A model for pricing freight rail transport access costs: economic and environmental perspectives

In deregulated railway markets, efficient management of infrastructure charges is essential for sustaining railway systems. This study sets out a method for infrastructure managers to price access to railway infrastructure, focusing on freight transport in deregulated market contexts. The proposed methodology integrates negative externalities directly into the pricing structure in a novel way, balancing economic and environmental objectives. It develops a dynamic freight flow model to represent the railway system, using a logit model to capture the modal split between rail and road modes based on cost, thereby reflecting demand elasticity. The model is temporally discretized, resulting in a mesoscopic, discrete-event simulation framework, integrated into an optimization model that determines train path charges based on real-time capacity and demand. This approach aims both to maximize revenue for the infrastructure manager and to reduce the negative externalities of road transport. The methodology is demonstrated through a case study on the Mediterranean Rail Freight Corridor, showcasing the scale of access charges derived from the model. Results indicate that reducing track-access charges can yield substantial societal benefits by shifting freight demand to rail. This research provides a valuable framework for transport policy, suggesting that externality-sensitive infrastructure charges can promote more efficient and sustainable use of railway infrastructure.