An evaluation of the introduction of the Global Navigation Satellite System for regional railways: Case studies from Italy
Introduction
The increase oftransport safety is now very high on the agenda of European Union policy makers (El Koursi et al., 2007). The European Railway Agency estimates an average fatality risk of 0.31 deaths per million train/km for the period 2009–2011 (European Railway Agency, 2013). This average, however, hides large differences between West and East European countries, so that fatality risk ranges from 0.1 in the UK to 2 in Lithuania.
This situation calls for policy actions to increase safety especially in certain countries. One of the policy options is the adoption of satellite-based technologies to monitor traffic and, in this context, the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is a European technology of satellite sensoring and monitoring able to increase efficiency, reliability and safety of railway networks (Jonas, 2011, Salmi and Torkkeli, 2009).
This paper aims to assess economic costs and benefits of GNSS-based solutions by relying on case studies from Italy to inform Europe-wide decision making. In particular, we carry out an extensive cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of the introduction of such new technology in four case studies in Italy, concerning railways with and without automated protection systems. To be noted is the fact that the increase in railroad safety is particularly important for lines not equipped with automated protection systems. However, it must be stated that the GNSS technology is still being tested, so that precise estimates of the reduction in accident risk are not available. This, in its turn, makes the sensitivity analysis presented in section 4 particularly important to assess the relevance of the assumption of the impact of GNSS on accidentality. Furthermore, our aim is not to propose an entirely new methodology to evaluate the introduction of an innovative technology, rather, we aim to provide preliminary (and case-specific) estimates of the social welfare variation induced by the hypothetical introduction of the satellite-based navigation system.
Our result points at a Benefit/Cost ratio ranging from 0.9 to 4.1 and hence supports the introduction of GNSS technology in most of the cases.
This paper contributes to the literature on railway safety and on the introduction of new technologies in transport sectors by providing one of the few cases of CBA currently available (Evans, 2013, Savage, 1998).
Section snippets
GNSS technologies for train control systems
The Global Navigation Satellite System is a network of satellites that provide geo-spatial positioning with global coverage. Location is provided by Global Positioning System, which has been developed in the USA, and by GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite System), developed in Russia, and it will be provided by GALILEO, a system developed in Europe, which is expected to be active in 2014.
The European Union is considering the introduction of the GNSS to the local and regional railway network,
The identification of costs and benefits
In this paper, we aim to evaluate the impact of the introduction of GNSS technologies on social welfare through a cost-benefit analysis (CBA). To this end, the identification of costs and benefits is preparatory to the computation of social welfare variation.
The introduction of GNSS technologies on the train control systems will require investment costs not only in terms of equipment and rolling stock, but also – at a macro level – investment in order to adapt the rail infrastructure to the
Case studies
In our analysis, we will apply CBA to selected case studies in Italy, namely railroads owned by RFI (Rete Ferroviaria Italiana – Italian Railway Network concessioner) in Sardinia, “FerroviadelLiri”, “FerroviaPontremolese”, railroads owned by the regional government of Sardinia, and then use the results to inform decision making on the introduction of GNSS technologies to the whole Europe.
Conclusion
The previous sections have deeply explored the results of the cost benefit analysis related to the introduction of the GNSS technologies on the train control systems, both at a local and at a European level.
In the study of the Sardinian RFI network it emerges that the total benefits are greater than the overall costs; in fact, the benefit over costs ratio is equal to 2.1, such a result is to be considered as very positive and it indicates that the total costs are not only balanced out by the
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