Enclosing rail capacity/punctuality in accessibility measures: a two-step approach by using Data Envelopment Analysis and Analytic Hierarchy Process

European Commission is encouraging a modal shift towards rail in order to achieve a more competitive and sustainable European transport system; anyway as the traffic will increase many parts of existing railway infrastructure which are operated almost at full capacity could not be capable of offering adequate levels of service. On the other hand the characteristics of a transport system in terms of capacity, connectivity, travel speeds etc. determine the advantage/disadvantage of an area (i.e. a region or a city) relative to other locations. In such a context, this article tries to integrate fundamental operational and performance parameters in a wider accessibility analysis by rail. Information related to the `congestion´ of the line is introduced in the evaluation of the travel time, thought as an impedance parameter for the accessibility analysis; several accessibility indicators have been explored, including a composite approach combining Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Analytic Hierarchy Process in order to consider and embrace all the complementary information delivered by the other four `partial´ accessibility measures. The overall outcomes provide a valuable tool for decision makers to identify areas more or less accessible from/to other zones and how/where improvements in infrastructure and levels of service could benefit users.