FEATURES OF MARKETING MANAGEMENT OF RAILWAY TRANSPORT DEVELOPMENT IN A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

Under wartime conditions, railway transport in Ukraine has become the backbone of the national transport system, ensuring the delivery of critically important cargo, humanitarian missions, and defense-related needs. The suspension of air and maritime transport has reshaped the competitive environment, significantly strengthening the role of railway infrastructure. At the same time, integration into the European transport space, digitalization, and growing customer expectations require the reconsideration of management approaches, where marketing gains strategic importance. The main challenge lies in the insufficient level of customer orientation, the limited use of marketing tools, and uneven digital transformation. This creates a contradiction between the growing role of railway transport and its inadequate marketing adaptation. The aim of the study is to substantiate the theoretical foundations and identify the specific features of marketing management in the development of Ukraine’s railway transport under competitive conditions. The research is based on the analysis of scientific publications by both foreign and domestic scholars, which emphasize the importance of marketing research, innovative approaches, and the formation of a client-oriented management model. Marketing management is proposed to be considered as an integrated system that combines analytical, strategic, innovative-digital, and socio-communicative components. Their interaction makes it possible to build competitive advantages, adapt services to new challenges, and promote the integration of Ukrainian railway transport into the European transport space. The results of the study prove that marketing management is not only a tool for promoting services but also a mechanism for increasing the efficiency of the sector, aligning economic and social objectives, building customer trust, and ensuring sustainable competitive positions in both domestic and international markets.