,5G-connectivity,autonomous driving,MaaS(Mobility as a Service)-coordinated transport or hyperloop-type solutions.However,all these solutions have additional challenges and limitations.Solutions are not being searched where they really exist-in the mutual adaptation of road and rail vehicles and their deep cooperation.The ComplexTrans project shows that simply adapting the dimensions and functions of road and rail vehicles can eliminate(or at least significantly reduce)all the problems of existing land transport.The main features of the ComplexTrans system are sufficient parking spaces,reduction of urban and non-urban congestion,electric vehicles with unlimited range and cheaper than standard cars,cheaper and more accessible battery charging,“autonomous ride”,solving the overlap between passenger and freight rail transport and making it self-financing,transferring intercity freight transport to rail,replacing part of continental air transport and many others.The cost-effective and clustered individual transport and individualised public transport of the ComplexTrans system also bring very significant reductions in the risk of transmission of covid-19 and other contagious diseases during transport.

Analysis of the Relationship Between Railway and Highway Transportation and China's Economic Development

China has a vast land area and frequent interconnections between various regions.China's transportation industry is faced with tremendous pressure.This article combines China’s railway and highway transportation conditions to predict China’s economic development,uses stepwise regression to screen explanatory variables,and finally determines railway passenger turnover,road freight volume and passenger car ownership as the explanatory variables,and GDP as the dependent variable,and also analyzes China’s economic development by establish ing a multiple regression model.

基于联邦学习和多方安全计算的海铁联运数据安全共享方法研究

我国海铁联运占港口集疏运比例仍然过低,关键原因之一在于铁路对于港口适运货源的动态信息不明、营销组织不力。铁路货运营销部门缺乏在保证港口、铁路、海关三方数据隐私安全的前提下,根据铁路运力动态主动挖掘港口和海关数据中潜在适运货源的技术方法和手段,难以推出适销对路的运输产品和动态营销手段,也难以为海铁联运基础设施的建设提供有效决策依据。构建基于联邦学习和多方安全计算的铁路-港口-海关数据安全共享方法,使用结合同态加密等多方安全计算技术的梯度提升决策树作为模型训练算法,铁路、港口、海关三方地位对等协作,训练出海铁联运潜在货源识别策略;在该策略的正式运行实现过程中,铁路方能够获得路网各流向潜在适运货源的数量级,各方均看不见、带不走其余参与方的任何原始数据。

铁路隧道TBM施工物料运输方式对比分析

为便于选择TBM施工物料运输方式,以铁路隧道为工程背景,首先,简要总结有轨运输和无轨运输2种运输方式的特点及其工程应用情况;然后,根据施工实践拟定典型工况,研究典型工况下的运输方案及设备配置,并从设备配置和工期2个方面对有轨运输和无轨运输进行详细对比分析。研究结果表明:1)有轨运输和无轨运输在铁路隧道TBM施工中技术上都是可行的,总工期无明显差异。2)我国配合TBM施工的内燃机车质量明显不高且突破难度较大,应努力提升电动机车的工程适应性、可靠性、耐久性以及人性化设计;同时,需要规范有轨运输设备配置要求、轨道铺设和维护质量,以提升有轨运输的效率。3)需要研究适合TBM施工工况且成本低、通用性好的无轨运输设备。

多源车载数据驱动的地铁轨道不平顺智能识别方法

针对轨道不平顺检测成本高与时效性低等不足,从车辆动态响应与轨道不平顺之间的相关性为切入点,提出一种多源车载数据驱动的轨道不平顺智能识别方法。首先,建立地铁车辆系统动力学模型,获取车辆振动与运动姿态响应数据;其次,通过相关性分析算法,选取强相关性数据,制作网络模型数据集;最后,建立卷积神经网络-长短期记忆网络(CNN-LSTM),通过粒子群算法优化(PSO)神经网络模型参数,建立PSO-CNN-LSTM模型,实现对轨道不平顺的识别拟合。研究结果表明:在车辆动态响应信号中,与横向信号与轨道不平顺之间的相关性相比,垂向信号的更强,同时,车体的运动姿态如车体点头角速度与不平顺有明显的相关性。所提出的PSO-CNN-LSTM模型轨道垂向与横向不平顺识别拟合度分别达0.92和0.76。与经典的全连接神经网络FCNN和支持向量机SVR相比,PSO-CNN-LSTM有更好的识别效果与时效性。

考虑海铁联运的集装箱码头泊位分配优化

在海铁联运背景下,协同考虑到港船舶及铁路班列特点,优化集装箱码头泊位分配,对于提高港口作业效率至关重要。在满足码头岸线、泊位水深、岸桥等资源约束前提下,综合考虑船舶服务优先级和偏好泊位、铁路集装箱班列到发时间等约束,以船舶在港停留时间和泊位偏移惩罚时间最小为优化目标,建立海铁联运集装箱码头泊位分配优化模型;针对模型特点,设计自适应遗传算法进行求解,选取计划周期48 h内的到港船舶数据进行案例分析,通过MATLAB数值实验,得到符合船舶服务优先级和泊位偏好要求且契合铁路班列开行计划的海铁联运码头泊位分配方案。数值实验结果表明:在海铁联运协同优化条件下,船舶平均等泊时间为2.9 min,最大等泊时间为11.4 min,同时船舶的靠泊位置与偏好泊位之间的距离均不超过100 m,船舶在港的停留时间及偏好泊位差都得到了较好的控制。研究可进一步优化海铁联运集装箱码头泊位分配方案,有利于提高海铁联运集装箱在港转运效率。

区域轨道交通跨线站配线方案研究

“四网融合”发展背景下,区域轨道交通网络化运营成为重要发展趋势,而跨线站则是实现不同轨道交通线路互联互通的关键节点,因此有必要对跨线站设计进行探究。从优化车站运输组织出发,对跨线站配线方案进行研究,为实际配线布设提供参考。首先,以跨线运营模式为研究对象,根据跨线前后信号制式异同,将跨线分为同信号制式跨线和跨信号制式跨线,分析两种跨线模式列车作业种类及流程,并研究两种模式下行车组织、承载客流形式、应急管理等因素对于车站配线设置的相关需求。之后,结合配线需求,针对同信号制式和跨信号制式跨线站,分别提出了配线布置原则。最后,基于布置原则,在进一步分析两种跨线站列车作业特征基础上,研究并提出适用于不同车站构型、不同客流特征的典型配线设置方法,并进一步考虑运输组织适应性、建筑规模、工程量等因素提出适应不同实际运营场景的建议方案。通过研究,对于同信号制式跨线站,建议以在发车端设单渡线、交叉渡线等配线为主;对于跨信号制式跨线站,结合当前技术条件建议增设到发线,并根据实际需求设置折返线等其他配线。

石球阵列对轨道交通振动表面波隔振性能研究

本文针对轨道交通运营时带来的持续性振动对周边居民身体健康和敏感构建物结构安全的影响进行探讨。基于周期理论,提出一种石球阵列隔振结构来减轻轨道交通运营引起的环境振动危害。通过求解频散曲线图,研究石球阵列参数对带隙的影响,并剖析了隔振机理;其次,通过求解传输透射谱,研究了有限数量石球阵列隔振性质。研究发现,石球排距和尺寸大小对表面波能带影响较大,针对低频表面波隔振,石球排距建议取1.0~1.2 m,石球尺寸建议大于0.4 m;石球的排布方式对高频能带影响较大,对低频能带影响较小;相比正方形排布方式,三角形排布方式可以降低振动波泄漏,隔振效果更好。传输谱透射分析发现,石球阵列低频隔振时隔振机理为局域共振机理,高频隔振时机理为Bragg散射机理;组合石球隔振方式可以拓宽衰减域,隔振效果更好。相关研究可为轨道交通隔振提供参考。

轮轨摩擦系数对低地板轻轨动力响应及车轮磨耗的影响

为了确保低地板轻轨车辆安全且平稳地运行,以某轻轨线路为依托,利用多体动力学软件UM(Universal Mechanism)建立了低地板轻轨车辆-轨道耦合动力学模型。选用LM磨耗型车轮踏面以及R50标准钢轨,以美国六级不平顺轨道谱作为线路激扰。基于Hertz及Kalker简化理论、Archard模型,进行不同摩擦系数共5个工况下车辆动力响应以及车轮磨耗变化规律的仿真分析。在此基础上进一步分析了4个不同运行里程阶段对应共96组车轮磨耗型面下轻轨车辆安全性指标的变化规律。研究了4个不同运行里程阶段对应的不同车轮磨耗型面下车辆过曲线时安全性指标随摩擦系数的变化情况。结果表明:脱轨系数、轮轴横向力、轮轨横向力、车体横向加速度受摩擦系数的影响较为显著,而轮重减载率、车体垂向加速度对摩擦系数的改变并不敏感。车轮磨耗深度随里程和摩擦系数的增加而增大,且相同工况下独立旋转车轮的磨耗情况更加严重。在车辆运行40000 km后,其轮轨横向力、轮轴横向力、脱轨系数整体呈现随里程增加而增大的规律,而轮重减载率基本不受运行里程的影响。在不同摩擦系数及运行里程的叠加影响下,轮轨横向力、轮轴横向力、脱轨系数的峰值出现的位置不同,而轮重减载率却始终处于较为稳定的状态。

城市轨道交通运营与管理课程思政体系构建与教学实践——以兰州交通大学为例

城市轨道交通运营与管理课程是交通运输专业的核心课程之一,承担着轨道交通专业课程思政育人的重要责任。该文分别从中国人、铁路人、交大人三大方向深入挖掘思政元素,提出课程思政元素挖掘方法。从社会主义核心价值观、“铁路精神、城轨文化”“交大精神、校训校风”三个层面出发,着力将家国情怀、人文素养、科学精神、职业素养、实践创新和人格发展六个思政方向与十个知识单元有机融合,构建课程思政体系,并归纳、总结课程知识单元与思政元素的融合案例。以票制票价基本理论课程思政教学设计为例,阐述具体的思政教学实施过程。该研究可为城市轨道交通相关课程的思政教学和教学改革提供借鉴与思路。