Acta Polytechnica CTU Proceedings


doi:10.14311/APP.2017.11.0049
Acta Polytechnica CTU Proceedings 11:49–52, 2017 © Czech Technical University in Prague, 2017

available online at http://ojs.cvut.cz/ojs/index.php/app

FACTORS INFLUENCING THE FEE FOR USE OF THE RAILWAY
INFRASTRUCTURE

Petr Novák∗, Václav Cempírek

Jan Perner Transport Faculty, Studentská 95, Pardubice, Czech Republic
∗ corresponding author: petr.novak2@student.upce.cz

Abstract. It is necessary to update the current system of levying charges for railway infrastructure
to reflect the current market situation, to take into account the new transport strategy established
by the European Union, and to reflect legislative changes in relation to Directive 2012/34/EU on
creating a single European railway area. International trends aim to categorize tracks according to
technical parameters and parameters based on shipment time, as well as many others. The existence
of different opinions on the amount and way to charge fees for railway infrastructure have led the
authors of this academic paper to create a plan for a system of charges to be derived from the current
production factors as well as from a number of specific new factors used in countries neighboring the
Czech Republic.

Keywords: prices, product factors, specific factors, transport routes, carriers.

1. Introduction
As defined in the White Paper, "Roadmap to a Single
European Transport Area – Towards a competitive
and resource efficient transport system," EU transport
policy currently describes the point in time when the
transport system’s users will cover all the costs they
create. These costs include infrastructure costs (the
development and maintenance of transport routes)
as well as external ones – emphasized in the princi-
ple of "the user/polluter pays," which influences the
environment and growing congestion.

At the same time, the European Commission (EC)
has set requirements for lowering greenhouse gas emis-
sions to around 20% of the 2008 level by 2030 and
60% of the 1990 level by 2050. These results should be
attained by shifting 30% of road transport to railways
by the year 2030 and up to 50% of such transport by
2050.

The Czech Republic’s (CR) priority in transport
policy, in accordance with Directive 2012/34/EU of
the European Parliament and of the Council of 21
November 2012 on creating a single European railway
area, is implementing a competitive railway system
and thereby equalizing conditions on the transport
market.

The extensive railway network in the CR is in direct
contrast with the actuality of its fully operational
lines, on which high-speed, passenger, and freight
trains run and which are able to compete with road
transport at roughly one fifth the rate. According to
the Pareto principle, 20% of the causes create 80% of
the effects, which applies here in an exemplary way:
the majority of railway system tracks have economic
problems, because the revenues from transport do not
cover the costs.

2. The Current State of
Charging for Railway
Infrastructure in the CR

The amount to be charged is dependent on the dis-
tance traveled and the gross weight of the train, which
the carrier reports to the infrastructure operator.
These two parameters take into account the costs
for transporting the train along the appropriate line
(train-km – train kilometers) and determine the wear
on the transport infrastructure caused by the train’s
passage (GTK – gross ton-kilometer).
Charging for railway infrastructure is divided into

two components. The first component used for charg-
ing is the actual use of the railway infrastructure; the
second component is the fee for allocating capacity.

2.1. Charging for railway
infrastructure use in the CR

The Network Statement and the Ministry of Finance’s
current Price Bulletin provide annual updates on the
prices for train passage on the nationwide and regional
lines of the domestic railway infrastructure operated
by the Railway Infrastructure Administration (RIA)
in addition to the conditions for their use.
These prices include not only the individual jour-

ney of a train along a track but also the organization
of track-based modes of transportation, telecommu-
nication connections between the railway operator’s
employees and the train’s staff, publishing regulations,
and transmitting information to carriers.

The basic price is the price calculated according to
a costing model using the unit prices set for passenger
trains or freight trains. The basic price calculation
has been set as the distance traveled by a given train
along a category of track (LE, LC, or LR) using data
on the length and category of the sections (borders).

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Petr Novák, Václav Cempírek Acta Polytechnica CTU Proceedings

For calculating prices, the actual route covered by
the train is decisive except in cases when the train is
rerouted on account of a traffic disruption. The basic
price is calculated according to Equations 1, 2, and 3
below.

Cz = C1 + C2[CZK] (1)
where:

• Cz is the overall basic price for using railway infras-
tructure for the train’s journey [CZK],

• C1 is the price for using railway infrastructure for
the train’s journey in the area of performance mea-
sured by the train kilometers traveled [CZK], and

• C2 is the price for using railway infrastructure for
the train’s journey in the area of performance mea-
sured by the gross train kilometers traveled.

C1 = S1E ∗ LE + S1C ∗ LC + S1R ∗ LR[CZK] (2)

where:
• S1 is the price for 1 km of a train journey (train-km)

along E, C, or R category tracks [CZK * km−1] and
• LE, LC, and LR are the distances traveled by a
train along E, C, or R category tracks [km].

C2 = S2E ∗ Q ∗ LE + S2C ∗ Q ∗ LC + S2R ∗ Q ∗ LR[CZK]
(3)

where:
• S2 is the price per 1000 gross ton kilometers
transported along E, C, or R category tracks
[CZK*GTK−1 ],

• Q is one thousandth of the gross weight of the train
in tons. The train’s weight is the sum of the weight
of all the train cars including the weight of the
passengers or freight [thousandths of gross tons],
and

• LE, LC, and LR are the distances traveled by a
train along E, C, or R category tracks [km].
The price C2 is calculated separately for each section

of track traveled by the given train after a change in
its weight (adding/subtracting train cars, a change
in the type of train from a passenger train to a train
with a trainset or the reverse).

2.2. Charges for capacity allocation
This fee is established in conjunction with:
• the length of the time interval between when the re-

quest for railway infrastructure capacity allocation
was submitted and the day that has been requested
for its use,

• the relationship between the submitted request for
railway infrastructure capacity allocation and the
deadline for composing the annual railway timetable
(RT) or changes planned to the timetable, and

• the difficulty of processing the request.
Included in the charge for allocating railway infras-

tructure capacity is thus compensation for the process
of allocating line capacity, compensation for process-
ing the timetable for the train assigned to the given
carrier request (except for printing costs and distri-
bution aids), compensation for the train’s operative
deployment, and a fee for negotiating and executing
the request on short notice.
The price for allocating railway infrastructure ca-

pacity is calculated according to the equation:

CP K = K1 + K2 ∗ L + K3 ∗ d[CZK] (4)

where:
• CP K is the price for allocating transport infrastruc-
ture [CZK],

• K1 is the rate for processing and determining the
RT and allocating transport infrastructure [CZK],

• K2 is the rate for the construction of the train route
[CZK*km−1],

• L is the distance of the allocated route between
the starting and ending point of the track on the
railway network, where the RIA fills the role of the
line operator or allocator of capacity [km],

• K3 is the daily rate for train route allocation
[CZK*day−1], and

• d is the number of days of the journey for which
the respective route has been allocated [days].

3. International Charges for
Railway Infrastructure

In all countries, the basic system for determining rail-
way infrastructure prices is founded on a similar basis,
i.e., according to train kilometers, gross ton kilometers,
or using both these transport functions on a specific
track. In specific countries, other parameters that
modify the final price for using railway infrastructure
have also been established. These often have decisive
influence on the choice of transport, and it is in the
interest of each infrastructure manager to be flexible
when adjusting the charges for railway infrastructure
use.

Using an extensive analysis of the fundamentals and
procedures for calculating prices for using railway in-
frastructure employed by infrastructure managers who
proceed in accordance with Directive 2012/34/EU, the
authors have formed the opinion that it is necessary to
supplement the current method for calculating prices
with a number of specific factors.

3.1. Consolidating the prices for
passenger and freight transport

The motivation for consolidating the basic prices for
passenger and freight transport is primarily to fairly
reflect the costs included in the price for using rail-
way infrastructure. The factor of passenger/freight

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vol. 11/2017 Factors Influencing the Fee

transport only makes it possible to reflect transport’s
negative effects in a general way (e.g., the degree of
wear on the infrastructure, the use of transport line
capacity, and limitations on the quality of services to
other carriers).

3.2. Combined transport
The factor of combined transport should be main-
tained in the new price concept for railway infrastruc-
ture use. The reason for preserving it is that it is less
costly for the infrastructure manager in comparison
with other freight transport and does less to limit the
quality of service for railway line use by other carriers
if:
• trains show a high level of transport regularity and
speed and

• there is relatively less wear on the infrastructure
with respect to a smaller volume of train wagon
repair.

3.3. Shipping individual wagon loads
The factor of individual, fully loaded wagons should
be modified to more accurately reflect the areas where
this type of transport is not sufficiently competitive
from the RIA’s perspective.

The current method of conferring timetable advan-
tage in a blanket manner should be developed so that
support for this area focuses on the sections of the
first and last miles. Railway competitiveness is low
for precisely these sections.

3.4. Track categorization
In the CR, railway tracks are divided into three cate-
gories: select nationwide tracks of European impor-
tance – E, other nationwide tracks – C, and regional
tracks – R. This categorization has been enacted ac-
cording to RIA track routing, the tracks’ importance,
and the scope of transport.

In the authors’ opinion, this division does not take
into account the actual quality of the tracks. The
benefit of dividing the tracks into more categories
is to take into account their actual quality from the
perspective of maximum track speed. Moreover, for
tracks with low track speed, this would lower the price
for using the railway infrastructure, which could lead
to a higher level of transport performance.

3.5. Infrastructure wear
This specific key factor is used to allocate costs con-
nected to infrastructure deterioration on individual
trains in conjunction with European legislation.

The reason for implementing this specific factor is to
take into account the different levels of wear on railway
infrastructure by individual trains; so far, this has
been employed using the component of price derived
from gross ton kilometers. A reflection of railway
infrastructure deterioration should be maintained in
the price for using railway infrastructure.

3.6. ETCS
Equipping trains with the European Train Control
System (ETCS) is key for ensuring that European
railways are interoperable. Regulating this specific
factor reflects the gradual growth in ETCS use and the
overall carrier costs for supplemental train equipment.
Regulating this specific factor within tariff policy

should derive from the condition that it have a neutral
effect on infrastructure managers. Thus, the advan-
tages for trains with ETCS and disadvantages for
trains without ETCS should be balanced.

3.7. Express trains
Priority is given to express trains in transit to the
disadvantage of other types of trains. It is appropriate
to reflect the difference in the quality of services for
using the railway infrastructure for these trains by an
additional fee on top of the basic price – primarily for
passenger trains.
The reason for implementing this factor is to take

into account the higher quality of services for express
trains using railway infrastructure. They have priority
over other trains, and their journey is therefore faster
and has less interruptions – without the necessity of
stopping and avoiding other trains.

3.8. The traction of traction units
This specific factor takes into account the cost to the
public caused by transport. It is desirable to ade-
quately regulate this factor in comparison with other
modes of transportation and for it to simultaneously
motivate carriers to lower the cost to the public.
Protecting the environment against the negative

effects of transport is one of the EC’s key strategic
goals. However, the authors believe that measures
taken in this area for railway transport are not dis-
tinctly restrictive in nature – conversely, they tend to
support their use.

3.9. Reducing noise levels
Taking into account the noise levels of trains and other
means of transport requires composing comprehensive
methods to make it possible to quantify the public
costs caused by individual modes of transport. For
this reason, it is appropriate to implement the factor
of "reducing noise levels" once there is a unified and
time-tested European method that is able to take into
account roadway noise levels.

3.10. The degree of track utilization
The general differentiation of peak and off-peak peri-
ods makes it possible to optimize the use of railway
infrastructure capacity. The factor of utilization is
appropriate only for certain tracks, and it must always
be established on an individual basis.
Support for optimizing railway infrastructure uti-

lization aims to decrease the overloading of individual

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Petr Novák, Václav Cempírek Acta Polytechnica CTU Proceedings

routes primarily during peak hours as well as to in-
crease the use of tracks that currently have a distinct
reserve capacity.

International experience shows that it is not possible
to influence certain effects of transport using universal
tools; rather, it is necessary to react to them individu-
ally, e.g., by taking into account the operational peak
and off-peak times for individual tracks.

3.11. A train’s minimum power density
According to the authors, one specific factor that lim-
its excessive consumption of railway infrastructure
capacity is caused by insufficient traction unit per-
formance and the consequently low speeds of certain
trains. In turn, this lowers the risk of events occurring
that block infrastructure capacity – caused by the
gridlock of trains with insufficient traction units.

4. Conclusion
Charging for roadway and railway infrastructure is
a sensitive topic, because any type of change has

effects on financing infrastructure. When looking for
an optimal solution for charging fees, it should ensure
the equalization of transport between branches and a
competitive transport system; it is also necessary to
take into account the policy of both the CR and the
EU.

Analysis of the factors listed above will be the basis
for establishing a new method for calculating railway
infrastructure prices. For a comprehensive evaluation,
it is necessary to ascertain the relevant information
and the Czech Ministry of Transport’s projected ap-
proach, which is tied to fulfilling the goals of the Czech
Republic’s transportation policy and incorporating
EU directives and regulations.

In comparing the CR’s railway and roadway trans-
port, where charges are levied for only 2.6% of the
length of the roadway network and 98% of the railway
network, it can be seen that there is obvious dis-
crimination against railway transport in inter-branch
competition.

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	Acta Polytechnica CTU Proceedings 11:49–52, 2017
	1 Introduction
	2 The Current State of Charging for Railway Infrastructure in the CR
	2.1 Charging for railway infrastructure use in the CR
	2.2 Charges for capacity allocation

	3 International Charges for Railway Infrastructure
	3.1 Consolidating the prices for passenger and freight transport
	3.2 Combined transport
	3.3 Shipping individual wagon loads
	3.4 Track categorization
	3.5 Infrastructure wear
	3.6 ETCS
	3.7 Express trains
	3.8 The traction of traction units
	3.9 Reducing noise levels
	3.10 The degree of track utilization
	3.11 A train's minimum power density

	4 Conclusion