Topological analysis of roadway and railway networks of the Ukrainian-Polish borderlands (on the example of Lviv Oblast and Subcarpathian Voivodeship)

Abstract

The paper presents an analysis of functioning of roadway and railway networks in the context of logistics flows. The interaction of road vehicles and railroad cars within the given territories was characterized. The provided spatiotemporal modelling allows comparing the configuration of roadways and railways from the peripheral settlements to the regional capitals. The points that form transport links with the administrative centres of each studied territory were identified. A comparative topological analysis of the given lines of roadway and railway transport within the Ukrainian-Polish borderland employed quantitative (distance, time) and qualitative (curvature, travel speed) modelling parameters, characterizing the relationship of the borderland territories in two neighbouring countries of Eastern Europe. Relative indicators, which include curvature and speed, were estimated. A database of settlements based on accessibility to the city by road and rail transport was created, taking into account the top-10 centres of territorial communities, or hromadas, in Lviv Oblast and Subcarpathian Voivodeship. Alternative modes of transport for travelling from a centre of territorial community to the regional centre in Ukraine and Poland were highlighted. The study compared the settlements with low transport accessibility to the regional capital (oblast, voivodeship), taking into account the functioning of the roadway and railway networks. Social-geographical problems of the given territories were identified based on the analysis of topological indicators of each transport connections. I found that the network system of transport infrastructure in Subcarpathian Voivodeship is low-dense, especially in mountainous areas. Also, there was analyzed high accessibility of suburban settlements to the city of Rzeszów. In Lviv, connection between the suburbs and the city centre can be called problematic. Within the studied borderland areas, there were also found cases of disuse of the existing railway stations for passenger traffic. Variants that would promote the development of public transport in the Lviv Oblast have been proposed, based on the example of the transport model in Subcarpathian Voivodeship. Applied developments include the need to build the Opillia-Roztocze highway, assignement of high-speed electric trains from remote areas to the regional capital.