01332978

Component

Assessing performance of intercity passenger rail services is relevant for government policy makers, rail infrastructure owners and managers of train operating services. However, assessing performance is no easy task, given that performance is largely a relative concept which requires comparison between different operators. The dynamics and contextual environments of the intercity passenger rail industry further pose a number of challenges to the comparative evaluation of intercity passenger rail operator performance. The authors were part of a team undertaking a study for Transport Canada whose objective was to compare the performance of VIA Rail – Canada’s only intercity passenger rail service – to international intercity passenger rail operators. The study took into account the influence of different governance models and operating environments, and drew out related public policy lessons for VIA Rail. Though the results of the study are confidential, the key challenges in benchmarking intercity passenger rail performance and the strategies used to interpret related performance are presented with the aim of informing similar research in future. The discussion in this paper is specific to intercity passenger railway performance but many related lessons and tools are also applicable to benchmarking performance in other transportation sectors.

01329018

11-1029

English

17p

2011

Transportation Research Board 90th Annual Meeting

DVD

Figures (3) ; Tables (2)

Intercity passenger cars; Intercity transportation; Passenger transportation; Policy making; Railroad traffic; Railroad transportation; Railroad vehicle operations

Canada

Passenger Transportation; Public Transportation; Railroads; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2011 Paper #11-1029

TRIS, TRB

Feb 17 2011 5:39PM