The Role of EU Transport Market Liberalization in Shaping Directions of Rail Energy Consumption Rationalization in Relation to the Export of Goods: The Case of Poland

Elżbieta Szaruga (), Elżbieta Załoga (), Arkadiusz Drewnowski, Sylwia Kowalska and Paulina Dąbrosz-Drewnowska
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Elżbieta Szaruga: Department of Transport Management, Institute of Management, University of Szczecin, Cukrowa 8 Street, 71-004 Szczecin, Poland
Elżbieta Załoga: Department of Transport Management, Institute of Management, University of Szczecin, Cukrowa 8 Street, 71-004 Szczecin, Poland
Arkadiusz Drewnowski: Department of Transport Management, Institute of Management, University of Szczecin, Cukrowa 8 Street, 71-004 Szczecin, Poland
Sylwia Kowalska: Department of Transport Management, Institute of Management, University of Szczecin, Cukrowa 8 Street, 71-004 Szczecin, Poland
Paulina Dąbrosz-Drewnowska: Research Group on Social Memory, Institute of History, University of Szczecin, Krakowska 71-79 Street, 71-017 Szczecin, Poland

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 13, 1-33

Abstract: This article discusses the impact of rail market liberalization on the energy intensity of rail in relation to the export of goods, as well as the identification of multidimensional cause-and-effect relationships between rail energy intensity and the importing country’s economic condition, transport performance, and transport distance. Three research questions were formulated: (1) Does the liberalization of the EU transport market and the implementation of a sustainable transport policy contribute to minimizing the energy consumption of rail transport? (2) Does the pursuit of economic growth allow for reducing the energy intensity of goods exported by rail transport in global trade? (3) Is there a justified paradigm for shifting long-distance freight transport from roads to rail? This study concerned 21 directions of the export of goods transported by rail from Poland to partner countries (worldwide) in 2010–2020. A panel model of rail transport energy consumption with random effects was constructed. As a result of rail market liberalization, the export of goods transported by rail across great distances occurs without harming economic development and leads to a reduction in energy intensity. On this basis, key strategies were formulated to promote rail transport in reducing the energy intensity of the transport sector. The authors filled the research gap by identifying the relationship between the energy intensity of exports of goods by rail transport in value terms, depending on the European transport market’s liberalization process, the importing countries’ economic situation, transport volume, and distance. The presented approach is innovative and can be adapted to the analysis of other modes of transport, including road transport, and other countries (and their structure and export directions).

Keywords: energy intensity; export of goods; liberalization of the transport market; panel model with random effects; rail transport (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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