APPLICATION OF THE MULTI-CRITERIA ANALYSIS FOR THE RAILWAY ROUTE EVALUATION AND SELECTION

Abstract

After a detailed analysis of each railroad route alternative, the problem of route
evaluation in the process of planning and designing is reduced to making a decision
concerning its optimal selection. In this article the authors emphasize the significance
of the reconstruction of the railroad route connection for the development of the North
Adriatic Ports, Rijeka, Koper and Trieste. The most important project related to North
Adriatic Port’s railway transport system is the construction of a new high-efficiency
railroad which will connect the ports of Rijeka, Koper and Trieste. The construction
of a new high-efficiency railway will create a significant shortening of railroad links
of South East Europe with its central and western parts and will improve the
conditions of traffic exploitation of the North Adriatic transport route. The objective
of this paper is to show that the application of the multi-criteria analysis can lead to
conclusions regarding the evaluation and selection of the appropriate railroad
transport route. In order to fulfill the research obje ctive, a model comprising criteria
and sub-criteria for railroad route evaluation is defined. The proposed model was used
for the evaluation of the railway route Rijeka-Koper-Trieste by applying the
PROMETHEE II method for multi-criteria ranking of alternatives.
Key words: railway transport system, North Adriatic Ports, multi-criteria analysis,
railway route evaluation.