U.S. and European Freight Railways: The Differences That Matter

Abstract

This paper examines the differences between the United States (U.S.) and European (EU27) freight railways. The inherent or structural factors influencing the railways modal share will be evaluated. It was found that nearly all of the disparity in modal share can be explained by structural or inherent differences, like the competitiveness of non-surface modes, shipment distances (both influenced by geography), and commodity mix (namely, coal). More striking are the differences in productivity, to move the same number of tons seven times, more trains are required in Europe compared with the U.S.. Operational revenues per ton-mile are around two times higher in Europe, while the operational expenses in the U.S. are four times lower than in Europe. It is argued that setting a goal for modal share similar to the U.S. is not realistic for the EU27. A key concern for European freight railways should be the reduction of operational costs, by increasing the trains’ sizes.Distinct policy answers were given to the railroads’ crisis in the post WWII years. Soon after 1980 when reforms were introduced in the U.S. there was a revival of the sector. The same has not happened in Europe, where questions regarding infrastructure financing or the coordination of network investments and operational needs remain.

Transitioning from flexible to structured heavy haul operations to expand the capacity of single-track shared corridors in North America

“…In Europe, the structured method of operation applies to all train types, including heavy haul freight trains. 7…”

Determinants of Profitability in Railway Transport of Selected Companies in the European Union

“…This hypothesis is also put forward given the general attitude that the number of employees in public companies is too large (Bartel & Harrison, 1999; Giordano, Lanau, Tommasino, & Topalova, 2020). Furthermore, the railways in the United States show higher profitability with fewer workers for the same performance (Furtado & Bastos, 2013). Therefore, as expected, the effect of the number of employees should hurt profitability.…”

“…The fragmentation significantly affects flexibility and increases freight transport costs (Tomes, 2008). The segmentation of the market in the European Union compared to the United States results in the average use of 7 times more wagons for the same amount of goods transported (Furtado & Bastos, 2013). Although the share of railways fell in the second half of the 20 th century, the connection between the country's economic development and the introduction of railways is still present.…”

“…Additional savings occur through more efficient allocation, lower investments, and lower unit costs (Grant & Bamford, 2006). European operating costs are four times higher than in the United States for the same effect in transported volume and distance (Furtado & Bastos, 2013).…”

Prediction of arrival times of freight traffic on US railroads using support vector regression

“…Chapuis [32] used artificial neural networks to predict arrival times of frequent passenger trains using historical train and station delays. Compared to the proposed work, the ETAs were evaluated in the Netherlands and France, respectively, on high priority passenger traffic [33,34], which also operates with higher punctuality compared to the freight or passenger traffic in the US [35]. Wang and Work [26] estimate passenger rail delays on the Amtrak passenger rail network in the US using vector regression techniques and only historical runtimes between passenger stations.…”