engleski

Impact of Service Quality on Transport Demand in InterCity Trains

For the specific traffic demand in passenger transport, railways respond by their offer of defined timetable. Various types and categories of trains are intended for different passenger profiles according to their needs for transport services and the length of their journey. Therefore, the result is profiling of railway supply in order to meet the market needs in a proper and competitive way. Intermodal competition, as result of liberalization of railway traffic, is forcing railway operators to increase the efficiency and attractiveness of their services. Increased efficiency is achieved with higher capacity trains, higher utilization of coaches and larger annual mileage of trains. All cars are expected to be flexible when it comes to their usage, which means that they have to be usable both for day and night operation, with minimum holdings in stations. This primarily refers to the introduction of appropriate traffic and commercial ranks of trains composed of adequate rail vehicles. In many European countries the words InterCity and Euro-City are official brand names for the network of regular-interval, relatively long-distance train services that meet certain criteria of speed and comfort and in most cases provide international services, due to the close proximity of the European countries. Passengers of EuroCity and InterCity trains require the highest level and standards of the transportation service ; therefore, it is not acceptable to decrease passenger comfort by increasing the number of seats in any given coach. This paper will research in detail the needs, demands and level of service for the users of InterCity and EuroCity trains. Research data on the structure of InterCity passenger trains of the Croatian Railways will be presented, along with their travel habits and needs, satisfaction with services provided and suggestions for improving the service quality. The paper focuses especially on the categories of potential passengers who had not been using the rail for their travel needs, or had participated in it to a minor part. To achieve a better passenger load factor, the demands of a wide base of customers should be satisfied with carefully chosen equipment and interior design of each coach. The business travellers demand more privacy during their travel which ensures that they can work in peace, roomier seats and tables with AC connections for their laptops. For parents with little children it is necessary to have extra space for feeding and changing diapers, and also the coaches need to be adapted for easier entry and exit of baby carriages. Travellers with special needs require wheelchair-accessible trains and adapted onboard toilets ; also, it is necessary for the train crew to be educated about their needs. Air-conditioning units must have antiallergenic filters installed for better air quality ; trains have to have designated places for storing bicycles, and also special area for transporting pets. With modern concepts of interior design it is possible to increase the efficiency and to keep the required level of passenger comfort, especially for the trains which are used in night-time operations. Based on the processed data, a possible solution has been offered for the concepts and the equipment onboard the InterCity and EuroCity passenger coaches

traffic demand; service level; InterCity trains; passenger structure; passenger coach

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