Scientifically substantiated approaches to improving the efficiency of railway infrastructure

Abstract

Objective: To systematize the main components of assessing the efficiency of the use and development of railway infrastructure for the scientific justification of its creation, operation, and modernization in the context of the transformation of the national transport system and economy, as well as adaptation to new logistics chains. Methods: logical-analytical method, cost-benefit analysis, life cycle cost concept, SWOT analysis, mathematical modeling, infrastructural-economic classification, deductive-inductive approach. Results: an infrastructural-economic classification of transport modes is proposed; the stages of forming the value of transport infrastructure are presented; a scheme of the stages of applying the logical-analytical method for the comprehensive analysis and evaluation of infrastructural-transport projects has been developed; key directions for improving efficiency have been identified; an “objective tree” for increasing the technological efficiency of infrastructure use in freight traffic has been formed. Practical results: it has been proven that optimizing load unevenness and increasing technological efficiency allow for accelerating the payback of previously invested capital and postponing the need for new capital-intensive investments. The application of the logical-analytical method for the analysis of infrastructural transport processes is substantiated. Proposals have been formulated for the application of comprehensive evaluation methods, including life cycle cost and cost-benefit analysis, to support strategic decision-making regarding the development of railway infrastructure.