Innovative Approaches to Passenger Service Management in Railway

Transport

Roza Timakova

1,2

and Sergey Chernov

Ural State University of Railway Transport, Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation

Ural State University of Economics, Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation

Keywords: railway transport, service, marketing communications, customer orientation, domestic tourism.

Abstract: In modern conditions of the development of the transport network for the movement of passengers, a special

role in Russia is assigned to rail transport, as the most adapted and in demand against the background of

reduced passenger air transportation due to certain restrictive measures applied. The issues of providing

high-quality service to passengers on railway transport, increasing their satisfaction and loyalty are related

to the most important social function of the infrastructure that this type of transport performs. Innovative

projects of JSC "Russian Railways" are inextricably linked with the formation of optimal passenger service

management models aimed at increasing passenger traffic in the conditions of active development of

domestic tourism in the country. Attention is paid to marketing communications for the promotion of

services. At the same time, in the available research papers related to the organization of passenger

transportation, insufficient attention is paid to the management of passenger service on railway transport.

Taking into account the importance of the influence of the level of service on the attractiveness and demand

of passengers for railway transport services, the problem of forming innovative approaches to managing and

improving the level of service on the railway is of particular relevance for consideration.

1 INTRODUCTION

One of the priority directions of the development of

science, technology and technology in the Russian

Federation of a civil nature, meeting global scientific

and technological trends, is the development of

transport systems. In accordance with the Concept of

Long-term Socio-economic Development of the

Russian Federation until 2030, accessibility and

quality of transport services for all segments of the

population have been identified as promising

achievable goals in accordance with social standards

that guarantee the possibility of movement

throughout the country, while the mobility of the

population will increase to 15,561 pass-km per 1

person per year, which 2.6 times higher than in 2007.

The projected total volume of passenger traffic is

964.8 billion by 2030. pass.-km, including rail

transport – 203.0 billion. pass.-km (Consultant Plus,

https://www.consultant.ru).

The developed railway transport system of the

Russian Federation ensures the economic security of

the country. Railways, connecting the regions of the

country with each other, contribute to the creation of

uninterrupted supply chains (Ignatova, 2021).

However, currently, due to changes in the

external economic situation and the consequences of

a pandemic nature, the estimated indicators for

2020-2021 have not been achieved, which requires

adjustments to the quantitative indicators set out in

the Railway Transport Development Strategy until

2030, as well as the transformation of the directions

of railway transport development, including changes

in the logistics of traffic flows with an increase in

the south-eastern direction of movement,

development of transit traffic, an increase in

passenger traffic due to the active development of

domestic tourism and the reorientation of passenger

traffic from air services to rail transport. For

example, by the end of 2020, the volume of

passenger transportation by rail in long-distance

trains due to objective reasons decreased to 10.6

million people, which amounted to 60.2% compared

to the level of the pre-pandemic 2019.

In this case, measures of state financial support

for railway transport organizations in the Russian

Federation are important, according to

Timakova, R. and Chernov, S.

Innovative Approaches to Passenger Service Management in Railway Transport.

DOI: 10.5220/0011579000003527

In Proceedings of the 1st International Scientiﬁc and Practical Conference on Transport: Logistics, Construction, Maintenance, Management (TLC2M 2022), pages 65-72

ISBN: 978-989-758-606-4

 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

(Alexandrovich, 2021), as well as for individual

groups of passengers by providing railway transport

services at preferential tariffs, both in Russia; and

with zero tariff, as in Slovenia and a number of other

states (Michniak, 2018).

In order to improve the position of rail transport,

according to the data of the International

Competitiveness Report, (Abdullayev, 2021) notes,

it is necessary to ensure the provision of high-quality

rail transport services to citizens in accordance with

international experience.

The purpose of the study is to develop optimistic

planning management decisions related to the

technological processes of passenger service on

railway transport in the conditions of force majeure

development of the country's economy.

2 MATERIALS AND METHODS

The materials for the study were open information

resources. In the course of the study, methods of

system analysis and process approach were applied

in the management of passenger service in railway

transport based on a comprehensive assessment of

the elements and stages of management technology

of service.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Currently, the relevance of the Program "Digital

Economy of the Russian Federation", approved by

the Decree of the Government of the Russian

Federation No. 1632-r dated 28.07.2017, is that the

development of the digital (electronic) economy

through "modernization of traditional manufacturing

industries and service industries... creates the basis

for the formation of new markets and their

functioning, as well as new approaches to

forecasting, analysis and, accordingly, the adoption

of new management decisions accordingly" (Russian

Government. https://government.ru).

Thus, in accordance with the passport of the

Integrated Innovative Development Program

(hereinafter - KPIR-2025) of the Russian Railways

Holding for the period up to 2025 (approved by the

Order of JSC "Russian Railways" dated 22.09.21 No.

2071/r), which was developed in accordance with

the Decree of the President of the Russian

Federation dated May 7, 2018. No. 204 "On national

goals and strategic objectives of the Development of

the Russian Federation for the period up to 2024",

the Strategy of Scientific and Technological

Development of the Russian Federation until 2035,

the Transport Strategy of the Russian Federation for

the period up to 2030, the Strategy for the

Development of Railway Transport in the Russian

Federation until 2030, national programs and

projects, including the national program "Digital

Economy of the Russian Federation", national

projects "Science", "Labor Productivity

improvement and Employment support",

"International Cooperation and Export", "Small and

medium–sized entrepreneurship and support for

individual entrepreneurial initiative", "Education",

"Ecology", etc., the key performance indicators are

laid down (Table 1).

The study of transport activity traditionally

begins in the following areas: management of

operational work in railway transport; innovative

technologies in the transportation process; intelligent

systems in the management of transport processes;

management of reliability, safety, risks in railway

transport; problems and prospects for the

development of information technologies of railway

transport; problems of interaction of modes of

transport (Erofeev, 2021) and then proceed to the

study of the needs of the potential market of

consumers- passengers of Russian Railways.

In our opinion, out of the presented 13

innovative and promising projects and technologies

for the development of railway transport in IPID-

2025, 7 projects can be identified aimed at

improving passenger service in railway transport,

which, in turn, can be grouped into 2 groups:

fundamental projects directly related to the

architecture of railway transport and near-railway

infrastructure, and customer-oriented (add-on)

projects that provide service technologies. At the

same time, it is necessary to take into account the

vector of the direction – cargo or passenger

transportation.

These projects are aimed at forming a modern

model of passenger service management in transport

and include: rolling stock-2025; development of the

Moscow railway hub; development of high-speed

communication in Russia; development of high-

speed communication; development of multimodal

passenger and freight transportation; customer

digital services; innovative project "Engineering

Center" (Table. 2) (RZD, https://company.rzd.ru).

Railway transport is objectively a universal way

of transportation: for moving people around the

country, for travelers on various tours, for tourists

choosing railway tourism. The directions of St.

Petersburg, Moscow, central and southern parts of

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Table 1: List of key performance indicators (KPIs) of the Integrated Program of Innovative Development (IPID) of the

Russian Railways Holding for the period up to 2025 (the planned indicators are set in in accordance with the Decree of the

Government of the Russian Federation No. 1442 of December 25, 2015).

Code Name of the KPI, unit of change

Years

2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

KPI

The share of R&D costs that relate to revenue from core

activities, %

0,53 0,54 0,55 0,56 0,57

KPI

The share of the implementation of the results of intellectual

activity that have received legal protection (intellectual

ert

ects

)

in the total number, %

86 86 86 86 86

KPI

The share of purchases of innovative and high-tech products in

the total volume of purchases, %

≥ 1010%

KPI

The share of revenue from new ones (whose age is no more

than 3 years) services in the total volume of services, %

2,0 2,0 2,0 2,0 2,0

KPI

The annual economic effect of the portfolio of innovative

projects of the SSP KPIR-2025 of the Russian Railways

holding (for projects with declared economic effects), %

10,0 10,0 10,0 10,0 10,0

KPI

The average annual rate of increase in labor productivity,% 105,0 105,0 105,0 105,0 105,0

KPI

Increase in the energy efficiency of production activities

(compared to the previous year), %

0,6

It is established by the order of the

federal executive authorit

KPI

Greenhouse gas emissions in CO2 equivalent, kg/10 thousand

riv. t-k

185,5 184,3 183,1 181,9 180,7

KPI

Traffic safety indicator (specific number of accidents and other

events

)

, units/million train-k

0,876 0,842 0,807 0,773 0,743

KPI

Quality of development (updating) /implementation of the

innovative development program, %

90-

100

90-

100

90-

100

90-

100

90-

100

In accordance with the planned values of the indicator "Improving the energy efficiency of production activities" of the list

of those included in the integral key indicator of the effectiveness of innovation activity

Russia, from Moscow to Vladivostok (Transsib),

around the lake are popular in railway

transportation. Baikal on the "Circum-Baikal

Express", weekend tours are interesting.

Among all types of transport, it is railway

transport that is distinguished by comfort, diversity

of accommodation conditions, the possibility of

providing passengers and travelers-tourists with a

complex of services (transport, food,

accommodation, leisure activities). The cars have

increased comfort, are equipped with air

conditioning, upholstered seats, panoramic windows,

shower cabins. Information content during travel by

rail is greater than by bus (Kosareva, 2021).

In these conditions, the issues of ensuring the

quality of service and increasing the competitiveness

of passenger rail transport depend on various factors

that affect the implementation of management

models of passenger service. JSC "Russian

Railways" pays great attention to improving the

quality of service and identifying the level of

passenger satisfaction.

To receive feedback from passengers, it is

necessary to conduct marketing research in the form

of a structured personal survey, where the analyzed

criteria are ticket prices, convenience of

transportation, customer service, behavior of train

staff, cleanliness of the interiors of cars, frequency

of proposed connections and the offer of refreshing

drinks during the trip (Chocholac, 2018). For this

purpose, online surveys are conducted on a regular

basis on the website opros.fpc.ru, which allows you

to get up-to-date data, reviews and ratings about

trips "from hand to hand" for prompt decision-

making to eliminate the identified shortcomings.

The Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) is formed

based on the following indicators:

− convenience and comfort of the ticket

purchase procedure (on the website, in the

mobile application, at the box office);

− fare;

− service on the way (comfort level, technical

and sanitary condition of wagons, quality of

bedding and road equipment, quality of work

of conductors);

− availability of additional services and the

quality of catering for passengers en route;

− loyalty program "RZD Bonus".

Innovative Approaches to Passenger Service Management in Railway Transport

Table 2: Innovative projects in the field of improving passenger service in railway transport in accordance with KPIR-2025.

Project

attribute

Goal. Types of innovations Effect

1. Rolling stoc

-2025

F/S Increasing the requirements for the purchased rolling

stock and participating in the development of new

models of rolling stock.

Process.

Improving the operational characteristics of rolling stock,

reducing the life cycle cost by up to 15%, improving safety,

reliability and environmental friendliness, increasing the

indicators of transportation activities (organization of driving

trains weighing 7,100 tons and st. 8000 tons), the introduction

of connected 2-storey passenger electric trains to reduce energy

consumption

–

up to 10%, reducing travel time

–

y 5-10 %.

2. Development of the Moscow railway junction

S The development of transport services on the Small

Ring of the Moscow Railway and the organization of

transportation within the borders of Moscow and the

region along diametrical routes through the city center.

Product, process.

Improving the service and quality of services provided to

passengers, increasing the level of loyalty and customer

satisfaction, combining commuter rail systems with the

transport infrastructure of large cities, switching to the design of

integrated transport circuits and multimodal transportation.

3. Development of high-speed communication in Russia

F/S The projects are the development of the experience of

creating the country's first high-speed highway on the

route Moscow - St. Petersburg, the development in the

future of projects on the routes Moscow-Kazan,

Yekaterinburg-Chelyabinsk with their further

integration in the direction Moscow-Kazan-

Yekaterinburg-Chelyabinsk.

Product, process.

The economic effect of exploitation for all stakeholders.

Increasing customer satisfaction, attracting additional passenger

traffic.

4. Development of high-speed communication

F/S Implementation of the system of automatic monitoring

of traffic parameters, data exchange system, solutions

for maintenance and operation of high-speed electric

trains (automation, robotization), introduction of

information technologies.

Product, process.

Improving the service and quality of services provided to

passengers, increasing the level of safety and labor productivity.

5. Development of multimodal passenger and cargo transportation

S Creation of a single digital platform for the organization

of multimodal routes and a barrier-free environment for

low-mobility groups of the population.

Product, process.

Increasing the list of services and services provided by rail

transport to increase passenger satisfaction, expanding the

customer base and attracting new customers, reducing the time

for processing orders, improving the quality of service, the level

and satisfaction of passengers and customers, increasing the

competitiveness of transport services.

6. Digital client services

F/S Development of new and development of existing

customer digital services in the field of organization and

management of freight and passenger transportation:

provision of services in real time, including route

planning, purchase of single tickets and booking,

provision of additional services.

Grocery, marketing.

Improving the quality of railway transport services, increasing

the customer focus of the company's activities, providing new

digital services and services

7. Innovative project "EngineeringCente

F/S Ensuring the achievement of the main performance

indicators of Russian Railways, the development of

high-speed rail transport, ensuring the transport security

of the state, reducing dependence on imported goods

and services in transport, replacing imported

components and technologies in the production of

rolling stock and its components.

Process, organizational.

Creation of high-speed passenger rolling stock; development of

electric trains with the 4th level of automation, creation of

hybrid electric trains of small composition and hybrid diesel

locomotive for operation in large urban agglomerations;

implementation of an automated system for collecting,

processing, storing information, including a high-precision

coordinate system (HCS) and a spatial database of digital

models of the track; design and the development of new types

of rolling stock; the introduction of passenger information and

entertainment systems (following the example of the already

existing "Fellow Traveler" system).

–fundamental – F, superstructure– S

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According to the results obtained, in 2020, the

passenger service quality index for rail transport

amounted to 4.39 points on a 5-point system, which

is 1% higher than in 2019 (Fig. 1) (Annual report of

JSC «FPC», 2020).

A study aimed at determining the level of

importance that passengers attach to various

attributes of railway service (Sanudo, 2019) allowed

us to establish that attributes related to the fare

system, travel time and intermodality are the most

important for improving the quality of service in

railway transport. The least important attributes

include very specific additional services. At the

same time, it was noticed that the importance varies

depending on the frequency of use of railway

services. Accordingly, improving intermodality can

be a cost-effective way to attract new users.

External factors of influence include the fact that

railway tourism cannot be developed without the

consolidation of joint actions of tour operators,

travel agencies, carriers and regional/local

authorities, which, along with the promotion of

package tourism products, allows, according to

(Timakova, 2020), to form holistic concepts of

territorial marketing and branding not only of tourist

destinations, but also of the territories of regions and

municipalities, along which the railway tour takes

place.

The fundamental elements in the passenger

service system on railway transport are the

professionalism of the staff, the organization of

leisure activities, catering, comfort and safety of

transportation. A number of researchers note the

importance of providing up-to-date information

support, including through mobile interactive means

of information, the possibility of unhindered

connection to the high-speed Internet, etc.

In the context of increasing global competition in

the markets of goods, services and capital, a

structural restructuring of the world economy is

taking place, associated with a change in the balance

between economic centers, an increase in the role of

regional economic unions and the expected spread of

new technologies, which entails a change in national

and global cargo and passenger flows, an increase in

requirements for the quality of transport services,

security and stability of the transport system

(Markova, 2021).

The key characteristics of quality and

competitiveness are the level of material and

technical support of the transportation mechanism;

the degree of information and communication

services; the quality of staff work, etc. To improve

the level of services on the railway, it is advisable to

take into account the need of various groups of

passengers not only in the quantitative provision of

seats, but also in creating conditions and offering

services that create comfort (Koroleva, 2020).

In order to develop management innovative

approaches in the organization of passenger service

Figure 1: The Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) of JSC "Russian Railways"(Annual report of JSC «FPC», 2020).

Innovative Approaches to Passenger Service Management in Railway Transport

in order to increase the level of passenger loyalty

and competitiveness of the enterprise, the NPS index

is monitored. Net Promoter Score is an index of

consumer loyalty to a product/service or to a

company). So, in 2020, the value of the NPS index

for Russian Railways was 45, which is 2 points

higher than in 2019 and 1.4 times higher in the

previous three years (Fig. 2) (Annual report of JSC

«FPC», 2020).

The spread of a new coronavirus infection in

2020-2021 and the associated self-isolation regime

led to a sharp decrease in traffic volumes and

increased costs for railway passenger carriers. The

spread of technology for the use of non-stop cars in

passenger tourist trains is proposed as one of the

possible measures to accelerate the recovery of pre-

crisis traffic volumes, as well as to increase the

popularity and accessibility of railway tourism for

residents of various regions of Russia, notes (Isaeva,

2021)

According to Romenskaya M.V., Kalinina K.A.,

Ekimov A.V., in order to ensure high-quality

passenger service (including those who are tourists)

en route, it is necessary to introduce special

technological principles for organizing tourist and

passenger transportation, based on different

conceptual approaches to organizing train traffic:

mass transportation to resorts; traveling along

historical railways on 1520 mm gauge lines and

along specific railways for the purpose of organized

visits by tourists to objects of unique beauty that are

inaccessible to other modes of transport; irregular

cruise routes using a passenger train as the core of a

tourist product, where the train becomes a hotel for

tourists; visiting resorts/cities as part of cruises

weekend; transportation of volley flows of guests to

the venues of mass events of local, regional or all-

Russian scale (Romenskaya, 2021).

Currently, rehabilitation and relaxing trips, short-

term trips within regions to restore interpersonal

communications and new socialization in society are

becoming important, which is facilitated by the

atmosphere of interpersonal communication when

traveling by train (Timakova, 2021).

JSC "Russian Railways", as the largest Russian

company, is actively engaged in the development

and implementation of global technological

innovations, and also generates demand for them,

acting as a leading driver of innovative development

not only of the transport complex of our country, but

also of the entire Russian economy.

The strategy of innovative development of JSC

"Russian Railways" involves both the development

and implementation of innovative projects and the

formation of innovative infrastructure. This

approach assumes consistency in the implementation

of various innovative projects, which is manifested

in the complexity of the process of search,

adaptation and implementation of innovative

projects in the company's activities. The need to

Figure 2: Loyalty Index (NPS) of passengers of JSC "Federal Passenger Company"(Annual report of JSC «FPC», 2020).

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stimulate and develop domestic demand for

innovations in Russian Railways in connection with

unfriendly sanctions measures of Western countries,

caused the need to organize methodological work to

update and identify the needs of the holding for new

(innovative) technical, technological and

organizational solutions and products.

4 CONCLUSION

Needs (requests) formed taking into account the

priority directions of scientific, technological and

innovative development of the holding, of which 6%

of requests for innovations relate to the direction

"Development of transport and logistics systems in a

single transport space based on customer

orientation", which allows us to identify as priority

innovative areas of passenger service at JSC

"Russian Railways": the development of the service

"Electronic ticket", registration of baggage, animals

on the website of JSC "Russian Railways",

transportation of pets in a compartment for baggage

transportation, transportation of unaccompanied

children, electronic store "FPC-Market", sending

correspondence and parcels by trains, provision of

children's travel kits, equipping trains with warning

devices, information services on trains, organization

of leisure activities, modernization of catering

services.

The identified priority areas of innovative

activity in the field of passenger service act as the

basis for the subsequent organization:

- close cooperation and interaction with the

elements of the innovation ecosystem – scientific,

educational, research organizations to find the most

effective innovative solutions to address specific

requests for innovation;

- open user requests through the development of

the information portal "Single Window of

Innovations of JSC "Russian Railways";

- interaction with executive authorities, state

corporations, external innovative companies, and

other participants in the innovation environment in

the implementation of various programs and events,

including in the format of innovative project

competitions.

5 REСOMMENDATION

The innovative concept of passenger service

management provides for the offer of railway tourist

products for a certain target audience, based on

different levels of wealth, in order to expand the

sales market in the context of the development of

domestic tourism, which requires increased work

with professional participants in the tourism industry

and hospitality market and marketing promotion of

railway tourism. At the same time, the separation of

passengers by service classes is realized when using

cars of different comfort and offers of different tour

packages.

Thus, an inextricable link has been established in

the implementation of fundamental and client-

oriented (superstructure) innovative projects. An

integrated approach to the organization of passenger

traffic as a result of the development and

implementation of innovative management solutions

aimed at the formation of customer-oriented aspects

in passenger service will increase the

competitiveness of passenger rail transportation.

Against the background of changing geopolitics in

the world, there is a high probability of

strengthening the position of Russian Railways in

passenger transportation and changing the logistics

of the movement of passengers and travelers while

providing high-quality services in the process of

their maintenance on rail transport.

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