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Individual freight effects, capacity utilization, and Amtrak service quality

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  • Krier, Betty
  • Liu, Chia-Mei
  • McNamara, Brian
  • Sharpe, Jerrod

Abstract

This paper offers a new perspective on the post-deregulation rail industry. We hypothesize that a link exists between individual freight effects and Amtrak service quality. Specifically, we investigate the relationship between freight control of the infrastructure on which Amtrak trains operate and Amtrak train delays. Our sample consists of 1117 directional station-pairs for fiscal years 2002 through 2007 on 28 Amtrak non-Northeast Corridor passenger routes. We found that freight effects have a significant impact on Amtrak train delays after controlling for other important delay determinants such as the capacity utilization rate. The impact is higher on long-distance routes. We also observed significant differences between the effects of different freight railroads. For example, Amtrak operations on infrastructure controlled by several Class I railroads experienced significantly larger delays than baseline operations, while Amtrak train delays on Burlington Northern and Santa Fe’s tracks actually fell below baseline levels.

Suggested Citation

  • Krier, Betty & Liu, Chia-Mei & McNamara, Brian & Sharpe, Jerrod, 2014. "Individual freight effects, capacity utilization, and Amtrak service quality," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 163-175.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:64:y:2014:i:c:p:163-175
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2014.03.009
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    Cited by:

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    2. Morvant, Camille, 2015. "Challenges raised by freight for the operations planning of a shared-use rail network. A French perspective," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 70-79.

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