Energy Consumption and Travel Time as Important Factors for Deciding on the Mode of Transport - Case Study from Slovakia

Abstract

Problems of energy consumption are of great importance in all sectors of our life, including transport. This is evident just in the current situation in Europe. Road and rail transport belongs to major consumers of oil products, which causes extensive pressure on the environment, in particular by emissions produced directly by vehicles with internal combustion engines or indirectly in case of electric traction vehicles. Various parameters of different transport modes were compared for passenger transport using diesel engines were compared in this article. Power consumption and travel time belong to the main factors influencing selection of transport mode. In the study, the comparison was performed by calculation of travel times, energy consumption and CO2 emissions for road and rail vehicles used in selected regions in Slovakia. Inputs to the calculations were based on real data, although not all factors acting in real operation could have been considered.