Efficiency evaluation of a passenger railway operator using FAHP and DEA methodology

In accordance with the European regulatory framework and the principles of sustainable mobility, sustainability has become one of the key factors in the evaluation and selection of passenger railway operators by managers, regulatory bodies, and decision-makers within the transport system. In addition to service quality and operational efficiency, railway operators must continuously improve the environmental, social, and technological aspects of their operations in order to contribute to the development of a more sustainable transport system. Effective evaluation of passenger railway operators represents an important basis for improving service quality, increasing user satisfaction, and strengthening the competitiveness of railway transport in the transport market. Existing studies are mainly focused on a limited number of indicators or specific aspects of railway system performance, while integrated approaches for the evaluation of passenger railway operators remain insufficiently explored. Therefore, this paper proposes an integrated multi-criteria decision-making model that combines the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methods and includes the key dimensions of passenger railway transport quality that are most commonly used in the evaluation of transport systems. The research is focused on the analysis of four passenger railway operators. The results show that the integration of the FAHP and DEA approaches enables a comprehensive evaluation and ranking of operators and can support managers and decision-makers in improving the service quality and operational performance of railway transport.