**Chapter 10 205**

Influence of Tribological Parameters on the Railway Wheel Derailment *by George Tumanishvili, Tengiz Nadiradze and Giorgi Tumanishvili*

Preface

The transportation system is the backbone of any social and economic system, and is also a very complex system in which users, transport means, technologies, services, and infrastructures have to cooperate with each other to achieve common

Currently, the transport sector is undergoing a revolution due to fast technological innovations, the need for reliable and safe infrastructure and services, and the increasing attention on environmental impacts. In this context, both methodologi-

The aim of this book is to present a general overview on some of the main challenges that transportation planners and decision makers are faced with. Indeed, the book addresses different topics that range from user's behavior to travel demand simulation, from supply chain to the railway infrastructure capacity, from traffic safety issues to Life Cycle Assessment, and to strategies to make the transportation

The first two chapters deal with the needs for effective but lean methodologies to overcome the main limitations of the approaches traditionally adopted for modelling and simulating the travel demand. Indeed, traditional four-step transportation planning models and consolidated random utility choice models may fail to capture novel transportation modes (such as car/ridesharing) and to effectively model

Chapter 1 introduces the need for a multi-agent modelling and aims to give a clear guideline on population syntheses approaches based on travel diary surveys, land use data, and census data. In particular, a state of art and the most prominent techniques are introduced (iterative proportional fitting, iterative proportional updating, combinatorial optimization, Markov-based, fitness-based synthesis, and

Chapter 2 argues that numerous non-quantitative variables (such as psychological factors, attitudes, perceptions etc.) may significantly affect users' behaviors in the presence of innovative choice contexts. To this aim, the chapter proposes a methodological overview on how psychological factors may be incorporated within the traditional random utility theory framework. The hybrid choice modelling approach with latent variables is introduced and the main operative

Chapter 3 and 4 discuss two important topics: third-party logistics in the supply chain and the need for a reliable estimation of railway infrastructure capacity.

Chapter 3 deals with one of the most challenging issues of modern logistics and supply chains: third-party logistics. The chapter introduces the main definitions, then classifies the main components and activities, and then discusses the main

cal and operative issues are worthy of interest and need to be investigated.

and unique goals.

system more sustainable.

other emerging approaches).

issues are discussed.

users' propensity to adopt new technologies.

issues that may characterize third-party logistics.
