EFFICIENCY EVALUATIONS OF RAILWAYS USING RELATIONAL NETWORK DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS

The rate of increase in the world population has caused the rapid growth and differentiation of transportation systems. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly important for transportation systems to provide safe, faster, and less expensive transportation. The present study analyzed the efficiency of 14 European and Turkish railways selected from the International Union of Railways database using data from between 2000 and 2017. The system, production, and consumption process activities of these 14 railways were estimated using Relational Network Data Envelopment Analysis and interpreted with performance matrices. Significant variables affecting production, consumption, and system activities were identified by Tobit Regression Analysis. The most important variables affecting system efficiency were found to be passenger and freight train occupancy rates, gross national income per capita, and population density.