2023 Volume 79 Issue 20 Article ID: 23-20042
As natural disasters become more severe and frequent, implementation of disaster countermeasures aimed at maintaining and improving the stability and sustainability of railway freight transportation, which plays an important role in Japan's logistics, is meaningful not only for the freight railway business but also for society. On the other hand, it is costly in terms of budget and time to implement. Therefore, in order to implement disaster countermeasures that are beneficial to all concerned parties, it is necessary to evaluate their effectiveness from various perspectives. In this study, we constructed a method that can quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of implementing disaster countermeasures, using the benefits and burdens on freight railway operators, which have not been considered in previous studies, as indicators. As a case study using the method, we evaluated the effectiveness of strengthening alternative truck transportation among major freight stations in various parts of Japan. The results show how various countermeasures differ in effectiveness considering costs on freight railway operators.
