Removing Barriers to
Regional Rail Transport
Results and Conclusions
Introduction / Greeting
Dear Sir / Madam,
In 2010, European passenger rail authorities began cooperating within the framework of INTER
Regio-Rail. Today, with this brochure, we present
to you the first outcomes of this cooperation.
Eight authorities from Poland, Italy, Germany
and the Czech Republic have implemented pilot
projects dealing with some of the most important challenges passenger rail authorities face
today, namely the development of infrastructure,
demographic change and customer satisfaction.
Through our cooperation we have seen that the
challenges facing passenger rail authorities are
similar throughout Europe. We need new ideas
and new approaches to improve services and to
attract more passengers. For example, the tool
that INTER-Regio-Rail has developed in South Tyrol to measure customer satisfaction can be used
effectively to monitor passengers´ expectations
and needs. On this basis, passenger rail authorities can design new services accordingly.
However, the framework conditions governing
our work also pose a challenge. Our partners in
the Czech Republic and Poland faced the same
question as German and Italian passenger rail
authorities when they came up with ideas to improve their regional infrastructure: how to persuade the national infrastructure manager to help
develop regional infrastructure? National infrastructure managers are sometimes too far away
from regional networks to react to local transport
demands and needs. The answer INTER-RegioRail has found is simple: passenger rail authorities first of all have to gather detailed knowledge
about the condition of the infrastructure. This
knowledge enables them to discuss new ideas
with infrastructure managers.
With this brochure we want to show you the
achievements of the INTER-Regio-Rail pilot projects. We want to spark your interest in the various projects described and motivate you to seek
more information on our website - or simply by
contacting us. We hope to give you an idea of
how much passenger rail authorities can benefit
from closer cooperation on European level.
We want to continue to exchange our ideas and
experience. And we want to work together to monitor and improve framework conditions that are
increasingly being defined on European level.
The first steps in building our network have been
successful; we look forward to the steps to come.
Yours,
Dr. Thomas Geyer
President of the German Association of Passenger Rail Authorities
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Contents
Station and network infrastructure development
KORID (CZ)
Renewal of 19th-century tracks for new trains.............................................................................................6
Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodship (PL)
Developing regional railway stations..............................................................................................................8
Rail transport across national borders
VBB (D)
Cross-border regional rail transport..............................................................................................................10
ZVON (D)
International tendering...................................................................................................................................12
Special groups of passengers
Verband Region Stuttgart (D)
Finding new responses to demographic change.......................................................................................14
EURAC (IT)
Customer satisfaction analysis on regional rail transport in South Tyrol............................................16
Intermodal transport
Regione Emilia-Romagna (IT)
Bicycle transport................................................................................................................................................18
Municipality of Lubin (PL)
Developing an integrated regional public transport system..................................................................20
Conclusion - Passenger Rail Authorities are cooperating for better rail transport..........22
Studies and Publications..............................................................................................................................23
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5
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Station and network infrastructure development
Rail transport across national boders
Special groups of passengers
Intermodal transport
6
KORID
Renewal of 19th-century tracks for new trains
No important rail corridors pass through
the Liberec Region. Despite this, local stakeholders are striving to improve services
in order to make travelling by regional
trains more attractive. It is in the interest
of citizens to maintain, support and develop rail transport. New, modern trains have
been placed in service. However, these
trains have to use 19th-century tracks. The
infrastructure is maintained only to the
bare minimum. There is no investment coming into regional railways. Safe operation
of train services is managed via telephone.
Rail lines run around hills and valleys, while
the newly-built roads are straighter. Since
regional stakeholders are not able to influence investment priorities, infrastructure
upgrades are not coordinated in line with
their needs.
First step: set up an infrastructure register and use it as a planning tool
The “Librail - Railway in the Liberec Region
in 2030” project focuses on drawing up a
long-term master-plan which would make
it possible to lobby more effectively on all
levels for improvements to services and infrastructure in regional rail transport. We realised that, fundamentally, what had been
missing in the past was a definition of clear
goals and of the work necessary to improve
railway infrastructure. When lobbying for
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investment for railways, one needs to avoid striking the wrong note. Unambiguous
and fixed targets are needed which remain
steady over time and which are independent of the current political situation.
Second step: introduce better timetables
on existing infrastructure
The main positive outcome from the project is that after very detailed planning, it
transpired that some aims could be achieved with less extensive investment than
was previously expected. Step by step, it
will eventually be possible to achieve the
aims gradually – there is therefore no need
to wait and a start can be made on improving services right away.
For instance, KORID managed to introduce more frequent services and reduce the
need for passengers to change trains by adjusting timetables in some of the cases examined. Unfortunately, it was not possible
to speed up the trains or increase safety without investment in the infrastructure. On
the other hand, in some cases the achievement of the planned target was ranked as
impossible and the project was amended
accordingly.
Third step: discuss infrastructure development goals with other stakeholders
KORID also made one negative finding,
namely that the interested parties’ requirements and possibilities for action can
differ significantly and it is difficult to reach
"It is necessary to provide more support for regional railways
on EU level. The rules and subsidies system should be modified
in order to ensure that regional railways are not handicapped
by the absolute priority of upgrades to the main long-distance
lines.
By drawing up a long-term master-plan for the development
of rail transport in the Liberec Region, the Librail project aims
to consolidate pressure in support of investment in regional
rail transport and to be prepared when the financial resources
become available."
Martin Půta, President of the Liberec Region
Tanvald Station in the Liberec region; Interior and exterior of the Stadler Regio Shuttle operated by CD in the Liberec region
mutual agreement. One such example is
that stakeholders and requirements for
long-distance transport services (Ministry of Transport) are different from those
for regional services (Liberec region). This
problem results from a system of different
public transport stakeholders in the Czech
Republic. Given the discrepancies, the target traffic level for some railway lines has
not been agreed yet. However, the project
identified these discrepancies and extensive discussions thereof have commenced.
KORID has been unable to reduce train
services in sectors which are barely competitive and appear to have few prospects.
Ensuring these transport services requires
both the stakeholder and the infrastructure
administrator to commit significant funds
which could otherwise be invested more
efficiently. There are political, social and local reasons for this. It is difficult to find a political consensus in support of plans which
would clearly define efficiency boundaries
when ordering rail transport services. It
is necessary to provide politicians and citizens with accurate information on the
current role of rail transport in competition
with other means of transport via longterm campaigns in the national media, and
to explain the ways in which rail can be
used efficiently.
Preparation for specific measures, to be taken by the Railway Infrastructure Administration (SŽDC, s.o.), has already commenced
on the basis of the project. At the same
time, regional stakeholders are raising the
necessary funds for the implementation of
the projects.
Lessons for others: authorities need a
master-plan to hand
The Librail project confirmed how important it is, in improving transport services,
to have a detailed long-term master-plan
to hand. It is then vital to discuss this plan
with professional and particularly political
stakeholders. The goals defined must be
acceptable to all the parties concerned. The
goals must also be acceptable for society
regardless of political affiliation, as elected
representatives’ terms in office are markedly shorter than the preparation period
and service life of the proposed measures.
Against all expectations, discussion and
approval of targets for the improvement of
transport services can be complicated and
time-consuming.
Future developments
KORID will continue to work to use public
funds efficiently in operating trains, in order to ensure that the rail services provided
are attractive and sustainable in the long
term. The Librail project sparked a number
of follow-up activities which will lead to improved railway connections in the Liberec
Region. Specifically, investment is planned
for the principal local railway line (Liberec –
Tanvald) and for interregional connections
from Liberec westwards to Česká Lípa and
Ústí nad Labem. Discussions are also underway concerning fast long-distance rail
services from Praha (CZ) – Wroclaw (PL) via
Liberec, which would lead to massive numbers of passengers in the Liberec Region
returning to rail transport, namely to points
inland and to Prague.
contact us
KORID LK, spol. s r. o.
Pavel Blažek
phone: +420 485 110 074
e-mail: [email protected]
www.interregiorail.eu
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Station and network infrastructure development
Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodship
Developing regional railway stations
Rail transport across national boders
Railway stations are the entry points into
the regional rail system. They play an important role in increasing customer satisfaction. Station buildings are usually located in interesting locations in city centres
and heavily influence how visitors view a
city or location. Because station buildings
have often fallen out of use due to technical progress and/or been neglected in the
past, they offer significant potential for the
improvement of regional rail services and
city centres.
Project goal: systematic renewal of the
region’s stations
Special groups of passengers
Intermodal transport
8
A survey revealed that passengers´
expectations are very modest
travellers were students (36 percent), and
another 50 percent were workers.
According to a survey conducted as part
of INTER-Regio-Rail, from a passenger perspective the most important priority is that
stations are clean. Many interviewees also
highlighted a lack of seating facilities and
lavatories (around one quarter each). Ticket
windows are another service missed by
around one quarter of respondents. Most
passengers do not ask for additional services such as newsstands or information
desks at stations. Somewhat surprisingly,
safety was considered as a problem by only
a minority of around 15 percent at night,
and around 6 percent during the day. Demographic data and travel purposes were
also surveyed. The most important group of
The inventory shows the development
potential of the stations in the region
As data on railway stations was scarce, a
general inventory was drawn up of the region’s railway stations. This surveyed what
infrastructure was available and in what
condition the infrastructure was. Ownership of the different parts of the railway stations was very disparate and it transpired
that not even the national infrastructure
owner PKP was in possession of a complete
inventory of all the stations in the region.
The various stations’ potential was also analysed.
The goal of the project was to give new
life to railway stations in the Voivodship of
Kujawsko-Pomorskie. The approach adopted was to analyse the railway
stations in the region and pro"Public Transport and especially rail transport is one of the most important obduce a systematic plan for the
jectives for the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodship. Unfortunately, train stations
development and revitalisaare in a poor condition and do not meet the expectations of passengers. This
tion thereof. The plan had to
project has been our response to this problem. The project’s results exceeded
take on board the needs of the
our expectations. Local governments changed their thinking about our transvarious stakeholders, namely
port system - we now have the first municipalities becomming owners of stathe municipality, infrastructure
tions. In the new budgets there will be funds to revitalize the station buildings.
manager and passengers. The
The partnership has enabled us to learn good practices as how to facilitate acVoivodship wanted to develop
cess to regional rail transport, but also allowed the exchange of valuable expea general standard for railway
riences with other countries."
stations, in which context particular regard was to be paid to
Piotr Całbecki
the needs of disabled people.
Marshal of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodship
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Railway station of Tuchola; Ticket counter at the railway station of Torun; Typical minor railway station in the Voivodship of Kujwasko-Pomorskie
Based on the analysis, a programme was
drawn up for the development of the stations. The development plan includes a list
of recommended steps for the modernisation of all stations and a detailed cost estimate. The recommended measures depend
on the scope, current quality and potential
of the stations. Information systems at the
stations and connections with other modes
of transport are to be improved. The complete cost of the investment plan for all
railway stops in the Voivodship is estimated
at €43 million. Altogether the programme
covers 188 railway stations. Once this investment is made, all railway stations are
set to meet the same standards in terms of
passenger information and disabled access.
In parallel, one railway station was chosen
as a test project. The Voivodship chose Tuchola station. The national infrastructure
manager agreed that responsibility for the
station building would be passed over to
the municipality. The station is to serve as a
model for other municipalities interested in
taking over railway station buildings.
Lesson for others: passenger rail authorities are redefining their role
The project shows how important it is for
authorities to become involved in projects
that go beyond their traditional role as
pure organisers of transport services. In-
frastructure especially plays a major role in
the quality of the rail system – passenger
rail authorities need to find ways to start
discussions on this issue. Only they have a
clear interest in the development of regional infrastructure and very often only they
have the knowledge required for its development. National infrastructure managers
have other interests and cannot as easily
react to regional needs and demands.
The Voivodship has managed to start a fruitful discussion on the future development
of railway stations. It was vital to acquire
an in-depth understanding of the current
status and potential of the region’s railway
stations in order to be able to discuss the
matter with the other stakeholders. The
Polish national infrastructure manager had
mostly neglected the smaller regional railway stations. Nonetheless, the discussion
proved fruitful. The infrastructure manager
and the national ministry are now discussing how the results of the programme can
be adapted to the national level.
Project results: test project station develops, national ministry backs strategy
The Voivodship will support the implementation of the project proposals step by step.
Tuchola station will be handed over to the
municipality of Tuchola by June. It will be
the first station renovated to the standards
laid down by the Voivodship. The station
development programme is also included
in the Voivodship’s next regional development programme. Since the infrastructure
manager and the ministry are also interested in becoming more involved in regional
infrastructure development, the project is
set to have a lasting impact. In the medium
term, the ministry is planning to produce a
national development plan for railway stations in cooperation with the Voivodships
and the national infrastructure manager.
contact us
Voivodship Kujawsko-Pomorskie
Rafał Modrzewski
phone: + 48 56 62 18 487
e-mail: [email protected]
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9
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Station and network infrastructure development
VBB
Cross-border regional rail transport
Rail transport across national boders
As Europe grows closer together, regional
cross-border connections are becoming
more important. The lack of vehicles able
to cross the German-Polish border is a major hindrance standing in the way of better
regional rail connections between the two
countries. Within INTER-Regio-Rail, VBB
analysed this situation and developed solutions.
Problems with vehicles on cross-border
connections
Special groups of passengers
Regional rail passengers currently have to
change trains at border stations between
Germany and Poland because modern vehicles able to operate in both countries are
not available. The quality of these connections for passengers thereby suffers. It also
increases costs as additional rolling stock is
needed, as well as more time at stations for
changing trains. VBB aims to improve the
quality of connections between Germany
and Poland.
Action by VBB
Intermodal transport
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VBB took three steps to resolve the problem. Firstly, the potential of cross-border
connections was estimated, based on
which VBB developed a vehicle master-plan
for the cross-border connections. Secondly,
VBB evaluated the technical requirements
for vehicles crossing the German-Polish
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border, and thirdly the legal issues surrounding the joint usage of railcars by Polish
and German railway undertakings were
considered.
Ridership on regional trains between Germany and Poland remains relatively low today even though passenger numbers have
increased with the European unification
process. Infrastructure upgrades on some
of the connections have improved services
only marginally as there are no funds for an
expansion of services. With improved services, passenger numbers on the various connections are projected to rise by between
18 and 300 percent by 2025. The annual
cost of these improved services can only be
roughly calculated but would probably be
around €83 million by 2025, with train-km
increased by around 100% to a little more
than seven million train-km per year.
The technical analysis of vehicle requirements showed that 75% of the requirements in both countries were comparable.
The Technical Specifications for Interoperability have largely been implemented.
Harmonisation will be further improved
through a cross-acceptance agreement
that Germany and Poland are preparing.
Major difficulties still remain, though, especially as regards traction systems (Germany
15kV, 16 2/3 Hz; Poland 3kV, DC). Signalling,
train radio, brakes and enforced braking
via radio signal are regulated differently in
"In April 2013 we awarded NEB - a regional rail operator - a contract for operating railway services in Eastern Brandenburg for
10 years. For the first time this franchise contains the usage
of Polish built railcars in Germany which are licensed to run in
Germany and Poland allowing passengers to ride from Berlin
to Gorzów without changing trains at the border station of
Kostrzyn. This is a big step for better cross-border services and
a model for other railway lines.
The INTER-Regio-Rail project was an important basis for these
improvements. We hope to achieve further progress in crossborder services and further increasing ridership in future."
Jörg Vogelsänger
Minister for Transport and Agriculture, Brandenburg
The NEB connecting Berlin, Germany, and Kostrzyn, Poland; the "Usedomer Bäderbahn" passing the German-Polish border
the two countries. The price of adapting
railcars to be able to serve on cross-border
connections between Germany and Poland
was estimated at € 275 – 425 000 for a prototype diesel multiple unit (vehicles used in
the survey: LINT and Pesa 219M), € 75 000
– 90 000 for further such vehicles, and € 450
000 to 500 000 for an electric multiple unit
(vehicle used in the survey: Talent 2). Adapting existing electric railcars to the two
voltage systems is not seen as feasible for
the German-Polish border due to technical
constraints.
The final question to be answered was how
vehicles could be operated by different railway undertakings, since it seemed unlikely
that services would be tendered-for jointly
and that only one undertaking would operate the connections. The original goal of
the project was to develop a vehicle pool.
This ambition was abandoned as the time
left before the necessary tendering procedures in the area was deemed too short.
Instead VBB developed a cooperation agreement that is included in tender documents on both the German and the Polish
side of the border. Each of the railway undertakings awarded the service is required
to cooperate with their counterpart on the
other side of the border to guarantee direct
connections between the two countries.
Lessons for others
Future development
Differences in technical standards will result in cross-border connections costing
more for the foreseeable future. The European Union should consider supporting
not only infrastructure development in border areas but also the operation of railway
services. At least in the German-Polish case,
new infrastructure is not being used to its
full potential because costs are too high for
the authorities in the border area.
The project has achieved its major goal – by
2016 modern railcars will be crossing the
border between Germany and Poland. VBB
will continue cooperating with the Polish
authorities. Several possible enhancements
for the future exist. One option would be
to jointly tender services to achieve closer
integration of services in Germany and
Poland. This would result in closer harmonisation and integration of services. Also,
the possibility of developing a railcar pool
still exists. The availability of rolling stock is
a major issue in the rail sector. Smaller private railway undertakings in particular are
finding it hard to finance and develop their
own rolling stock. This is especially the case
for cross-border transport.
It was seen that in border areas with a
change of traction system, electrical multiple units will be feasible only in areas with
high traffic volumes or where there is fresh
investment in rolling stock in any case. For
most border areas, diesel multiple units will
be the better choice. Train protection systems will be another considerable problem
for cross-border connections. Today around
20 different control-command systems are
in operation across Europe, each expensive and complicated to maintain. Adding
multi-system equipment to locomotives
on cross-border connections can raise costs
by up to 30%. ETCS, which offers a uniform
standard across the whole of Europe, will
be a large step forward but will take decades to implement. Regional authorities will
have to develop small-scale independent
solutions.
contact us
Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenbrug
Kai Dahme
phone: +49 30 25414 255
e-mail: [email protected]
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11
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Station and network infrastructure development
ZVON
International tendering
Rail transport across national boders
Cross-border tendering for railway services
is an important issue for passenger rail authorities that have borders with other European Union Member States. The Zweckverband Oberlausitz-Niederschlesien (ZVON),
which borders Poland and the Czech Republic, has already acquired wide experience in the field with joint tenders with the
Czech Republic. Within INTER-Regio-Rail,
ZVON further evaluated the possibilities for
joint tendering with Poland.
Tendering in a tri-border area
Special groups of passengers
Intermodal transport
12
While jointly-tendered cross-border rail
transport to the Czech Republic has been
operating for several years, rail transport
to Poland is more difficult to organise. Until
2004 the two incumbent railway undertakings (Deutsche Bahn AG and Polskie Koleje Państwowe) provided a direct, unsubsidised connection. In 2004 this connection
was closed due to lack of revenue. Deutsche
Bahn AG announced that for the foreseeable future it did not see how the connection
could be revitalised without subsidies. From
2009 to 2012 the connection reopened as a
pilot project run by a regional railway undertaking that was operating subsidised
tendered connections on the German side
of the border. Until the end of 2013 direct
connections between Dresden, Görlitz and
Wroclaw will be offered in cooperation bet-
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ween the two railway undertakings on the
German and Polish side.
The goal of the ZVON project was to ensure
that direct connections between Germany
and Poland will remain possible in future,
based on a competitive call for tender to
ensure a reasonable price.
Obstacles to a joint award
The study discovered different legal options allowing direct cross-border connections. Despite this, joint awards currently
remain virtually impossible.
According to German law, regional passenger rail services have to be awarded
by competitive tender. Only very few exceptions exist, none of which apply in this
case. In Poland both direct and competitive
awards are possible. The stricter German
provisions therefore have to be applied. As
the German authorities have greater experience with tendering rail services it would
be advisable to let ZVON take the leadership role in any prospective tender.
Another possibility for a joint award would
be to establish an inter-municipal cooperation arrangement between the Polish and
German sides. This would make it possible
to directly award the service to a railway
undertaking owned by the Polish municipality. The German side would conclude a
contract with the Polish Voivodship under
the terms of which the Polish side would
provide cross-border rail services. It would
not interfere with the German prohibition
on direct awards as only Polish law would
be applied. Nonetheless, the legality of this
solution is not assured as there is no estab-
"I think it is very good that the ZVON is getting active for a fast
connection between Wroclaw and Dresden. As I am from Bautzen I am particularly pleased that there will be an improved
offer to Poland after the long-distance transport in the Region
was cancelled. Travel times and schedules are good for tourists
like me but also good for commuters."
Wolfgang Looke
Passenger
Trains of the DB Regio AG service severall connections in the ZVON-Region;
picture:
theRegione
TRILEX / Emilia
Vogtlandbahn
Romagna,
is operating
2011
between Zittau and Liberec
lished interpretation of the laws to be applied.
Therefore, while there are no real legal barriers, the practise of joint awards for direct
connections is much more complicated.
One major issue is funding. A tender may
only be run if funding is secured over the
whole period covered by the contract. On
the Polish side funding cannot be secured
over a period longer than one year, which
is much too short a period to issue a tender
for. A joint award is therefore impossible
under current Polish framework conditions.
In addition, unequally-sized budgets at
the transport authorities either side of the
border make joint awards difficult. One
partial solution would be to calculate only
the marginal costs for the proportion of
rail transport performed on the side of the
financially weaker (in this case the Polish)
partner. This would leave costs in Germany
at the same level as if there had not been a
joint award while lowering costs in Poland,
thereby making an agreement on service
quality and quantity easier to conclude.
Another important obstacle is legal uncertainty. In Poland it is currently not clear who
is responsible for cross-border rail transport. According to Polish law, this could be
a duty of either the regional or the national
authorities. Neither is therefore currently
willing to assume responsibility and pay
for services that might later turn out to be
somebody else’s responsibility.
Further harmonisation needed
The project shows what different solutions
for cross-border tenders are possible and
that legally speaking they are also possible
between Germany and Poland.
The project’s most important message is
political, though: there has to be closer harmonisation in Europe not only in the technical but also in the legal and political field.
Currently, rail passengers between Poland
and Germany suffer from legal and financial
obstacles that make joint awards impossible. This makes rail transport more expensive
than it needs to be. There could be more
and better connections if joint awards were
possible.
on the German side has to cooperate with
a Polish railway undertaking to provide direct cross-border connections, making joint
use of vehicles. The railway undertaking will
be obliged to equip sufficient vehicles to
operate on both sides of the border and to
make sure the staff are able to speak both
German and Polish. The Polish Voivodship
intends to include a similar provision in its
contract, thereby making direct connections possible in the future. This arrangement notwithstanding, ZVON’s long-term
goal is to jointly award services with the
Polish authority responsible.
Future development
ZVON has opted for a less ambitious solution to ensure that direct cross-border
connections to Poland remain open in future. Currently, ZVON is tendering only for
services on the German side of the border
but has included in the tender an obligation to cooperate – the railway undertaking
contact us
ZVON
Christoph Mehnert
phone: +49 3591 32 69 14
e-mail: [email protected]
www.interregiorail.eu
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Station and network infrastructure development
Verband Region Stuttgart
Finding new responses to demographic changes
How can regional rail transport become
better for the elderly? The Verband Region Stuttgart has worked on this topic in its
project.
Project goal
Rail transport across national boders
Due to demographic changes, the numbers
of elderly people are increasing throughout
Europe. At the same time, persuading older
people to use regional rail transport is becoming more challenging since captive
public transport users are becoming less
common, with higher proportions of elderly people having driver’s licenses.
Special groups of passengers
The goal of this project was to evaluate the
specific demands elderly people make of
regional rail transport, and to develop a service to meet these requirements. The Verband Region Stuttgart interviewed about
2000 actual and potential elderly users of
the regional rail system. A special service
was tested at one station on the suburban
rail network: several public transport assistants (“ÖPNV-Begleiter”) offered passengers help at the station and recorded what
services were needed.
Intermodal transport
14
Barriers for the elderly in suburban rail
transport
The majority of elderly people in the region are physically able to use the train. Even
among female passengers over 80 (the
group most affected by physical problems),
more than 65% stated that they have no
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health concerns that would make the use
of public transport difficult. Nonetheless,
the car remains the primary means of transport, at least for non-captive users (i.e. those with driver’s licenses).
Elderly people say that one of the most significant barriers is the lack of seating during periods of congestion. Another main
problem concerns the changing of trains.
In addition, the use of ticket machines was
mentioned by a large proportion of those
interviewed. Lastly, elderly people consider travel information to often be inadequate, as in the case of service disruptions.
Among those elderly people who do not or
only rarely use the Stuttgart suburban rail
network, information on tariffs was seen
as a major problem. More than 60% of
non-users said they were afraid of buying
the wrong ticket by mistake. Non-users in
particular also stated that railway stations
were too far away from their destinations
or homes.
Interviewees were also asked if they had
any ideas on how to improve the services
provided by the rail system. The service
requested most often was help using ticket machines. Help getting onto and off
of platforms and trains was also needed.
Offers such as mobility courses were considered less helpful. The effects of these services will probably be limited. Only around
20% of non-users and occasional users believed they would increase their use of the
suburban rail system if these services were
offered.
The service with public transport assistants
was tested at the Feuerbach station. The
goal was not to offer a “sedan service” or
ambulance services. Recognisable by their
coloured vests, mobility assistants offered
services to elderly people, such as helping
them buy the correct ticket and providing
"In the Stuttgart Region, the number of seniors is continually
growing. Public transport (ÖPNV) must react to this fact by accommodating the needs and wishes of elderly passengers. “INTER-Regio-Rail” is helping us in this endeavor. By cooperating
with dedicated partners from around Europe, we are able to
focus on analyzing these needs. At the same time, the project
gives us the chance to test out new approaches and respond to
the demands of elderly S-Bahn passengers."
Dr. Jürgen Wurmthaler,
Executive Director Economy and Infrastructure
Verband Region Stuttgart
Impressions of the suburban railway in Stuttgart
information on timetables, connections,
and the surrounding area. They also assisted people with luggage or baby carriages
on stairs or when entering and leaving the
trains. If a passenger needed an assistant it
was also possible to make a reservation in
advance.
According to checklists compiled by the
mobility assistants, the most requested
service concerned information. More than
25% of requests were for help using ticket
machines. 20% of requests concerned information on timetables and connections,
and approximately 25% were about the
station surroundings. 17% of requests were
for assistance with stairs or getting on and
off the trains. This last category also shows
that mobility impairment is a broad issue:
most of the requests for help with stairs and
train doors came from young parents with
strollers, not so much from elderly people.
Synergies with services for all passengers
The project shows that major efforts are
needed to improve rail transport for a growing population of older passengers. Surprisingly, the proportion of elderly people
with physical disabilities that make the use
of public transport impossible is high only
in the very advanced age groups (far above 80). Investing in infrastructure alone will
therefore not be the solution to draw more
elderly passengers into the public transport
system. Major reasons for not using public transport were more likely to be in the
areas of information and the image people have of the transport system. Therefore,
developing tailored services, especially in
cooperation with other stakeholders, is
one way of making public transport more
attractive to these groups.
The project also showed there is great potential to unlock synergies with parallel
efforts to improve service quality for other
passengers. Most of the requests the mobility assistants received concerned information on the surrounding area, timetables
and ticket machines – services which could
be useful to all passengers. Even help which
was expected to be mostly requested by
the elderly – for example using stairs or
when entering a train – was also needed by
younger passengers travelling with strollers.
of emergency but also to get on, off and
change trains. They offer recreation rooms
or provide wheelchairs, luggage trolleys or
lifting platforms especially for people with
reduced mobility or elderly passengers.
In parallel improved services will be accompanied by improvements to the infrastructure: 88% of the stations on Greater
Stuttgart’s suburban rail network are already barrier-free. New rolling stock will be introduced in mid-2013 that will comply with
the European TSI for “Persons with reduced
mobility”, thereby further improving the
quality of the public transport system for all
passengers.
Future development
Cooperation with housing and health insurance companies may also offer a way
to ameliorate the services provided by the
Stuttgart suburban railway system. In the
medium term, Verband Region Stuttgart is
considering cooperation with the German
social aid organisation “Bahnhofsmission”
as part of its “Bahnhofsmission mobil” project where they offer travelling with unaccompanied children or other passengers
who need help. The “Bahnhofsmission” is
located at most of the bigger railway stations in Germany where they assist everybody not only in existential situations
contact us
Verband Region Stuttgart
Manfred Kreisner
e-mail:
www.interregiorail.eu
15
.
Station and network infrastructure development
EURAC
Customer satisfaction analysis on regional rail
transport in South Tyrol
Rail transport across national boders
The European Academy of Bolzano/Bozen
(EURAC) conducted a survey to investigate customer satisfaction levels among rail
passengers and tourists in South Tyrol. The
survey also addressed the reasons why residents and tourists do not use public transport.
Special groups of passengers
The degree of satisfaction turned out to be
fairly high (an average 65% for residents
and 82% for tourists on a scale where 0%
corresponds to minimum satisfaction and
100% to complete satisfaction). Regarding
the reasons for not travelling by train, lack
of information concerning rail transport
and preference for other means of trans-
Project goal
port play a major role for both residents
and tourists.
Two sets of conclusions can be drawn from
the results, the first concerning the satisfaction of passengers on local rail services, the
second regarding the factors determining
the choice of means of transport.
Intermodal transport
The results show that rail transport in South Tyrol meets passengers’ expectations,
The main objective of the customer saalthough tourists were more positive ovetisfaction survey was to examine to what
rall than residents. Generally speaking, the
extent regional rail transport meets the
two target groups rank the analysed factors
requirements of passengers, both residents
differently, probably due to the difference
and tourists. Though only indirectly, the
research also enables future direct investment to be targeted towards meeting
the requirements expressed by the
"The INTER-Regio-Rail project is very useful and plays an important role
various passengers.
in providing tools to improve public transport services in the Province of
Bolzano. The data collected will be crucial to improvements to local public
What is more, the survey aims to
transport services and to meeting the effective users’ requirements, and
identify the characteristics of those
thus to guaranteeing increasingly sustainable mobility at the provincial
who do not regularly travel by train in
level.
order to define which improvements
The Mobility Agency is constantly committed to achieving an increase in
might increase the appeal of rail
service quality, with the purpose of being closer to users’ requirements
transport for new categories of user.
and, therefore, boosting the competitiveness of public transport as opposed to private."
What passengers think of rail
transport in South Tyrol
The results of the study are parti-
16
cularly interesting for two reasons: they
identify the needs and satisfaction levels of
passengers on local rail services (residents
and tourists), and pinpoint the reasons why
some residents and tourists choose not to
travel by train.
www.interregiorail.eu
Ing. Roberto Rubbo
Director, Mobility Agency of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano/Bozen – South Tyrol
Impressions of rail transport in South Tyrol, the European Academy of Bolzano
in travel context. Satisfaction with certain
factors also varies between target groups,
probably because of different expectations
and frequencies of use. Nevertheless, both
tourists and residents agree on the three
most satisfactory factors: accessibility of
railway stations, reliability and travel comfort.
Regarding the factors determining the
choice of transport, the results show that
passengers choose to take the train for reasons of environmental awareness. However, residents also choose the train for its
cost-effectiveness and user-friendliness.
Those who choose not to travel by train, by
contrast, mainly do so in accordance with
their own preference for cars and because
of issues with the accessibility of their destination. Residents suggested a range of
elements that might increase the appeal of
rail transport: improved network and connections, boosting services in evening time
slots, improved safety and better reliability.
Tourists, however, could hardly identify any
elements that might make rail transport
more attractive, with the exception of better information.
The barriers that need to be removed to en-
large the passenger pool are therefore not
just physical or tangible. There are also cultural and psychological barriers that require measures beyond the improvement of
service quality: it is necessary to implement
an information system and to raise awareness on the topic of sustainable mobility.
How this analysis of customer satisfaction can help others
The main objective of the project was to
identify regional rail transport’s weaknesses, which might then be generalised to
other similar regions of central Europe.
Once the rail network and infrastructure is
created, public administrations and railway
undertakings need to develop a marketing
plan to promote and sell the rail service.
The study might draw attention to the crucial services required by passengers and
the differences between passengers’ needs.
In the case of South Tyrol, the public administration has been investing heavily in
infrastructure over the last eight years, but
has not received any feedback in terms of
rail passenger satisfaction. This survey also
represents a first step for local railway undertakings in analysing passengers’ needs
and focusing on them. The effectiveness
and efficiency of investment is in fact a very
important issue in a period of spending review.
Future development
Since the project results underscore the
need to improve customer information systems in regional rail transport, the Mobility Agency of the Autonomous Province of
Bolzano, in collaboration with EURAC, decided to implement Google Transit, a Google Maps tool that allows public transport
itineraries in South Tyrol to be created and
visualised. This will be a new tool to help residents and tourists with their travel plans
in the province in future.
contact us
European Academy of Bolzano/Bozen
Anna Scuttari
phone: +39 0471 055422
e-mail: [email protected]
www.interregiorail.eu
17
.
Station and network infrastructure development
Rail transport across national boders
Special groups of passengers
Intermodal transport
18
Regione Emilia-Romagna
Bicycle transport
In 2011 and 2012, Regione Emilia-Romagna, with support from ERDF funds obtained
through the Central Europe Programmefunded project INTER Regio Rail (IRR), restored an old railcar to test an innovative
Bike-Train Transport (BTT) service able to
accommodate up to 50 bicycles, and developed a specific railway service dedicated
to bicycle tourists.
Testing new services for cyclists
Regione Emilia-Romagna’s goal was to test
an innovative large-scale BTT service to
support bicycle tourism in the region. The
service was structured in two ways: firstly,
organising specific extra trains (fully funded by the IRR project) and secondly, including the new BTT services within the normal Regional Rail Transport (RRT) schedule
with partial financial support from the IRR
project. As well as evaluating users’ overall
opinion of the service, this twin set of tests
in two distinct scenarios was intended to
assess the operational characteristics and
financial sustainability of the BTT service
in and of itself. The overall goal was then
to understand users’ opinion of the service
alongside its operational/financial feasibili-
www.interregiorail.eu
ty and sustainability.
Results of the project
via surveys distributed to users, feedback
was analysed in-depth to evaluate their
opinion of the service.
In 2011 small-scale trials were organised,
while in 2012, thanks also to some savings
made in restoring the railcar, a more ambitious set of pilot tests were carried out
including extensive testing on the Adriatic
coast during the summer period.
During the two years of testing, hundreds
of travellers used the pilot BTT services and,
The results showed that:
•
BTT charter trips can be successfully organised (there is also a distinct demand from certain categories of users, e.g.
schools), but are very expensive and deployable only on certain routes and during certain periods of the year.
•
BTT services run within the normal
"For our rail transport company, the experience gained with
Regione Emilia-Romagna in the INTER Regio Rail project has
been an additional effort on top of our usual activities but,
at the same time, it has been a task we have carried out with
maximum enthusiasm and creativity. Through our active participation in the pilot activities, our company has confirmed
its belief in the importance of paying specific attention to the
needs of those users willing to take their bicycles onboard our
trains. The new trains TPER is purchasing will each be equipped
with space for 18 bicycles. The choice of this design is partly
derived from our experience in the INTER Regio Rail project."
Giuseppina Gualtieri
President of TPER
Exterior and interior of the bicycle car; places for bicycles in new railcars ordered by TER
railway services schedule, while presenting
several drawbacks from an operational feasibility point of view (especially when organised on secondary single-track routes),
present advantages from a financial point
of view.
•
Using old railcars to develop dedicated, large-scale BTT services, while advantageous from a financial point of view, may
lead to drawbacks in terms of user satisfaction (e.g. possible concerns surrounding
railcar accessibility for bicycles (on non lowfloor railcars); lack of air-conditioning in the
summer period, etc).
of bikes). Most likely the best way to carry
out large-scale BTT services is via the “on
demand” model, with costs split between
users and the operator (which may be the
railway operator, the regional government,
or also private sponsors in the case of tourist events). If the BTT services are organised within the normal railway schedule, a
smaller number of bikes onboard should be
allowed for, in order to minimise conflicts
with regular operation in stations and alleviate the impact on normal RRT services.
How to organise similar services
The restored railcar is currently available for
other services. We have already received
several requests to organise specific trips,
especially from schools interested in combined rail-bike nature trips. We are currently
examining how to fund these services and
investigating possible interest from private
sponsors. On the other hand, the lessons
learnt from the project have given Regione Emilia-Romagna interesting food for
thought as regards the configuration of the
new railcars. It was decided to increase the
number of bike racks in each railcar to meet
an increasing demand for BTT services.
Our pilot tests have shown us that largescale BTT services are particularly expensive when organised outside of the normal
schedule, and are therefore hardly financially sustainable – especially in a period characterised by major financial cuts due to the
general economic crisis. On the other hand,
large-scale BTT services are quite cheap
when organised within the normal railway
schedule, but they cause conflicts with
normal operational procedures (e.g. delays in stations due to boarding/alighting
The perspective is to have more than 90%
of trains in the RRT of Emilia-Romagna carrying each 6-9 or 18 bicycles, for tourists
and occasional users within 2014. Bicycles
on trains is not the proper answer to commuters needs, according to the fact that a
bicycle place needs 1/1,5 the space of a
seating place, and that commuters displace
at the same peak hours.
Future development
contact us
Cesare Sgarzi,
Regione Emilia-Romagna
phone: +39 051 5273847
e-mail: [email protected]
www.interregiorail.eu
19
.
Station and network infrastructure development
Municipality of Lubin
Developing an integrated regional public transport
system
Rail transport across national boders
In the Legnica-Glogow Copper Area
(LGOM), the public transport system is not
currently integrated. Many private bus
companies provide services on their own
account, safety standards are often neglected, and services are not coordinated.
One result of this is that passengers have to
buy separate tickets for the different parts
of the public transport system. In general,
usage of the system is more complicated
than it has to be.
Project goal
Special groups of passengers
Intermodal transport
20
The goal of the project was to develop a
The goal of the project was to develop a
model for an integrated public transport
system with a single tariff covering the entire Legnica-Glogow Copper Area, and to
work on the political level to lay the foundations for the implementation of this idea.
The strategy was to develop a regional public transport plan describing a possible
future public transport network and how it
could be organised and financed.
Because in Poland integrated fare systems
currently exist only around a few major cities, the project played a pioneering role.
Basic research was therefore also required
to evaluate the legal possibilities for the
plan’s implementation and the possible
www.interregiorail.eu
ways of financing an integrated fare system.
Structure of an integrated public transport system in LGOM
As there was no inventory of the entire public transport system, the first step in the
project was to assess what connections
existed and how usage was organised.
Having thus laid the groundwork, the Municipality of Lubin as the project leader developed a proposal for an integrated public
transport system. The plan describes in detail how the different lines in the area are
serviced depending on time of day and day
of the week. Services are scheduled to run
every 15 minutes between the most important population centres at peak hours.
The municipality also evaluated the potential for the revitalisation of the regional railway line. The plan was abandoned after the
national infrastructure manager declined
to revitalise the infrastructure. The Municipality of Lubin is currently trying to take
charge of the revitalisation process.
In a third step, a concept for the management and funding of an integrated fare
system was developed. The authority for
organising public transport would be located in the largest city (Legnica). It would be
responsible for planning public transport,
concluding agreements with operators,
and providing subsidies where necessary.
Transport undertakings would operate under net-service contracts. Revenues from
ticket sales would remain with the transport undertakings. The integrated ticket is
"The implementation of the “One ticket, one tariff” project is
a great chance for Legnica – Glogow Copper District. An integrated public transport system will raise the quality of life and
the attractiveness of this area, because it will provide a comfortable public transport system for its citizens. Thanks to the
realization of the pilot project there will be a real alternative
for indivual cars users who dominate the local modal split."
Mr Kazimierz Ziółkowski, CEO of
PKS Lubin SA
Typical private bus operating in the LGOM region; railway station and bus station of Lubin
planned only as a supplement to the existing fare system. Revenues from the sale of
integrated tickets will be split among the
operators by the transport organising authority.
ample in the Czech Republic, to experience
the potential of a reformed public transport
system. This helped motivate stakeholders
to throw themselves behind a new public
transport system.
The cost of public transport for the municipalities is likely to increase. By 2018, when
the new system will mostly be in place, subsidies for bus services will probably have
grown from around five million zlotys (€1.2
million) today to around 13 million zlotys
(€3.2 million). The reason for the cost increase is partly an expansion of services. But
the quality of the service will also be higher and safety will be improved. Currently
many private undertakings do not adhere
to legal safety standards. Buses are not reliable and run only on the most profitable
lines.
The project also shows that moving from a
deregulated, uncoordinated public transport system to a closely-coordinated system operating with public tenders requires
additional funds. The higher cost results
from the expansion of services and from
an increase in safety and quality standards.
Nonetheless, public transport continues to
have difficulty asserting itself in terms of
modal share – estimates show that even
this expansion of funding does not result
in a substantial improvement of public
transport’s modal share, although it prevents further deterioration.
European cooperation is important for
success
As experienced by our partners in the
Czech Republic, infrastructure development for railway services proved to be difficult from the regional perspective. National infrastructure managers have different
interests from regional authorities, and lack
flexibility and knowledge of the situation in
the regions. After the first attempt to revitalise the infrastructure failed, the region is
currently trying to obtain more influence
over development.
One important issue in the plan’s implementation is convincing regional politicians and stakeholders that reform of the
public transport system is necessary and
possible. Here European cooperation is
an important factor in success. Decisionmakers from the region were invited to visit
integrated public transport systems, for ex-
Future development
The new concept will very likely be implemented, since there is a broad consensus
among all regional parties that reform of
the public transport system is needed. The
public transport development plan for the
years to come includes designs for an integrated ticketing system, and describes the
steps to be taken. A public transport authority for the region is set to be established
in 2014, and the service is scheduled to be
rolled out on the principal lines from 2015.
contact us
Municipality of Lubin
Grzegorz Ulbrych
“One ticket, one tariff” project manager
phone: +48 76 746 81 86
e-mail: [email protected]
www.interregiorail.eu
21
CONCLUSION
Passenger Rail Authorities are cooperating for better rail transport
The INTER-Regio-Rail pilot projects are a
success. We may draw this conclusion because their results show how passenger rail
authorities can improve services for passengers. This result is not surprising, however, since (as in many other cooperation
projects) the consortiums are built around
project ideas that seemed generally feasible but needed further examination. What
then is the real success of INTER-Regio-Rail?
The project results are transferable
First of all, we have focused on, and successfully ensured, the projects’ transferability. Transferability, however, is not possible
without acknowledging that the specific
framework conditions governing the work
of passenger rail authorities are different in
each country and region of Europe:
The budget available to the authorities is
as different as the passenger rail transport
cost structure in each country. For instance,
apart from passenger revenues, German
regional rail transport is financed to a large extent by the federal government. On
the other hand Polish regions are paying
around 80% of the subsidies for regional
rail transport and in the Czech Republic
rail transport is almost completely funded
by the regions. The average cost of using
infrastructure varies between € 0,40 in the
Czech Republic and € 4,20 per train kilometre in Germany. Taking also into account
differences in staff costs and ticket prices,
it becomes clear that the financial frameworks surrounding regional rail transport in
the various countries of Europe can hardly
be compared.
Had INTER-Regio-Rail invented a model
project costing "X" in one country, there
would therefore have been the strong risk
that it was almost impossible to implement
in another European country because it
would have been too expensive there.
Keeping this risk in mind, we have chosen
a different approach, which we illustra-
22
www.interregiorail.eu
te via the example of the Verband Region
Stuttgart pilot project for elderly people:
INTER-Regio-Rail is not proposing a specific service concept, which could be difficult
to finance from passenger rail authorities’
ever-tight budgets. Instead, we are encouraging other passenger rail authorities to
seek out cooperative ventures with strategic partners which are not railway transport
stakeholders, but which are affected by the
common phenomenon of demographic
change. A second option could be to open
discussions with regional political stakeholders on the general cost of demographic
change and the need to set financial priorities accordingly.
jects do not therefore restrict themselves to
where a passenger rail authority has solved
a specific problem, but rather spotlight instances where PRAs have changed part of
the framework conditions governing their
work.
INTER-Regio-Rail deals with
passenger
rail
authorities’
framework conditions
We have therefore discussed the relationship between authorities and infrastructure managers and railway undertakings
at length among INTER-Regio-Rail’s partners and stakeholders and with EU political
decision-makers. In view of the attention
that we have received, we have come to
the conclusion that it can be very helpful
for passenger rail authorities to become
more conscious of their role as an advocate
for passengers, in order to create a network
and to influence the legislative framework
conditions governing their work.
A second factor in INTER-Regio-Rail’s success is the focus on the framework conditions that influence the work of the passenger rail authorities in general and the
outcome of the pilot projects in particular.
INTER-Regio-Rail is not about merely implementing pilot projects, but about discussing the framework conditions that determine their success and transferability, and
about trying to change these.
This brochure presents the results of the
pilot projects, but either explicitly or between the lines you will have read how the
partners deal with the framework conditions governing the projects. You will have
understood, for instance, that the KORID
project is not only about developing infrastructure projects and finding additional
funds for these, but that the authority’s
master-plan is a long-term strategic tool
to optimise the use of infrastructure funds
and thus change the framework conditions
under which the services operate. Similarly,
the Marszal office of the Kujawsko-Pomporskie Region and the South Tyrol Mobility Agency do not collect data for the sake
of it, but in order to positively develop their
role as the advocate of current and future
passengers. The results of all the pilot pro-
Furthermore, one part of INTER-Regio-Rail’s
work touches on the general framework
conditions governing passenger rail authorities. One of these framework conditions
for instance is the structure of the infrastructure managers, which heavily determines the cost structure of the authorities and
the extent to which they can influence the
quality of the services.
If you have any questions, either about the
INTER-Regio-Rail pilot projects or about cooperation between passenger rail authorities in Europe, do not hesitate to contact us!
contact us
INTER-Regio-Rail / BAG-SPNV
Ludger Sippel
+49 8161 60993
[email protected]
www.interregiorail.eu
Studies and Publications
Station and network infrastructure development
KORID (2011) Analysis of the transport network in the Liberec Region
KORID (2012) Railway transport in the Liberec Region in 2030
Voivodeship Kujawsko-Pomorskie (2013) Analysis of the condition of
railway stations and railway stops in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie region
Special groups of passengers
EURAC (2012) Customer satisfaction analysis on regional rail transport
in South Tyrol
Rail transport accross national borders
VBB (2013) Diminshing barriers to regional rail transport
ZVON (2012) Cross-border tendering of Regional Rail Transport
services
Intermodal transport
City of Lubin (2013) Sustainable Development Plan for Public Transport in the LGOM area for the years 2013-2017, parts I and II
Regione Emilia-Romagna (2013) Adapting RRT to the needs of
cyclists
Find more information on www.interregiorail.eu
www.interregiorail.eu
23
editorial office:
German Association of Passenger Rail Authorities (BAG-SPNV)
Hardenbergplatz 2
10623 Berlin, Germany
phone: +49 30 81 61 60 99 3
e-mail: [email protected]
The programme is implemented through the CENTRAL
EUROPE Programme co-financed by the ERDF.
For further information:
www.central2013.eu
INTER-Regio-Rail is supported by the German Federal Transnational Cooperation Programme.
Pictures:
Cover: pg. 3
pg. 6-7:
pg. 8-9:
pg. 10:
pg. 11:
pg. 12-13
pg. 14-15
pg. 16
pg. 17
pg. 18-19
pg. 20-21
pg. 23
ZVON
BAG-SPNV
all KORID
all Voivodship Kujawsko-Pomorskie
top Verkehrsverbund Berlin Brandenburg GmbH; bottom MIL, Judith Zocher
left Verkehrsverbund Berlin Brandenburg GmbH; right Deutsche Bahn AG, Bartlomiej Banaszak
all ZVON
all Verband Region Stuttgart
left: Hans-Peter Leu, SMG; bottom EURAC
all EURAC
all Regione Emilia-Romagna
all Municipality of Lubin
EURAC