Volumen 18 (2022): Heft 2 (December 2022)

The COVID-19 pandemic crisis has had a major impact on the supply, demand, and economic performance of rail transport. The largest impact was recorded in the second quarter of 2020, from April to June. Passenger transport was more affected than freight transport, with international transport falling by an average of 85% in the second quarter of 2020. The reduction in rail transport in the first months of the crisis was a direct consequence of the public authorities’ response to the COVID-19 crisis (restrictions on passenger mobility) as well as the impact of the global economic slowdown, which generally led to a reduction in transport demand. The paper is focused on the impact of measures in railway passenger transport and subsequently on the implementation of new anti-pandemic measures in the next period. The paper describes the method of the Covid machine, which was introduced for a simple, concise, and comprehensible setting of the system of measures. The system for evaluating anti-pandemic measures is designed to inform about the current level of risk in relation to the measure in place.

Accommodation wagons and night trains have a relatively long tradition in Europe and have been a popular and developed segment of transport for decades. However, at the end of the last century, the trend began to change, and long-distance night traffic began to stagnate. The consequence was the significant restriction and cancellation of several direct international night train connections or direct accommodation wagons in several European countries, including Slovakia, also due to the fast and affordable air transport. In addition, the period of the corona crisis limited long-distance night transport even more significantly. However, bold plans are now emerging in certain countries to reintroduce more night train services. The article deals with a brief analysis of the development of night train connections in Europe, including the current state and vision for the future, while providing systematic conceptual proposals for the development of the mentioned transport segment in the future.

Simulation is one of the methods in which a real system is substituted with a computer model where experiments are practiced and then subsequently analyzed and evaluated. After the application of the results of simulation and verification of its effects the results are applied in the real system with the aim to optimize processes. It seems that simulation is appropriate tool which offers all useful information about how model system works in given conditions. Simulation in planning and optimizing allows better and faster understanding of processes and guarantees that operational devices will work at the top of their effectiveness. Simulation plays an important role in optimization of logistic chains organization. There is a need to analyze strictly, find narrow places, remove them and consequently to repeat simulation with the new data. It is also very profitable to parallelly simulate more possible alternatives when there is a change in input data and consequently to compare them. The model of logistic chain created by simulation will considerably influence right decisions in process solving related to distribution. Subsequent optimization of logistic chain management can be aimed at the organization where the sum of final costs for transport and warehousing is minimum in compliance with basic parameters of customers’ service level.

In the paper classic systems of the management of logistic chains are compared, namely direct distribution and indirect distribution made by technology Cross-Dock canter. Final comparative analysis of both systems simulation points out not only to their advantages and disadvantages but also to the possibilities of their optimization and application in particular operational conditions.

At present, in business practice, we meet the requirements of the employer for employees to work better, faster and better in order to satisfy the customer as much as possible. It often happens that this requirement on the part of the employer is evaluated subjectively and then subsequently the presentation of the results of the employees’ work is not objective. Several methods can be used to improve the evaluation process, and in our case we used an evaluation system using a full-fledged feedback methodology.

This article is aimed at introducing the issue of simulating traffic processes and the possibility of creating traffic models using software solutions. The introduction describes the basic problems that are present for the responsible authority in the decision-making process on the implementation of transport infrastructure projects and the verification of the validity of their implementation. The importance of computer technology in the process of evaluating projects and the socioeconomic effects they bring is also mentioned. The benefits of retrospective evaluation of already implemented projects and comparison with predictions made in the preparation process in relation to the verification of forecasts and the structure and scope of input data are also indicated. In the next part, the starting points for the creation of traffic models, input data and expected outputs are summarized due to the nature of the performed simulation. The final part provides an overview of the possibilities of using software solutions for the creation of traffic models and the suitability of their application according to the specifics of the simulation and output requirements.

Railway undertakings face many challenges and obstacles to competition in the transport market. Strategic management methods in relation to quality assurance of services provided by carriers, used not only in transport sectors but also in industrial sectors, are a way to continuously improve the quality of services and thus the competitiveness of railway undertakings. Nowadays, customers are becoming more and more demanding, also in view of the wider range of services offered by other modes of transport. For this reason, quality requirements are increasing. Most business strategy evaluation systems are only partial, limiting themselves to the assessment of certain factors where many shortcomings remain hidden. In the same way, a strategic plan for the economic growth and development of a transport organisation does not always ensure the achievement of the set objectives.

The operation of railway passenger transport is characterized by high economic costs and also high requirements for personnel and vehicle means. Existing rail transport operators aim to provide transport services as modern, efficient and cost-effective as possible, while meeting all safety and quality standards. In the case of public service obligations, they must also respect the requirements of the contracts. Currently, a significant transformation of the railway passenger transport operation throughout Slovakia is being prepared in order to increase its efficiency, sustainability and quality. This primarily concerns public service obligations. The line Košice - Prešov - Lipany - Plaveč - (Muszyna) (line No 188) will also be affected. Transport services on this line will be significantly modified and intensified, inter alia, because of the introduction of an integrated transport system in the relevant region. The Route 188 service plans were prepared in two different Transport Service Plans (TSPs). The first one was prepared by the Prešov and Košice Regions. In parallel with the first TSP, a second TSP was prepared by the Ministry of Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic (MT&C SR) for the entire Slovak railway network, which also includes line No 188. There are several differences in the proposlas included in TSPs for the line in question. The main objective of this paper is to compare the traffic service proposals in the individual TSPs developed for Line No. 188 based on a comparison with the status quo and a comparison of selected operational indicators, as well as to determine the basic advantages and disadvantages.

We currently rank road transport as one of the largest producers of harmful substances. In relation to the environment, we can say that it is a source of emissions, vibrations, and, last but not least, noise. Transport (especially road) puts pressure on land and contributes greatly to global environmental problems. Especially in road transport, a large number of accidents occur, which are reflected in material and especially human losses, as well as in congestion, which manifests itself in the loss of time. Global production of pollutant emissions is associated with the development of transport, an increase in transport performance, and fuel consumption. The Ministry of Transport considers it one of the largest in terms of the number of emissions produced. Today, a lot of attention is paid to ecology and especially to air quality. This article talks about the extent to which transport can adjust air quality and how difficult it is to prevent the number of emissions produced. Several actions and different methods are needed to answer these questions. The basis is the creation of a unified system of product production evaluation in the entire monitored area.