Assessing the Potential for a European Modal Shift Towards Rail

Matthias Prandtstetter; Peter Widhalm; Sandra Stein; Fritz Starkl

doi:10.1007/978-3-031-95284-5_39

Assessing the Potential for a European Modal Shift Towards Rail

Matthias Prandtstetter (Author and Speaker)
, Peter Widhalm
, Sandra Stein
, Fritz Starkl

Integrated Energy Systems

Fraunhofer Austria

Research output: Chapter in Book or Conference Proceedings › Conference Proceedings with Oral Presentation › peer-review

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to present a computational method for identifying bottlenecks in the rail transportation network under the assumption that a modal shift from road to train should be emphasised.

Methods: From a methodological point of view, the contribution is twofold: First, an estimation of the overall freight transport in Europe is done. Basic statics, as available from countries and the European Union, are utilised to estimate the actual freight transport demand between NUTS3 areas in Europe. Second, the (theoretically) needed train transports are computed by finding the shortest route between two NUTS3 regions. If the capacity of the train network is reached on a specific strech, alternatives are searched.

Results: To assess, where bottlenecks are, we used the European rail network (from OpenStreetMap) as well as intermodal terminals (provided by a project partner) for our computations. The results show that our approach is working.

Conclusion: The method presented within this paper is easy to use (only a few input data are needed) and fast (with respect to computational effort) such that it can be easily used for infrastructural planning tasks and assessing whether envisaged extensions of the rail network contribute to the higly desired modal shift.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Transport Transitions: Advancing Sustainable And Inclusive Mobility, Tra Conference, 2024, Vol 4
Subtitle of host publication	Proceedings of the 10th TRA Conference, 2024, Dublin, Ireland - Volume 4: Clean Energy Transition
Editors	Ciaran McNally, Páraic Carroll, Beatriz Martinez-Pastor, Bidisha Ghosh, Marina Efthymiou, Nikolaos Valantasis-Kanellos
Pages	274-284
Number of pages	11
Edition	1
ISBN (Electronic)	978-3-031-95284-5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-95284-5_39
Publication status	Published - 19 Jul 2025
Event	Transport Research Arena TRA 2024 - Dublin, Ireland Duration: 15 Apr 2024 → 18 Apr 2024 https://www.traconference.eu/

Publication series

Name	Lecture Notes in Mobility
ISSN (Print)	2196-5544
ISSN (Electronic)	2196-5552

Conference

Conference	Transport Research Arena TRA 2024
Abbreviated title	TRA 2024
Country/Territory	Ireland
City	Dublin
Period	15/04/24 → 18/04/24
Internet address	https://www.traconference.eu/

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities

Research Field

Transport Optimisation and Energy Logistics

Keywords

modal shift
intermodal transport
freight and logistics
computational method

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-031-95284-5_39Licence: CC BY

Cite this

Prandtstetter, M., Widhalm, P., Stein, S., & Starkl, F. (2025). Assessing the Potential for a European Modal Shift Towards Rail. In C. McNally, P. Carroll, B. Martinez-Pastor, B. Ghosh, M. Efthymiou, & N. Valantasis-Kanellos (Eds.), Transport Transitions: Advancing Sustainable And Inclusive Mobility, Tra Conference, 2024, Vol 4: Proceedings of the 10th TRA Conference, 2024, Dublin, Ireland - Volume 4: Clean Energy Transition (1 ed., pp. 274-284). ( Lecture Notes in Mobility). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-95284-5_39

Prandtstetter, Matthias ; Widhalm, Peter ; Stein, Sandra et al. / Assessing the Potential for a European Modal Shift Towards Rail. Transport Transitions: Advancing Sustainable And Inclusive Mobility, Tra Conference, 2024, Vol 4: Proceedings of the 10th TRA Conference, 2024, Dublin, Ireland - Volume 4: Clean Energy Transition. editor / Ciaran McNally ; Páraic Carroll ; Beatriz Martinez-Pastor ; Bidisha Ghosh ; Marina Efthymiou ; Nikolaos Valantasis-Kanellos. 1. ed. 2025. pp. 274-284 ( Lecture Notes in Mobility).

@inproceedings{a7a000b4f1f5423d8e10c1e00ef47ecd,

title = "Assessing the Potential for a European Modal Shift Towards Rail",

abstract = "Purpose: The aim of this paper is to present a computational method for identifying bottlenecks in the rail transportation network under the assumption that a modal shift from road to train should be emphasised. Methods: From a methodological point of view, the contribution is twofold: First, an estimation of the overall freight transport in Europe is done. Basic statics, as available from countries and the European Union, are utilised to estimate the actual freight transport demand between NUTS3 areas in Europe. Second, the (theoretically) needed train transports are computed by finding the shortest route between two NUTS3 regions. If the capacity of the train network is reached on a specific strech, alternatives are searched. Results: To assess, where bottlenecks are, we used the European rail network (from OpenStreetMap) as well as intermodal terminals (provided by a project partner) for our computations. The results show that our approach is working. Conclusion: The method presented within this paper is easy to use (only a few input data are needed) and fast (with respect to computational effort) such that it can be easily used for infrastructural planning tasks and assessing whether envisaged extensions of the rail network contribute to the higly desired modal shift.",

keywords = "modal shift, intermodal transport, freight and logistics, computational method",

author = "Matthias Prandtstetter and Peter Widhalm and Sandra Stein and Fritz Starkl",

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booktitle = "Transport Transitions: Advancing Sustainable And Inclusive Mobility, Tra Conference, 2024, Vol 4",

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Prandtstetter, M , Widhalm, P, Stein, S & Starkl, F 2025, Assessing the Potential for a European Modal Shift Towards Rail. in C McNally, P Carroll, B Martinez-Pastor, B Ghosh, M Efthymiou & N Valantasis-Kanellos (eds), Transport Transitions: Advancing Sustainable And Inclusive Mobility, Tra Conference, 2024, Vol 4: Proceedings of the 10th TRA Conference, 2024, Dublin, Ireland - Volume 4: Clean Energy Transition. 1 edn, Lecture Notes in Mobility, pp. 274-284, Transport Research Arena TRA 2024, Dublin, Ireland, 15/04/24. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-95284-5_39

Assessing the Potential for a European Modal Shift Towards Rail. / Prandtstetter, Matthias (Author and Speaker); Widhalm, Peter; Stein, Sandra et al.
Transport Transitions: Advancing Sustainable And Inclusive Mobility, Tra Conference, 2024, Vol 4: Proceedings of the 10th TRA Conference, 2024, Dublin, Ireland - Volume 4: Clean Energy Transition. ed. / Ciaran McNally; Páraic Carroll; Beatriz Martinez-Pastor; Bidisha Ghosh; Marina Efthymiou; Nikolaos Valantasis-Kanellos. 1. ed. 2025. p. 274-284 ( Lecture Notes in Mobility).

Research output: Chapter in Book or Conference Proceedings › Conference Proceedings with Oral Presentation › peer-review

TY - GEN

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AU - Widhalm, Peter

AU - Stein, Sandra

AU - Starkl, Fritz

A2 - Prandtstetter, Matthias

A2 - McNally, Ciaran

A2 - Carroll, Páraic

A2 - Martinez-Pastor, Beatriz

A2 - Ghosh, Bidisha

A2 - Efthymiou, Marina

A2 - Valantasis-Kanellos, Nikolaos

PY - 2025/7/19

Y1 - 2025/7/19

N2 - Purpose: The aim of this paper is to present a computational method for identifying bottlenecks in the rail transportation network under the assumption that a modal shift from road to train should be emphasised. Methods: From a methodological point of view, the contribution is twofold: First, an estimation of the overall freight transport in Europe is done. Basic statics, as available from countries and the European Union, are utilised to estimate the actual freight transport demand between NUTS3 areas in Europe. Second, the (theoretically) needed train transports are computed by finding the shortest route between two NUTS3 regions. If the capacity of the train network is reached on a specific strech, alternatives are searched. Results: To assess, where bottlenecks are, we used the European rail network (from OpenStreetMap) as well as intermodal terminals (provided by a project partner) for our computations. The results show that our approach is working. Conclusion: The method presented within this paper is easy to use (only a few input data are needed) and fast (with respect to computational effort) such that it can be easily used for infrastructural planning tasks and assessing whether envisaged extensions of the rail network contribute to the higly desired modal shift.

AB - Purpose: The aim of this paper is to present a computational method for identifying bottlenecks in the rail transportation network under the assumption that a modal shift from road to train should be emphasised. Methods: From a methodological point of view, the contribution is twofold: First, an estimation of the overall freight transport in Europe is done. Basic statics, as available from countries and the European Union, are utilised to estimate the actual freight transport demand between NUTS3 areas in Europe. Second, the (theoretically) needed train transports are computed by finding the shortest route between two NUTS3 regions. If the capacity of the train network is reached on a specific strech, alternatives are searched. Results: To assess, where bottlenecks are, we used the European rail network (from OpenStreetMap) as well as intermodal terminals (provided by a project partner) for our computations. The results show that our approach is working. Conclusion: The method presented within this paper is easy to use (only a few input data are needed) and fast (with respect to computational effort) such that it can be easily used for infrastructural planning tasks and assessing whether envisaged extensions of the rail network contribute to the higly desired modal shift.

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KW - intermodal transport

KW - freight and logistics

KW - computational method

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Prandtstetter M , Widhalm P, Stein S, Starkl F. Assessing the Potential for a European Modal Shift Towards Rail. In McNally C, Carroll P, Martinez-Pastor B, Ghosh B, Efthymiou M, Valantasis-Kanellos N, editors, Transport Transitions: Advancing Sustainable And Inclusive Mobility, Tra Conference, 2024, Vol 4: Proceedings of the 10th TRA Conference, 2024, Dublin, Ireland - Volume 4: Clean Energy Transition. 1 ed. 2025. p. 274-284. ( Lecture Notes in Mobility). doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-95284-5_39

Assessing the Potential for a European Modal Shift Towards Rail

Abstract

Publication series

Conference

UN SDGs

Research Field

Keywords

Access to Document

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