MADE Winter 2023/24 Project: Realistic Alternatives: Substituting the Worst Train Connections with Electrified Highways.

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This project is one of the MADE Winter 2023/24 Projects implemented by our students. We run these projects every semester, please be in touch if you are interested in participating!

Author: Lisa Rebecca Schmidt

Project Description: The project is concerned with the question: Which routes between German cities are the fastest by car (in comparison to travel by train) and should be electrified for a “quick win” (compared to new train tracks) in climate action? This project makes the recommendation of electrifying the routes Rostock/Villingen-Schwenningen and Rostock/Konstanz. This is based on the attractiveness of train connections on the route and the degree of electrification of the connecting highways. Both routes show significantly longer travel times by train than by car, making the time-sensitive traveler more inclined to choose the car over taking a train. Additionally, the routes show a below-average degree of electrification, suggesting a high potential for improvement when adding new charging stations. The project recommends adding charging stations to the route, which is less costly and time-consuming than modernizing the connecting railways.

Further Project Details:

Reference: Lisa Rebecca Schmidt. Realistic alternatives: Substituting the worst train connections with electrified highways. MADE WS 2023/24. Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg: 2024.