ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF CAR-FLOW DISTRIBUTION METHODS ON TARIFF DISTANCES ON RAILWAY NETWORKS

Purpose. The purpose of this article is to investigate the impact of the method of distributing railway transport infrastructure capacity on the cost of access services for carriers. Methodology. The research in this paper is based on operations research methods. Findings. In current conditions, Ukraine's railway transport faces the problem of overloading certain sections, especially on routes to seaports and western border crossings. A monopolistic state of the railway transport market theoretically allows for the minimization of average distance and transportation cost on a network with capacity constraints. At the same time, a situation has developed in Ukraine where the state monopoly independently chooses routes for freight transport, which leads to different clients receiving services that vary significantly in cost. Reforming the railway transport market will lead to the emergence of carriers independent of the infrastructure manager. In this case, carriers will be interested in reducing transportation distances and the corresponding costs for infrastructure services. The paper considers two approaches to ensuring equal access to overloaded sections: distributing capacity proportionally among carriers and distributing it proportionally to the volume of traffic. It has been established that distributing capacity proportionally among carriers ensures an average network mileage close to the figures achieved under a monopolistic market state. At the same time, additional transport volumes will be directed to longer routes. Under these conditions, large freight shippers and carriers are incentivized to develop the capacity of overloaded sections. Scientific Novelty. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that it is the first to obtain dependencies of tariff distances on the method of organizing car-flows on a railway network with capacity constraints on certain sections. Practical Significance. The practical significance of the research results lies in their ability to assess the impact of different approaches to reforming the railway transport market on tariff distances and, consequently, on the cost of freight transport for individual users of transport services.