Comparison of Urban and Suburban Rail Transport in Germany and in the Czech Republic

Abstract

Rail transport is an environmentally friendly form of passenger transport which can be utilized effectively also in urban and suburban transport systems. The paper describes the urban and suburban rail transport system including comparison of selected Czech (Prague, Brno and Ostrava) and German metropolitan regions (Munich, Nuremberg and Dresden). Its aim is to analyze the importance of various factors influencing the differences between the situation in Germany and in the Czech Republic. Therefore, the research question is whether these differences are primarily caused by a different liberalization stage, or whether they are a result of other factors such as available infrastructure, investment level, rail transport services budget, structure and activity of ordering bodies and coordinators or geographical context. The supply of city and suburban rail transport is quite good in Germany and in the Czech Republic, although trains in Munich, Nuremberg and Dresden run more frequently, faster and are better interconnected with car transport. German rail transport sector is at a higher stage of liberalization, and tendering procedures are the preferred selection method for contractor carriers. However, a degree of liberalization of the railway sector is not the key marker indicating a better standard of urban and suburban rail transport in Germany because it is the high standard which is achieved as the consequence of the professional activity of the ordering bodies and train service coordinators in combination with geographical conditions, available financial sources and effective transport infrastructure. On the other hand, the importance of liberalization cannot be totally overlooked as tenders are a tool for the ordering bodies to strongly affect the price and quality of transport services in their area. The supply of better quality and attractive transport to passengers could increase the usage of rail transport in metropolitan regions and could have indirect but important socio-economic impacts

Regional Railway Transport in Czech, Austrian and German Decentralised and Regionalised Transport Markets1

“…The lack of appropriate tracks in certain urban and suburban sections makes it impossible for regions to introduce intensive and effective regional transport; this particularly affects the metropolises of primary and secondary significance in the Czech Republic. A high proportion of single-track routes and the low capacity of existing central railway stations are one example of these deficiencies, which can be seen in particular in the technologically and infrastructurally underdeveloped Brno Railway Hub (Seidenglanz Chvátal and Nedvědová, 2014;Dukát, 2005). Furthermore, the amount of money invested in the provision of regional railway transport is necessarily also extremely influential.…”

“…The extent to which a suitable timetable is crucial in liberalised regional transport systems is supported by Križan and Horňák (2012), who believe that the increase in train frequency on the Bratislava -Dunajská Streda -Komárno route in Slo-vakia after a new private carrier (Regio Jet) entered the market in 2012 was a vital factor in contributing to the subsequent growth in the number of passengers on that line. Detailed research into differences in train service provision in the hinterlands of Czech and German metropolises is presented by Seidenglanz, Chvátal and Nedvědová (2014). A noteworthy comparison of regional rail connections in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria is also provided by Taczanowski (2015).…”

“…The fact that it is labelled as a traditional transport mode, however, does not mean that it is static or stagnant nowadays. Indeed, almost the opposite is true in the case of the European railwaysthe construction of high speed lines (Perl and Goetz, 2015;Guirao, 2013;Cascetta et al, 2011), the growing supply of urban and suburban trains and the increasing demand for them in many metropolitan regions (Seidenglanz, Chvátal and Nedvědová, 2014;Schwedes, REVIEW OF ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES 432 2011), the cancellation of some minor branch lines in peripheral areas (Taylor, 2006;Patmore, 1965) and emerging competition whether in the form of tenders or open access (Tomeš et al, 2014;Alexandersson and Hultén, 2007) are at least some examples of the high dynamism of today's European railway networks.…”

Development of passenger train transport in the Brno urban region between 1980 and 2010

“…Its relative importance decreases, however it is considered to be an environmental alternative of individual car transport (Hoyle, Knowles, 1998; Rodrigue et al, 2010;Se-idenglanz, 2007). This is also the reason of its preference in urban regions and agglomerations, namely in the western Europe (Newman, Kenworthy, 1999c;Seidenglanz et al, 2014). Exploration of public rail transportation phenomenon in the Czech Republic increases after 1990 with the beginning of suburbanization.…”

“…1 The significance of the Brno urban region is not negligible in the settlement structure of the Region and the entire Czech Republic. The Brno urban region is not defined in a uniform manner or administrative delimitation; however, a number of research works have attempted to define it, among others Atelier Era 2008, Hampl (1996Hampl ( , 2005, Mulíček et al (2006), Mulíček and Szczyrba (2004), Seidenglanz et al (2014), Seidenglanz et al (2015).…”