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Assignment 2 Basic Paradigm 2024

The document outlines a systems analysis assignment comparing freight transportation by railroad and truck over an 800km distance. It includes calculations for current and equilibrium freight flows, considering factors such as travel time, rates, and the impact of a new highway on truck traffic. Additionally, it discusses the regulatory debate over freight rates between the railroad and trucking companies, highlighting their respective positions and cost structures.

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陳沛呈
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56 views1 page

Assignment 2 Basic Paradigm 2024

The document outlines a systems analysis assignment comparing freight transportation by railroad and truck over an 800km distance. It includes calculations for current and equilibrium freight flows, considering factors such as travel time, rates, and the impact of a new highway on truck traffic. Additionally, it discusses the regulatory debate over freight rates between the railroad and trucking companies, highlighting their respective positions and cost structures.

Uploaded by

陳沛呈
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Systems Analysis in Transportation Chieh-Yu Hsiao

Assignment #2 Basic Paradigm

Out: March 26, 2024 Due: April 9, 2024

A railroad runs from city A to city B, a distance of 800km, through mountainous terrain. The
present one-way travel time (including time at intermediate yards) is 20 hours, and the rail
freight rate is $20 per ton. There is a truck service which competes with the railroad, running
over a roughly parallel road for approximately the same distance, at an average speed of
48km per hour and a rate of $30 per truckload (1 truckload= 1 ton). A new highway is
planned to replace the existing road; it is expected that most of the traffic will be trucks. The
service function of the new facility is tT=t0+bVT, where VT is the flow in trucks per hour (auto
usage is expected to be negligible), t0=10 hours, b=0.04 hour per truck per hour. The
railroad’s estimate of the demand function is:

VT t c
 a0 ( T ) a1 ( T ) a2 ,
VR tR cR

where tT and tR are the trip times (in hours) by truck and rail, respectively, cT and cR are the
corresponding rates, VT and VR are the corresponding flows and a0, a1, and a2 are parameters.
The total flow is likely to remain constant at VTOT=200 tons per hour. The rail system is
utilized at only a fraction of capacity, so its performance function is flat (travel time is
constant, independent of volume).

1. If a0=1, a1=-1, and a2=-2, find the present flows of freight by truck and rail.
2. Make an estimate of the equilibrium flows if the new highway were built.
3. What would the equilibrium flow be in each of the following two cases: (a) if the railroad
dropped its rate to $15 per ton? (b) if truckers were taxed $5 per ton to help pay for the
new highway? Discuss qualitatively what happens to the flows and travel times by each
mode.
4. A regulatory commission is examining the question of rates. The railroad is arguing for a
truck rate of $35 per ton, while the truckers are arguing for a rate of $30 per ton. Why is
each side advocating the particular rate indicated? Assume that the operating costs of both
modes are independent of flows.

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