Chapter 4
Railroads
Brief History
A significant role in the economic
development of US from 1850 to 1950.
20世紀後半開始衰落:
The rise of alternate transport modes with
superior services and/or cost characteristics,
primarily motor carriers and pipelines
A resurgence in water transportation
Changing needs of the US economy.
Other modes growing faster, However, may
experience a resurgence because of more
aggressive marketing and growth in
intermodal traffic.
History in Taiwan
劉銘傳興建縱貫鐵路
清光緒十三年（西元1887），任命補用知
府<<張士瑜>>為鐵路商務總辦，六月開始由大
稻埕向基隆舖設鐵路西元1891年完工通車，全
長三十二公里，其中穿越獅球嶺的隧道全長五
七三公尺，工程頗為艱巨，完工後在隧道南端
口勒刻「曠宇天開」的碣碑，此碑仍保留在當
地。西元1888年，繼續開築由稻埕往南的鐵路，
至西元1893年完成大稻埕到新竹之間鐵路，不
過此時劉銘傳已經離職,
History in Taiwan
十大建設六項交通建
設(鐵路電氣化,中山高速
公路,基隆港,高雄港,中
正國際機場,蘇澳港等.
環島鐵路
高鐵
http://netcity7.web.hi
net.net/UserData/tra
clubs/
Competition
Railroads were the dominant mode of
transportation prior to World War II
The railways must compete with the
other modes of transportation that
have either evolved or matured since
the 1920s.
Taiwan railway need to face the
competition after it become a private
company.
Intermodal
Railroad company president said:
Our service is not as fast as truck, but
we have discovered that customers will
accept a slower transit time in exchange
for a lower rate, as long as service is
consistent and we can usually provide a
lower freight rate because our costs are
less than truck.
Abandonments
1916,the railroad industry owned 254,000
miles of track. Today, more than half of
that is gone, enough to circle the Earth
three times.
The railroads had to abandon significant
portions of rail trackage to remain
competitive.
Does Taiwan railroad need to abandon some
trackage to remain competitive?
Abandonments
In some cases, all or part of the right
of way was turned into hiking trails
with some bridges left in place.
Some became recreational facilities,
like Gi-Gi lane up to Ali Mt.
The abandonments were either rural
branches or duplicate lines left over.
General Service Characteristics
Commodities Hauled
Coal
Farm Products
Chemicals
Transportation Equipment
Commodities Hauled
19 century, railroad moved almost every
available type of product
Today, the railroad system has evolved into
a system that ships large quantities of
heavy-weight, low-value commodities.
Motor carriers concentrate on the handling
of small-volume, high-value finished goods,
whereas water and pipelines carry the
larger volumes of the lowest value types of
bulk commodities.
Coal
43.8 percent of the total tonnage
transported in 1996, the primary
haulers of coal.
Coal is an alternative energy source
that will probably continue to be an
important commodity shipped by the
railroads.
火力發電及煉鋼
Farm Products
Farm products constitute the second
largest commodity group hauled by
railroads.
Chemicals
Hazardous materials are transported
in specially designed tank cars.
The railroads, in comparison with
highway movements, safely transport
chemicals, and this safety has been
steadily increasing for years.
This type of long-haul bulk material is
ideally suited for rail movement.
Transportation Equipment
Transportation equipment carloadings,
which are linked to the relative health of
the domestic automobile industry, have
increased to more than five percent of
total carloadings, an increase of more than
40 percent since 1982.
The railroad are still an ideal mode of
transport for many different types of
goods, high-value merchandise and raw
materials alike.
Constraints
Railroads are constrained by fixed
rights-of-way and therefore provide
differing degrees of service
completeness.
If line-haul mileage continues to
decline, the industry will become less
service-complete and even more
dependent on other modes of
transportation for completion of
many types of moves.
Strengths
A large carrying capacity enables the
railroads to handle large-volume
movements of low-value commodities
over long distances. Although
pipelines compete directly with the
railroads, they are restricted largely
to the movements of liquid and gas.
Railroad can handle almost any type
of commodity by changing the hauling
cars.
Strengths
Liability for loss and damage is usually
assumed by the railroads.
Steel wheel on steel rail
Comparatively high percentage of goods
damaged in transit.(~3%)
Incidence of loss is usually higher than on
other modes because of the high degree of
multiple handlings.
New Technologies to prevent the cargo
damaged – multilevel suspension systes and
end-of-car cushioning devices.
Equipment
Carload is the basic unit of
measurement of freight handling by
the railroads.
1996-91.9tons/car;1929-46.3tons/car
Generalized car types:
Boxcar(plain): Standardized roofed
freight car with sliding doors on the side
used for general commodities.
Equipment
Boxcar(equipped): Specially modified
boxcar used for specialized merchandise,
such as automobile parts
Hopper car: A freight car with the floor
sloping to one or more hinged doors used
for discharging bulk materials
Covered hopper: A hopper car with a
roof designed to transport bulk
commodities that need protection from
the elements, like rain.
Equipment
Flatcar: A freight car with no top or
sides used, for instance, building
materials.
Refrigerator car: A freight car to which
refrigeration equipment has been added
for controlled temperature
Gondola: A freight car with no top, a flat
bottom, and fixed sides used primarily
for hauling bulk commodities
Tank car: Specialized car used for the
transport of liquids and gases
Tank car
35T23000型篷斗車
篷斗車專作為運輸散裝穀類（例如小麥、玉米、黃豆）或散裝
糖類的有篷斗車
Boxcar
守車
供「列車長、車長」與其他列車服務人員乘坐執行公務而的車輛
Flatcar
Gondola
煤斗車(Hopper)
Service Innovations
Piggyback traffic – TOFC & COFC
TOFC – Trailer-on-flatcar,on-time
deliveries, regularly scheduled
departures, and fuel efficiency are the
potential.
Also simplified their billing procedures
and made their computers accessible to
customers for service innovations.
Service Innovations
COFC – container-on-flatcar
A container does not have the wheels
and must therefore be placed on a
flatbed truck for ramp-to-door delivery.
運送貨櫃可吸收小體積貨品,以其與motor
carriers 競爭.
International commerce: combine with
ocean vessels
Service Innovations
Unit train – specializes in the
transport of only one commodity,
usually coal or grain, from origin to
destination. Many times the shipper
owns cars, and the train is, in effect,
rented to the shipper for a particular
period of time.
Cost Structure
Fixed Costs
Semi-variable Costs
Variable Costs
Labor
Fuel
Fixed Costs
The railroads, along with the pipelines,
are the only modes that own and
maintain their own network and
terminals. Therefore, there are a
large proportion of indirect fixed
costs.
Mostly operation, maintenance and
ownership of rights-of-way, which are
not found in other modes(excluding
pipelines).
Fixed Costs
Extensive investment in private terminal
facilities
Freight yards, which trains are sorted and
assembled
Terminal areas & sidings, where shippers and
connecting railroads are serviced.
Freight cars and other equipments.
motors can use free of right-of-way,
because they don’t need to build roads.
Semi-variable Costs
Maintenance of Rights-of-way,
structures and equipment
Variable Costs
Labor cost is the largest single
element of variable costs for
railroads.
Fuel and power costs are the next
largest group of variable costs.
Economies of Scale
Very large capital investment because
of the cost incurred in buying land,
laying tracks, building bridges,
providing terminals, and providing
right-of-way facilities.
Equipment investment is significant.
Maintenance of right-of-way
structures also results in fixed costs.
Technology
Computers are playing a large role in every
mode of transportation, and the railroads
are no exception.
Advanced train control systems – can track the
flow of trains…
Railyard Control – sort and classify as many as
2,500 railcars a day
Communications and Signaling – communications
between dispatchers, yard workers, field
workers and train crews
Customer Service
High Speed Train
Current Issues
Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Long hours, low supervision, and nights away
from home.
Energy
Railroads are more energy-efficient than any
other freight mode except pipelines per tonmile than most of the other modes
Railroads cause less damage to the environment
than do trucks. Railroad emissions(0.9 grams
per net ton-mile) were 75 percent less than
truck emissions.