Russian railways on the Eurasian market: issue of sustainability

Abstract

Purpose This research examines factors that determine the improvement of the Russian supply chain sustainability. The strategic business model incorporates ecological, social and economic aspects. Design/methodology/approach Considering Trans-Siberian Railway as a typical case, the study selected several cases or the parts of the primary rail connection with the affiliation of important neighbouring countries. The study uses quantitative analyses of a variety of size parameters (e.g. volumes of traffic, logistics costs, delivery distance and air pollutants). Findings The empirical findings stress that supply chains should favour in the future railway (or intermodal) connections for piggyback and containerised cargo. Herein lays the reason for the examination of all traditional factors affecting the modal choice and their complementation by the parameters to measure sustainability throughout the supply chains. The inclusion of the green practices positively affected the environmental, social and economic performance of the new approach. Research limitations/implications This research focuses on the delivery of cargo in containers and semi-trailers within wagons through the overland corridors. Despite the restrictive empirical findings within the national transport system, some elements can be representative of the international supply chains, provided that intermodal services are the most appropriate for the transportation over long distances. Practical implications Clients, media and regulatory bodies stress the consideration of environmental aspects at all stages of a global supply chain. Therefore, their adoption into strategic imperatives of local supply chains becomes inevitable. Originality/value An assessment of supply chains for longer distance transportation in Russia has not taken sustainability into account within cost analyses.

The effect of long-term customer relationships and customer-related business uncertainty on the performance of logistic service providers

“…Similarly, Essay III concludes that despite the complexity of the railway system in Russia, its actual carbon emissions remain close to optimal minimum, which supports the recommendation for Russian supply chains to favor the use of the railway. However, Panova et al (2017) neither discuss the economic gain of the railway company nor the fixed nature of the railway infrastructure, like we do in Essay III. Yet why?…”

“…Studying influence of internalization, along with innovativeness, risk-taking, collaboration and integration on adoption of sustainability initiatives in supply chains in Russia, Aray et al (2020) find a positive association between sustainability performance and sustainability transition being mediated by company's innovativeness and internalization. To facilitate sustainability transition of supply chains in Russia, Panova et al (2017) suggest reliance on piggyback transportation that combines both road and rail in a shipment. With a comprehensive outlook at the transport industry, including the inland waterway, maritime, air and rail in Russia, Trofimenko et al (2018) also support redistribution of both passenger and freight flows from the road and air to less energy-intensive modes, among which the rail is.…”

“…One can hardly find a study on optimisation that touches such "soft" side of the railway cargo operations as CSR. Panova et al (2017) discuss the issue of sustainability in the context of Trans-Siberian railway, which is a different part of the railway network than the one studied in Essay III, and looking at the ecological, social and economic dimensions of sustainability. By analysing cargo volumes, logistics costs, delivery distances and air pollution, they conclude that the supply chains in Russia should favor use of the railway system.…”

“…Enhancing manageability and efficiency of business operations is crucial for the railways in Russia (Vorobyov et al, 2018). As Panova et al (2017) accentuate, solving the issue of sustainability is of high importance as well. This dissertation offers the following managerial implications that embrace LSPs, in general, and the railway sector in Russia, in particular.…”

Business Models Amid Changes in Regulation and Environment: The Case of Finland–Russia

“…Moreover, research by Ayoub and Abdallah [28] suggested that the benefits from flexibility are reached through innovativeness and responsiveness within a supply chain. It should also be kept in mind that multimodal transport chains are imposed to transaction cost every time a transport mode is changed [23,29,30]. Technologies such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) [31,32] and Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) [32] could be utilized to support supply chains involving multiple separate actors through efficient information exchange.…”