Draft of Public Rail Passenger Transport During the COVID-19 Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the railway sector experienced a significant worldwide decrease in the number of passengers due to the reduced transportation capacity of trains introduced for limiting social contacts and passengers fears from the disease. The reduction in population mobility resulting from national anti-pandemic measures led to the fact that carriers in the Slovak Republic began to optimize and limit the rail transport performance. Several measures were also implemented to reduce the risk of the spread of the COVID-19 disease so that passengers feel safe while traveling by train. Globally, we are entering the third year of coronavirus, and the pandemic is expected to continue even this year. For this reason, forecasting passenger demand for rail transport is becoming increasingly important and it is necessary to take measures in public passenger transport that will consider the reduced mobility due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper deals with the proposal of a methodology for planning transport services on selected regional railway lines during the COVID-19 pandemic.