Mind the Gap! Can Achieving Green and Efficient Rail Travel, with a Focus on Passenger Experience, Be Effectively Delivered Through Service-Based Contracts?

Abstract

Urban population growth means that 66% of the population is expected to live in cities by 2050. A green, efficient rail service that minimizes delays, increases capacity and reduces overcrowding on trains and platforms will be an essential contributor to nations’ post-Covid, green recovery. Digitally Enhanced Advanced Services (DEAS) are one way to help improve performance, maximize productive capacity and open additional revenue streams. Therefore, investigations are needed into how digital technologies can enhance business model design, thus impacting how business capabilities, engineering functions and human factors can be combined to improve performance and user experience within rail transport systems. This paper explores how deploying green and energy efficient rail travel as a DEAS could be an ideal solution to bridge the gap between efficiency and capacity. We also consider how service-based contracts may enable user experience to be put at the forefront of post-Covid rail services.