6.2.4 BUSINESS CASES FOR NEW/IMPROVED PASSENGER TRANSPORT SERVICES. Version: 1 Date: Partner: KTI, GySEV

Transcription

1 6.2.4 BUSINESS CASES FOR NEW/IMPROVED PASSENGER TRANSPORT SERVICES Version: 1 Date: Partner: KTI, GySEV

2 BUSINESS CASES FOR NEW/IMPROVED PASSENGER TRANSPORT SERVICES Prepared by: András Németh, KTI Gábor Albert, KTI 2 / 28

3 Table of contents Executive summary Introduction General demographic information Population data Main cities along the SETA corridor Infrastructure along the SETA corridor Railway transportation Road transportation Air transportation Public transport connections along the SETA corridor Railway transportation Other direct connections Former international trains Road transportation Public transport Individual transport Air transportation DEMO Train The characteristics of the terminated Zagreb-Sopron-Vienna train (No. 284/285) Running the pilot train Business cases Long-distance Shuttle Train service between Vienna and Zagreb Alternative routes Possible train vehicles Connections towards the other cities along the SETA corridor Train service with multiple function between Vienna and Zagreb Night trains through the SETA corridor Other issues Journey time vs. travel costs Marketing Conclusion / 28

4 Executive summary The document demonstrates three business cases based on inquiries from the current and past passenger transport situation. The first one is a proposal for the restart of direct train connection between Vienna and Zagreb through Hungary based on the Demo Train implemented in September, The main findings and experiences are also briefly summarized. The second business case deals with the possibilities of integration of the international and domestic trains in order to reduce the number of necessary engines and the energy consumption, taking into account the possible impacts on the international passengers. The third inquiry is a classical railway-suited transport: an integrated night-train service along the SETA corridor in order to transport as large proportion of vacationers as possible. 1 Introduction The objective of this document is to demonstrate 3 practical business cases for passenger transport along the SETA Corridor. These are based on an assessment of past and existing connections and on the Demo Train ran in 2012 between Zagreb and Vienna. The first part presents the demographic factors and the most important cities in the region. This is followed by the general characteristics (infrastructure, passenger traffic) of road, rail and air transport. Following this, the Demo Train will be discussed in some brief words. The second part of the study describes the 3 business cases, followed by some additional suggestions concerning the international passenger traffic. 4 / 28

5 2 General demographic information 2.1 Population data The SETA corridor starts at the triangle of Vienna/Bratislava/Sopron and ends at Rijeka/Koper/Trieste. As the average amount of inhabitants per km 2 in EU is about 117 people, it can be stated that the population density of this region is a bit lower than the average. However, the SETA corridor connects four more dense regions (with four main centres): Northeast Austria (Vienna) and West Slovakia (Bratislava) with Nothwest Croatia (Zagreb) and Central Slovenia (Ljubljana). Figure 1: Population density in the region (Source: As Figure 2 shows, the concerned regions are not only relatively densely populated but their population is also growing since these regions are typically the most developed ones of their country. The natural growth is mainly negative but the migration balance is usually positive. This fact allows us to calculate with the present number of population or even slightly more hereinafter. 5 / 28

6 Figure 2: Population change in the region (Source: Main cities along the SETA corridor The Table 1 shows the main cities in the region. Heading from North to South, the first cities are the two capitals. Vienna is the largest city of the corridor with inhabitants, but considering its closer urban agglomeration we can talk about people in total. Bratislava is four times smaller than Vienna with a smaller urban zone. In the middle of the axis, there are middle-sized West-Hungarian cities: Sopron, Győr, Szombathely Zalaegerszeg and Nagykanizsa. Although Győr is the largest, its size is one-third of the size of Bratislava. On the southern part of the axis are the Croatian and Slovenian cities. Zagreb, the capital of Croatia has almost inhabitants. The second and third largest settlements are Split and Rijeka, and Koprivnica and Varaždin are smaller towns between Hungary and Croatia. Slovenian cities are less-sized, Ljubljana, the capital has only little less than / 28

7 inhabitants. It is followed by Maribor ( people) and some less-sized cities (Murska Sobota, Celje and the coastal Koper). Trieste with its inhabitants should also be mentioned as this Italian city is also an endpoint of the Italian high-speed railway network, directly at the state border. Country Code Name Population Year AT Vienna SK Bratislava HU Sopron HU Győr HU Szombathely HU Zalaegerszeg HU Nagykanizsa HR Koprivnica HR Varaždin HR Zagreb HR Rijeka HR Split SI Murska Sobota SI Maribor SI Celje SI Ljubljana SI Koper IT Trieste Table 1: List of cities along the SETA corridor (Sources: / 28

8 3 Infrastructure along the SETA corridor 3.1 Railway transportation The following map shows the main railway connections in the region. The shortest and fastest connection between Vienna and the Adriatic Sea leads through Hungary and Croatia. The main cities are Sopron, Szombathely, Nagykanizsa, Koprivnica and Zagreb along this route. This is a single track with electrification except for the section Szombathely- Nagykanizsa which is still diesel-powered. The track speed is very changeable but usually between km/h, except for some parts between Szombathely and Nagykanizsa, where also 40 km/h speed limit occurs due to the bad infrastructure condition. It can be seen that the most critical part of the axis is an around 50 km long section on the Hungarian side. At Gyékényes, a change of direction is needed. Figure 3: Overview railway map of SETA corridor (Source: 8 / 28

9 There are two alternative routes to the other Adrian cities, Trieste and Koper through Ljubljana and Divača. By 2000, a previously terminated railway connection was revivified between Slovenia and Hungary as part of the Trans-European Railway Network. This is an almost overall electrified, single-track route (a Hungarian part between Szombathely and Zalaszentiván is under construction, expected completion: 2015), but the speed limit on the renewed track is obviously higher ( km/h) than the original route through Zagreb. A connection between the Croatian and the Slovenian route is also on disposal (from Zagreb to Ljubljana). There are competing routes through the Alps (via Villach/Tarvisio or Graz/Maribor) with a better infrastructure (electrified double track with km/h speed), but the mountains cause a bottleneck and longer route, require speed restrictions and results much higher energy consumption. The Table 2 sums up the main characteristics of concerned railway lines. Line/Country Electrified Nr. of tracks Max. line speed (kph) Distance in km Max. gradient Austria Wien Meidling Wr. Neustadt Yes, 15 kv ,1 n.a. Wr. Neustadt Sopron No ,8 13 Slovakia Bratislava Petržalka-Rajka Yes, 25 kv ,5 n.a. Hungary Sopron Szombathely Yes, 25 kv ,0 5 Rajka Mosonszolnok Yes, 25 kv ,6 2 Mosonszolnok Csorna No ,4 4 Szombathely Zalaszentiván No ,2 13 Zalaszentiván Hodos Yes, 25 kv ,4 10 Zalaszentiván Nagykanizsa No ,0 5 Nagykanizsa Gyékényes határ Yes, 25 kv ,7 7 Croatia Koprivnica Dugo Selo Yes, 25 kv ,1 8 Dugo Selo Zagreb Yes, 25 kv ,0 8 Zagreb Hrvatski Leskovac Yes, 25 kv ,4 6 Hrvatski Leskovac Lokve Yes, 25 kv ,3 7 Lokve Rijeka Yes, 25 kv ,3 26 Slovenia Hodos Pragersko Yes, 3 kv = ,0 11 Pragersko Divaca Yes, 3 kv = ,4 12 Divaca - Koper Yes, 3 kv = ,1 25 Divaca Sezana/Villa Opicina Yes, 3 kv = ,2 10 Italy Sezana/Villa Opicina Monfalcone Yes, 3 kv = ,1 n.a. Table 2: line characteristics 9 / 28

10 SETA - SOUTH EAST TRANSPORT AXIS 3.2 Road transportation The European transit route E65 enters Hungary from Slovakia southbound at Rajka and leaves the country in Rédics towards Slovenia passing through the towns of Csorna, Szombathely and Körmend. The length of this transit route in Hungary is 206 kilometres, of which only 21 km is motorway. The remaining 185 km is a normal road going through the centres of Csorna and Körmend while in Szombathely the bypass road was completed in The towns have to suffer from the high number of heavy goods vehicles passing through day by day. The average traffic for this route is about 1 truck in every 30 seconds per direction, which is the highest in Hungary for any road which is not a motorway. A bypass road has been planned for Csorna since beginning of the 1990s to increase the quality of life and reduce to air pollution and noise, but the construction started only in It is expected that from 2016 Csorna will be relieved from the traffic of heavy trucks. Figure 4: Road transport map of SETA corridor 10 / 28

11 An alternative route (E59) leads from Vienna through the Eastern side of the Alps touching Graz and Maribor. As E59 connects Czech Republic and Croatia, its endpoint is in Zagreb and it merges into the transit route E65. It is a motorway except for a short section between Ptuj and the Croatian border but the extension of the remaining track is under implementation. The European transit route E57 joins to E59 at Graz and leads from Maribor toward Ljubljana and the Adriatic Sea. Both the Croatian and the Slovenian capital are connected with the sea by motorways. 3.3 Air transportation There are 7 important passenger airport terminals along SETA corridor: Vienna, Bratislava, Ljubljana, Zagreb, Rijeka, Split and Trieste. Vienna is the busiest airport in this region which is followed by Zagreb, Split, Bratislava and Ljubljana. (However, these 4 airports have only 6620 passengers in total which is just 30 % of the traffic volume of Vienna s airport. The passenger numbers are shown on Table 3: Country Country Name Passengers Year Code Code Name Passengers Year AT Vienna HR Zagreb SK Bratislava HR Rijeka SI Ljubljana HR Split IT Trieste Table 3: List of main airports in the region 4 Public transport connections along the SETA corridor 4.1 Railway transportation In following the current connections between the two largest cities, Vienna and Zagreb will be investigated. Currently, there is no direct passenger train service between Zagreb and Vienna along the SETA corridor (via Hungary) as the international train No. 284/285 provided this service until December 2012 when it was cancelled by the Croatian Railways. According to the current timetable (year 2014), there are 5 different alternative routes to travel between Zagreb and Vienna. The only direct connection is provided by the EuroCity Croatia that runs once a day from Zagreb, leaving at 7:25, and arriving in Vienna at 13:57. The journey takes 6:32 hours with 16 intermediate stops including Maribor and Graz but excluding Ljubljana. The other 4 alternatives include at least one transfer, but most options involve several changes causing considerable time loss. In addition, the types of trains are sometimes not really efficient for a long journey. In Austria or in Hungary, for example, one has to change to regional trains, which stop at all stations and stops. 11 / 28

12 Another disadvantage is that many alternatives must take a long detour in Austria. Although the shortest connection between the two capitals by rail is about 400 kilometres, in some cases one has to travel over 600 kilometres due to the detour Station/stop Time Duration Product From Zagreb Glavni Kolodvor Dep. 14:31 To Wien Arr. 20:56 6:25 Total travel time 6:25 Intermediate stops 13 Length 389 km From Zagreb Glavni Kolodvor Dep. 09:57 To Nagykanizsa Arr. 12:35 2:38 Transfer 0:34 Express train ZAGREB (cancelled in December 2012) Express train AGRAM From Nagykanizsa Dep. 13:09 To Szombathely Arr. 14:51 1:42 Fast train Transfer 0:41 From Szombathely Dep. 15:32 To Sopron Arr. 16:31 0:59 Regional train Transfer 0:07 From Sopron Dep. 16:38 To Wien Hbf Arr. 17:56 1:18 Regional express Total travel time 7:59 Intermediate stops 31 Length 389 km 3. From Zagreb Glavni Kolodvor Dep. 7:25 To Wien Meidling Arr. 13:57 6:32 Total travel time 6:32 Intermediate stops 15 Length 461 km EuroCity CROATIA 4. From Zagreb Glavni Kolodvor Dep. 12:35 Express train 1:41 To Zidani Most Arr. 14:16 SAVA Transfer 0:28 From Zidani Most Dep. 14:42 To Maribor Arr. 16:06 1:24 Intercity Transfer 0:29 From Maribor Dep. 16:35 To Spielfeld-Straß Arr. 16:58 0:23 Regional train Transfer 0:11 From Spielfeld-Straß Dep. 17:09 To Graz Hbf Arr. 18:00 0:51 S-Bahn Transfer 0:25 From Graz Hbf Dep. 18:25 2:32 Railjet 12 / 28

13 5. To Wien Meidling Arr. 20:57 Total travel time 8:22 Intermediate stops 29 Length 461 km From Zagreb Glavni Kolodvor Dep. 12:35 To Villach Hbf Arr. 17:09 4:20 Express train Transfer 0:05 From Villach Hbf Dep. 17:14 To Wien Meidling Arr. 21:27 4:13 Railjet Total travel time 8:52 Intermediate stops 20 Length 634 km 6. From Zagreb Glavni Kolodvor Dep. 21:20 EuroNight 6:49 To Salzburg Hbf Arr. 4:09 LISINSKI Transfer 0:25 From Salzburg Hbf Dep. 4:34 To Wien Westbahnhof Arr. 7:34 3:00 EuroNight Total travel time 10:14 Intermediate stops 16 Length 762 km Table 4: Connections on railway between Zagreb and Vienna in Source: ÖBB timetable: Table 4 above presents the current possibilities for travel between Zagreb and Vienna. The possibilities are similarly inappropriate in the other direction. The direct Eurocity Croatia turns back from Vienna after a 2 hour long stay at 16:03 and arrives to Zagreb at 22:43 which means 6 hours and 40 minutes long travel time (8 minutes more than in the opposite way). The travel route and the intermediate stops are the same. The routes of travel alternatives 1-6 are shown in Fig. 1. On certain routes the frequency of the stops is too high, especially between Maribor and Graz and between Szombathely and Sopron. 13 / 28

14 Figure 5: Connections on railway between Zagreb and Vienna in / 28

15 4.1.1 Other direct connections Nowadays there is only one more direct train throughout the region but it also leads along Austria and does not touch Hungary and the SETA corridor. It is the Eurocity Emona between Vienna and Ljubljana and departs in the mornings from Vienna at 8:03 and arrives to the Slovenian capital at 14:08. It turns back after a 2 hours long stay as well (at 16:00) and arrives to Vienna at 21:57, making the travel time to about 6 hours. During the route there are intermediate stops i.a. Maribor and Graz which means that Maribor has 2 direct trains to Vienna on each day one in the morning and one in the evening period. There are not any more direct trains between the other cities and Vienna or Bratislava; some former trains were cancelled just during the last 5 years. In addition, all international trains were cancelled between Slovenia and Italy by 2012 that cause further difficulties. In the following, some further direct connections along SETA corridor will be briefly introduced Former international trains The former international trains are the following: Eurocity/Fast train Zagreb : in the past, there were 2 direct trains between Vienna and Zagreb. One train started from each endpoint but nowadays the Eurocity train Zagreb-Vienna (Zagreb starts: 7:25, Vienna starts: 16:03) called Croatia is the only one direct train. Until the end of 2008, the in the morning from Vienna departed Eurocity Zagreb ran on the same route as the opposite Eurocity but the travel time proved to be too long that railway operators agreed the route modifying. The new route was designated through the Hungarian cities as Sopron, Szombathely, Nagykanizsa and with a transfer to Zalaegerszeg. Night train Jadran : this train offered a direct access between Czech Republic and the Adriatic Sea between 2007 and It departed from Prague in the morning and ran across Brno, Bratislava, Győr, Szombathely, Nagykanizsa and Zagreb to Split in each day during the high season (between July and September). Although the new connection became more and more popular, it was cancelled after the end of the season of 2009, due to financial reasons. Many direct trains (Venezia, Goldoni and Casanova) between Budapest/ Zagreb/ Ljubljana and Trieste/ Venice which were sequentially eliminated during the last decade. The last international train between Slovenia, Croatia and Italy was the EuroNight Venezia at the end of Some direct trains between Hungary and Croatia/ Slovenia was also cancelled during the last years; nowadays only one international train passes the Hungarian-Slovenian border at Hodos and two trains pass the Hungarian-Croatian border at Gyékényes. 15 / 28

16 4.2 Road transportation Public transport Investigating the bus connections, the current situation immediately gives us the reason of the cancellation of the Fast train Zagreb since there is a daily bus connection providing 5 hours long travel time in both ways which is 1,5 hours shorter than the train connection. The buses run along the motorway E59 and have only 3 intermediate request-stops at the two border crossing points. In addition, these buses start from Vienna at 8 am which is one hour later than the departure time of the former fast train but the arrival time is similar. In the opposite direction the buses start at 15:00 and arrive to Vienna at 20:00 which means 1 hour later departure and 0.5 hour earlier arrival time. The prices are about 30 for a single and 60 for a return ticket. The second direct bus connection provides a very similar service as the Eurocity Emona between Vienna and Ljubljana, however, these buses travel further toward Trieste. The travel time and the departure times are almost the same as on the railroad (in both directions); the only difference is that the buses have fewer stops (Graz, Spielfeld-Straß, Maribor and the border crossings) during the journey. The buses run less frequently: only 3 times a week. The prices are between Vienna and Ljubljana the same as between Vienna and Zagreb. There is also an evening-night bus between Vienna and Zagreb which starts from Vienna at 17:00 and turns back from Zagreb after 23:00. The travel time is longer than the other option due to the detour to Varaždin and Graz which also means that these buses have more intermediate stops besides the border crossings. Some supplemental buses run during the summer season between Bratislava/ Vienna and the Adriatic Sea but they do not affect the SETA corridor as they usually run through it and their next stop is at the coastal settlements Individual transport In following, the two most important connections will be briefly investigated: Vienna-Zagreb: the optimal route leads along the European network road E59 and the journey takes a bit more than 3.5 hours (without stops) on the motorway in case of good traffic and weather conditions (note that the motorway passes through many mountains). The travel distance is almost 400 km. In case avoiding toll roads, the shortest route reduces to 330 km but the journey time turn up to almost 6 hours as the alternative route passes many settlements along the way. Vienna-Ljubljana: the optimal route leads along the motorways (E59 and E57) and the journey time and travel distances to the Slovenian capital is similar like to Zagreb. If avoiding toll roads, the travel distance does not reduce but the journey time increases more than in the previous example: up to 6.5 hours. The alternative route is very sensitive for the weather changes as the small Austrian-Slovenian borders must be closed during wintertime in case of severe weather conditions. 16 / 28

17 4.3 Air transportation In following the air connections will be investigated along the SETA corridor. Vienna-Zagreb: according to the timetable of the next summer season, this is the busiest route with 5 daily flights (on Saturday only 2 flights), making the connection to the second most important one of Zagreb International Airport. The cheapest prices on the economy class start from for a return ticket. Vienna-Ljubljana: according to the timetable of Adria Airlines, there are 2 flights on each weekdays and 1-1 flight on weekends. The return tickets start from and include one checked baggage (up to 23 kg). Vienna-Zagreb: there are 4 weekly flights in the off-season and 4 more flights in the peak season (from April-Mai to September-October). In this way, there is a daily connection in the high season with a supplemental flight on Saturday. There are no any other flight connections in this region; the other airports have mostly only charter flights or low-cost flights toward West-Europe. 5 DEMO Train As it can be clearly seen after the situation analysis, the current train connections are insufficient and the railway can be competitive only between Vienna and Ljubljana but only against the international buses. Many relations are missing due to the elimination of former international trains but the still existing ones are operating in an ineffective way. Recognizing the current problems, a passenger demonstration train between ran between Zagreb and Vienna on 28 th September as a joint effort of the project partners. The demo train proved the benefits of an optimized SETA transport network system with the overcoming of technical and organisational obstacles. The most important priority was to reduce the travel time with fewer and shorter intermediate stops. This subsection aims to summarize the main experiences gained in the context of improving passenger service in the corridor. The detailed report can be found on the official project website. 5.1 The characteristics of the terminated Zagreb-Sopron-Vienna train (No. 284/285) Until December 2012, a direct passenger rail service connected Vienna with Zagreb along the SETA corridor via Sopron-Szombathely-Nagykanizsa-Gyékényes and Koprivnica. Although the train used the shortest railway connection between the two capitals (364 km), further reduction in travel time has not been achieved compared to the former trains used the Alpine detour. The average schedule speed was around 60 km/h which does not fulfill the criteria of minimum speed of a EuroCity train (at least 90 km/h). The reasons of the low average speed are the low line speed (on most of the sections only km/h), the numerous stops as well as 3 engine changes (in Sopron, Szombathely and Gyékényes) and the passenger control and change of direction at the Hungarian-Croatian border. The longest stops and the other bottlenecks can be clearly seen on the following train speed chart measured by GPS device. 17 / 28

18 Figure 6: Speed chart of the former scheduled train No. 285 The existing characteristics of the railway line show the potentials to save travel time by reducing the waiting time at the stations (e.g. border formalities); reducing the number of stops (only at the main cities and railroad junctions); use modern rolling stock; improve infrastructure to achieve the maximum speed up to 120 km/h in Hungarian sections and 160 km/h in Croatian sections; electrify the Nagykanizsa-Zalaszentiván-Szombathely and the Wiener Neustadt- Sopron section to avoid locomotive changes and improve speed and energy efficiency; The demonstration train especially had to highlight the possibilities to reduce travel time by overcoming the identified organizational bottlenecks (police & custom control, number of intermediate stops, reduced waiting times, e.g.). 5.2 Running the pilot train The demonstration train ran on 28th September 2012 from Zagreb Glavni Kolodvor to Wien Hbf. The train left at 9:00, and arrived at 14:14, so the trip was only 14 minutes longer, than projected (5 hours), achieved without any infrastructure investments. Stops Arr. Dep. Stops Arr. Dep. Zagreb Glavni Kolod. 9:00 Sopron 13:01 13:07 Koprivnica 10:05 10:08 Mattersburg 13:18 13:22 Gyékényes 10:22 10:35 Wien Meidling 14:08 14:10 Szombathely 12:17 12:22 Wien 14:14 Table 5: Time schedule of the DEMO train 18 / 28

19 Figure 7: The prototype diesel-electronic multiple unit (for more information, please see the appendix of the Report) This project needed a high level of cooperation between the Croatian Railways, GySEV, MÁV and ÖBB. A modern diesel-electric multiple unit (DEMU) prototype, produced by TŽV Gredelj in cooperation with the KONČAR EV was provided by Croatian Railways for the test run. This also demonstrated that besides the reduction of travel time attractive vehicles are also needed to provide a better passenger service. Before the run, infrastructure and capacity were investigated, in search of any bottlenecks for the test run, such as: the permission for the special run by the national transport authorities, 4 rail infrastructure managers with different rules concerning priority and track access, possible track closures stretched timetable with few flexibility (due to the high-level guests on board), faster customs and passport inspections at the Croatian-Hungarian border (carried out on-board), also a line section and signalling controls knowledge and certificate is needed for the different infrastructure managers (MÁV, GySEV and ÖBB). The demo train arrived 1 hour 11 minutes earlier in comparison to the scheduled train on the same route. Stopping time was also impressive, only 33 minutes for the demo train compared to 1 hour and 24 minutes for the scheduled train No The average journey speed (including stops) increased from only 57 km/h to 70 km/h which is almost 23 % difference. This impressive result was not only due to the reduction of planned stopping times, but the cut in the number of stops. As it was mentioned above, the scheduled train 19 / 28

20 had 13 stops, which means that acceleration and braking at every stop adds an additional delay to the stopping time (Table 6). Stops DEMO train Actual stopping time (minutes) Scheduled train No. 285 Scheduled stopping time (minutes) Zagreb Glavni Kolod. Krizevci - 2:00 Koprivnica 2:54 5:00 Gyékényes 12:26 35:00 Murakeresztúr - 2:00 Nagykanizsa - 3:00 Zalaszentiván - 2:00 Vasvár - 2:00 Szombathely 5:02 12:00 Bük - 2:00 Sopron 6:10 14:00 Mattersburg 4:16 2:00 Wien Meidling 1:09 3:00 Vienna Unplanned stop time 1:19 - Total stopping time: 0:33:16 1:24:00 Total journey time: 5:14:00 6:25:00 Table 6: Comparison of the demo and the scheduled trains (stopping and transfer times) In conclusion, the run of the pilot train was successful. It demonstrated that travel time between Zagreb and Wien can be reduced only by organisational measures. Speeding up the border procedures at the Hungarian-Croatian border, avoiding the change of locomotives and reducing the number of stops can achieve a one hour saving. The overall journey time saving was 2 hours and 45 minutes compared to the current scheduled alternative on the Zagreb Szombathely Vienna route (with 3 transfers; 2 nd version in Table 6), and 1 hour and 11 minutes compared to the current Zagreb Graz Vienna option. Nevertheless, we have to bear in mind, that the test run took place in 'laboratorial' circumstances with a very tight timetable; no other traffic affecting its route in Croatia and Hungary due to its 'special' status, and on-board passport and customs inspection was specially requested at the Croatian-Hungarian border. 20 / 28

21 6 Business cases In order to create currently non-existent passenger connections along SETA corridors, 3 different proposals will be presented below. 6.1 Long-distance Shuttle Train service between Vienna and Zagreb The route of the shuttle train service is shown on Figure 8. Figure 8: Route of the services proposed for the business case 1 21 / 28

22 The objective of the first proposal is the restart of the cancelled train No. 284/285 between Vienna and Zagreb on its former route with a rational, passenger-friendly schedule and favourable journey time Alternative routes The main bottleneck is the forced change of direction at the Croatian-Hungarian border station, Gyékényes. To overcome this, another alternative could be the use of the railway line Murakeresztúr Varaždin Zagreb (marked with dashed line on the map) with only one stop in Varaždin which is 1.5 times bigger city than Koprivnica. The problem is that the track is in a bad condition without electrification and double-track sections. The route length would also increase as this railway line passes through little valleys with detours. Due to the small arc rays, the track speed could not be increased significantly without a complete re-planning and re-build which would set the costs unrealistically high. In this way, the complex renewal is to be rejected and the change of direction at Gyékényes shall be taken into account Possible train vehicles Due to the direction change at Gyékényes, only push-pull trains or multiple units can be considered in order to reduce the time loss. Although today there are also passenger and customs controls, Croatia is already the member of EU thus the border procedures will take less time. There would be also possibility for an on-board passenger & customs control. Apart from the border formalities, the stop time can only be reduced with above mentioned vehicle types. In following, three options are shown: TŽV-Gredelj Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU): the prototype has been built 2 years ago, primarily for the regional and suburban traffic, but during the designing the passenger compartment can be easily converted in accordance with the longdistance travel needs. The Demo Train was also carried out with this vehicle. Figure 9: DMU-prototype by TŽV Gredelj Its advantage is also its disadvantage: the train is diesel-powered that allows it to run on non-electrified tracks, however, it also results higher pollution and more energy 22 / 28

23 consumption. Until the missing parts of corridor (Wr. Neustadt-Sopron, Szombathely- Nagykanizsa) are not electrified, this train would be a transitional but less profitable option. To increase the profitability and reduce the excess energy consumption, another option would be to operate hybrid vehicles both with electrical and diesel power. Although many hybrid vehicles are operating throughout Europe, their price is less reasonable, especially if we also consider that the missing parts could be electrified within 5 years while the expensively purchased new hybrid vehicles would lose their main function. Push-pull trains could be modelled on the Railjet-service: following the current (and expected) demand, 4-5 passenger cars (one of which is bistro car) and one control car. The engine has to work under both power system (Austrian: 15 kv 16.7 Hz, Croatian-Hungarian: 25 kv 50 Hz). This criterion has already been fulfilled by Railjet- Taurus engines which possess all the necessary permissions in Austria and Hungary. Assuming that a direct train connection would restart only in case of completed electrification, these push-pull units would result the best solution. Figure 10: Railjet by Siemens Connections towards the other cities along the SETA corridor Although Vienna and Zagreb are the main cities of the region, there are two capitals and many other cities which are currently not well-connected. The only exception is Bratislava which has already an hourly train service towards Vienna but has not close relationship with the other cities in the region. As it can be seen on the map, the competitive route to Ljubljana via Graz and Maribor is more reasonable than taking a detour through Hungary along the SETA corridor. However, there is a possibility at Zalaegerszeg (Zalaszentiván) to create a connection point by coordinating the schedules of the intersecting trains. In this way, not only the Eastern- 23 / 28

24 Slovenian region could get better opportunities to reach Vienna but there would be also more connections from Maribor and Ljubljana. Furthermore, there is an opportunity to join the Budapest Ljubljana trains with the current Koper Maribor diagonal InterCity trains which would result train savings and direct connection between Budapest and the Slovenian coast. These trains could turn toward Italy providing a connection to the Italian high-speed railway network in Trieste. 6.2 Train service with multiple function between Vienna and Zagreb The route of this train service is shown on Figure 11. Although only few modifications were made in the route, there is a fundamental difference compared to the previous proposal. While the first model is more business-oriented, this version focuses on the public services carried out by the national railway companies. This means that the international and domestic trains could be merged into one train which would connect two or more neighboring countries but also cities within the country. There is an example in the previous proposal as the Budapest Koper/Trieste train could operate as a fusion of a Budapest Zalaegerszeg and a Maribor Ljubljana Koper InterCity. This train could run along the whole track with the same capacity, same arrangement which means that there would be no need to connect or disconnect any additional cars. In case of implementing this solution, the current domestic fast trains running between Sopron/Szombathely and Pécs could be operated between Sopron and Gyékényes together with the international train between Vienna and Zagreb. A similar integration could be created on the Croatian side between Zagreb and Koprivnica (domestic trains to Osijek could be operated together with the international train). This system worked earlier on the Hungarian side when the former Vienna-Pécs and the Vienna-Zagreb InterCity traveled jointly between Vienna and Gyékényes and carried also 2 cars to the Lake Balaton via Szombathely during the summer season. The current InterCitys between Croatia and Hungary also carry additional passenger cars from/to Osijek between Koprivnica and Zagreb. An obvious benefit of this method is the reduce of necessary engines and the energy consumption. At fisrt sight, the costs of operation can be decreased spectacularly, but the number of connection/ disconnection procedures and the inherent inconveniences (increasing journey time, more and longer intermediate stops for nothing ) result worsening competitiveness and scare off the international passengers (who usually spend more money than the average domestic passengers). As a result of above, this system should only be used only at certain places where are also other, time-consuming barriers. In this way, this solution could be continued in Gyékényes where the international trains would need to change the direction which would result 24 / 28

25 anyway at least minutes time loss. During that time, the connection/disconnection of passenger cars running to/from Kaposvár or Pécs could be managed. However, this procedure is not recommended at Koprivnica as there is neither direction change nor border formalities which would cause anyway time loss. As soon as all remaining tracks will be electrified, this method will lose its importance but it can provide a good permanent solution for optimization by that time. Figure 11: Route of the services proposed for the business case 2 25 / 28

26 6.3 Night trains through the SETA corridor Although millions of people travel to the Adriatic Sea during summertime year by year, there is lack of opportunities to reach the coastal regions, especially inside this region. There are flights to Split and Dubrovnik only from Vienna (neither from Bratislava) once a day. Some buses run also from Vienna and Bratislava typically during the night, providing a comfortless service. However, most of the travellers do not have any other opportunities: daily trains are not in operation due to the long travel time, night trains run only from Budapest. Since 2009 the international night train Jadran has not provided direct connection to the Czech and Slovakian people. After these, it is no wonder that there are congested motorways and lots of traffic jams day by day during the whole summertime. In order to relieve the problems, the implementation of integrated scheduled night train service could be an option. The Figure 12 shows the proposed network along the SETA corridor. As the night trains depart from the starting point in the evening and arrive on next day morning, the journey time is much more flexible and can be increased more easily so detours (like Győr between Bratislava and Szombathely) and the connection/disconnection of passenger cars mean minor problems. Before the Croatian border, three parts are to be integrated together: in Szombathely, cars from Vienna and from Bratislava (or further: Prague, Warsaw) are merged into one unit to which cars from Budapest are joined in Gyékényes. For the train coming from Szombathely there is a possibility to take a detour toward Varaždin; in this way another city would also be involved but the cost efficiency would reduce due to the parallel running trains. After a short joint section, there would be a disconnection in Zagreb; the train would be divided to two sections. The destination of first one is Split with an option to carry passenger cars to Rijeka, while the second part runs across Slovenia to Koper or Trieste. It would be also possible to carry sleeping cars towards the popular tourist destinations as Venice, Rome and Florence. This route could also be an alternative path of the supplemental night train between Vienna and Livorno. As in this integrated scheduled night train, a high-level co-operation is required by the railway operators but in case of a proper collaboration, a good quality and cost-efficient night train service can be implemented in the region of SETA corridor. As most of the travel destinations cannot be reached by train, further harmonization of train, bus and ferry schedules is necessary in the coastal region. 26 / 28

27 Figure 12: Route of the services proposed for the business case 3 27 / 28

28 7 Other issues 7.1 Journey time vs. travel costs The main point of a long-distance travel service needs to be the reduce of the journey time by train at least below the one by bus, keeping the prices still to be equal, increasing in this way the advantage of the railway connection. Obviously the air transport means now the fastest getting opportunity but it is at least 4-5 times more expensive than the public bus or train transport and the checking procedures, airport transfers and unexpected situations increase dramatically the journey time. The second shortest journey time can be reached by own cars but this is also more expensive (with around %) than getting by public bus or train. 7.2 Marketing A good long-distance travel service cannot be profitable without a proper marketing activity. It is enough just to look at the webpage of the Croatian railway operator and compare the information provided by this site to those can be found on the website of ÖBB. There are neither timetables nor journey costs on the Croatian site while ÖBB provides these including a small invitation and a link to the website of Zagreb. This should be the minimum level of providing information by the railway operators. Further marketing activities would be the advertisement of the trains (especially the night trains traveling for tourism purposes) even at the train stations or on the trains on their own advertising surfaces. It is also worth to monitor journey planner websites (such as co-operate with their developers and provide all necessary information to them in order to avoid conflicting information. The easier and more clearly to organize a train journey, the more people are happy to travel on this way. At the moment, the estimated approximately cost of a one-way Vienna-Zagreb train ticket is about 80 according to Rome2Rio which is incredibly high compared to the price of 30 shown on the official website of ÖBB. 8 Conclusion The current international railway network has numerous weaknesses. The current service is inappropriate with only one direct train from Vienna to Ljubljana and one to Zagreb, while more buses on motorways and more daily flights are competing with this offer. In order to improve the railway service, 3 proposals were written, partly inspired by the Demo Train which ran in September, 2012 from Zagreb to Vienna. With faster border control and elimination of intermediate stops, a significant reduce of time has already been reached without costly infrastructure-investments. Following the results of Demo Train, the restart of the eliminated train is necessary but with a redesigned schedule (fewer number and length of stops). The implementation of an integrated scheduled night-train connection is also a possibility to reduce the heavy traffic on the motorways towards the Adriatic Sea during summertime. 28 / 28