EVALUATION OF POTENTIAL OF REGIONAL RAILWAY LINES

There is a significant number of railway networks within many Middle- and East-European countries operated only by regional lines, usually with a great difference between travel demand and transportation offer. This difference is reflected in the whole economic balance of the lines of the service there, resulting as an essential input for the assessment of rail system efficiency. This paper is the conclusion of the Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU), Faculty of Transportation Sciences research and development project (further as the Project), which aims to analyse the current status and potential of the regional railway network in the country. The paper presents the characteristics of that segment of Czech railway network from the perspective of all scopes evaluated within the Project. A general multi-branch categorization of regional lines is proposed, arising from their technical and economical parameters, and potential for travelling.