TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE US RAILWAYS AGAINST THE COMPETITIVENESS OF THE ECONOMY IN THE YEARS 2000-2017

The overall contribution of the railway sector in the American economy is substantial. Since 2000, the volume of rail freight transport services in the United States has remained on a balanced and invariably high level, even though the total length of the railway network has declined. Over the recent years, owing to the deployment of advanced software and state-of-the-art technologies, rail freight transport has been performing more effectively than ever. This article addresses a study of the rate of GDP changes compared with measures reflecting the transport services performed in the years 1995-2015. This study comprised the transport performance achieved by means of railways (in billion tkm) against other transport sectors within 2000-2016 and addresses the volume of freight transport services performed in the American transport network. The authors discussed the mechanism functioning of rail freight transport, which is becoming an increasingly attractive means of transport, with reference to the intermodal freight transport, including the double-stack system. They have analysed the share of intermodal transport in the structure of domestic and non-domestic freight transport services in 2017. Furthermore, the latest observed trends in the American railway network in the sphere of the use and implementation of the state-of-the-art technologies supporting railway traffic management was brought to light with regard to the improvement of safety and assisting the relevant authorities.