Analyses of freight forward-time in railway transportation

In recent years, the statistics show that the turnaround time of wagons becomes longer and longer in China railway transportation. The turnaround time of 1998 is 45.4% higher than that of 1987, and the forward speed of freight transport is very slow. According to our investigations and analyses, we concluded that the time that influenced the speed of freight transport is mainly consumed at the freight stations and transfer stations. This part of time makes up the major percentage, about 60% of the whole cargo ship time, and the travel time only makes up less than 40%. This paper analyzes factors influencing the turnaround time and the speed in detail, and finds out some main factors, and some suggestions and strategies are proposes.