Choosing the wrong technology: Or how to spend billions and reduce transit use

In spite of a broad consensus among transportation analysts that bus rapid transit, whether operating on exclusive rights-of-way or on uncongested high occupancy vehicle lanes or general purpose limited access facilities, provides higher performance and has significantly lower costs per passenger trip than rail transit in medium and low density cities, nearly all Sunbelt cities are building or planning heavy or light rail systems. This paper reviews previous studies of the cost-effectiveness of heavy and light rail transit with bus-rapid transit and the growing experience with busways and transitways and concludes, once again, that some form of bus rapid transit would be a far more effective way of providing improved transit in these cities than heavy or light rail transit. Not only would bus rapid transit be substantially cheaper, but it would provide a higher quality of service than light or heavy rail transit for virtually all users. Finally, the paper speculates on the reasons for the continued, “blind” commitment to rail transit by policymakers in Sunbelt cities and on the refusal of policymakers in all but a few of these cities to even consider bus rapid transit.     

A hierarchical customer satisfaction framework for evaluating rail transit systems of Istanbul

This paper provides a hierarchical customer satisfaction framework to measure rail transit lines’ performances in Istanbul. The problems related to rail transit line systems are addressed via customer satisfaction surveys. Then, a framework is proposed combining statistical analysis, fuzzy analytic hierarchy process, trapezoidal fuzzy sets and Choquet integral to evaluate customer satisfaction levels. Next, the criteria need to be improved are determined and specific recommendations to enhance the operation for specific lines are suggested. The proposed framework provides directions for the future investments and it also can be used at a more macroscopic level to determine the operational deficiencies. Furthermore, it can be generalized and applied to complex decision making problems that include uncertain and subjective data or vague information.     

Perspectives of high speed rail transport in short-medium period

In this paper an analytic method to evaluate technical and economic conditions of convenience for new high speed lines in guided transport systems, is described. In particular it answers the following main questions: what are the conditions to construct a new high speed line; what is the optimal operational speed of a new line; which is the better between two systems, differing in costs structure and quality of performance? It is shown that a modern railway, able to reach a speed up to 300 km/h, is in short-medium period better than contactless systems so far tested. In the last part of the paper a hypothesis of a new generation contactless system is outlined. A comparison with high speed railway shows that, from a theoretical point of view, this new system called “synthesis solution,” could be in the future the real competitor of the railway.     

Financial lessons from Asian experience in constructing and operating high speed train networks

A serious interest in high speed train has been increasing all over the world. However, recent experiences in Asian countries show that high speed rail projects are not financially viable even in areas seemingly favorable to rail operations. Considering the existing intensive highway and airline network, putting public subsidies to high speed rail projects are barely justifiable from a purely economic point of view. What is required of any government which contemplates high speed rail construction as a policy option is to show taxpayers the cost/revenues difference between constructing a high speed rail line and expanding a capacity of other means, before proceeding.     

Energy-efficient operation of rail vehicles

This paper describes an analytical process that computes the optimal operating successions of a rail vehicle to minimize energy consumption. Rising energy prices and environmental concerns have made energy conservation a high priority for transportation operations. The cost of energy consumption makes up a large portion of the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) costs of transit especially rail transit systems. Energy conservation or reduction in energy cost may be one of the effective ways to reduce transit operating cost, therefore improve the efficiency of transit operations.From a theoretical point of view, the problem of energy efficient train control can be formulated as one of the functions of Optimal Control Theory. However, the classic numerical optimization methods such as discrete method of optimum programming are too slow to be used in an on-board computer even with the much improved computation power, today. The contribution of this particular research is the analytical solution that gives the sequence of optimal controls and equations to find the control change points. As a result, a calculation algorithm and a computer program for energy efficient train control has been developed. This program is also capable of developing energy efficient operating schedules by optimizing distributions of running time for an entire route or any part of rail systems.We see the major application of the proposed algorithms in fully or partially automated Train Control Systems. The modern train control systems, often referred as “positive” train control (PTC), have collected a large amount of information to ensure safety of train operations. The same data can be utilized to compute the optimum controls on-board to minimize energy consumption based on the algorithms proposed in this paper. Most of the input data, such as track plan, track profile, traction and braking characteristics, speed limits and required trip time are located in an on-board database and/or they can be transmitted via radio link to be processed by the proposed algorithm and program.     

The effect of railway local irregularities on ground vibration

The environmental effects of ground-borne vibrations generated due to localised railway defects is a growing concern in urban areas. Frequency domain modelling approaches are well suited for predicting vibration levels on standard railway lines due to track periodicity. However, when considering individual, non-periodic, localised defects (e.g. a rail joint), frequency domain modelling becomes challenging. Therefore in this study, a previously validated, time domain, three-dimensional ground vibration prediction model is modified to analyse such defects. A range of different local (discontinuous) rail and wheel irregularity are mathematically modelled, including: rail joints, switches, crossings and wheel flats. Each is investigated using a sensitivity analysis, where defect size and vehicle speed is varied. To quantify the effect on railroad ground-borne vibration levels, a variety of exposure–response relationships are analysed, including: peak particle velocity, maximum weighted time-averaged velocity and weighted decibel velocity. It is shown that local irregularities cause a significant increase in vibration in comparison to a smooth track, and that the vibrations can propagate to greater distances from the line. Furthermore, the results show that step-down joints generate the highest levels of vibration, whereas wheel flats generate much lower levels. It is also found that defect size influences vibration levels, and larger defects cause greater vibration. Lastly, it is shown that for different defect types, train speed effects are complex, and may cause either an increase or decrease in vibration levels.     

Environmental rail charges in Europe: a review

European legislation implies the use of marginal social cost pricing in rail access charges levied on rail operators. Thus, they may include specific environmental charges to internalise the impacts of rail transport. However, when applying these principles in practice, several difficulties call for second-best settings adapted to the particularities of the rail market. In this context, few European railway administrations are already implementing rail access charges with an environmental dimension. This paper reviews the literature on the issue and assesses the current European experience in noise and air pollution rail charges. For this purpose, an analytical framework is built on the definition of four basic dimensions: charging approach, allocation of abatement efforts, degree of differentiation and intermodal approach. The qualitative examination of the existing systems suggests that the level of environmental surcharges can be generally increased given the low substitutability between rail and road and that the range of abatement possibilities should be enlarged by further differentiating charges. It is also found that the pricing scope should be adapted to achieve particular cost-efficient allocations of abatement efforts among rail operators and upstream agents. Finally, further research requirements for a quantitative assessment are defined.     

High-Speed Rail Operations on an Existing Network: An Assessment Model for China

High-speed rail operations have the potential to reduce the long-term decline in rail passenger travel demand for the medium to long distance inter-urban markets. Such decline has been evident through most of the industrialized countries where air and road transport tend to be the dominant modes. In China, the operations of long distance high-speed rail on fully dedicated track is not very easy to implement, due to the high proportion of passengers who travel between high-speed and conventional railways. An alternative approach would be to allow for mixed operations with trains of various speeds on the same track. This article puts forward a simulation model designed to allow an evaluation of the most efficient distance for high-speed rail operations under mixed train speed scenarios. The model takes into account the main operating parameters such as passenger volumes, train speeds, capital and maintenance costs, train operating costs and energy consumption. The distance of high-speed train running on conventional rail that will yield the most economic benefit can be estimated using the model. The article includes the results of using the model for a specific example. It is concluded that large-scale high-speed trains have the potential to be successfully operated on conventional rail networks.     

How could the collaboration between airport and high speed rail affect the market?

This paper discusses the possibility of collaboration between airport and high speed rail (HSR) to improve the airport’s gateway function. We apply the model which consists of three players, carriers, passengers, and the airport. In order to estimate the impact of the collaboration, we carry out some numerical computations with the model under the twin hub three zones network. Our results show that the collaboration between HSR and the smaller demand airport can reduce the congestion at the bigger demand airport, which suggests the collaboration can be preferable for carriers and passengers; it would improve the social welfare.     

Long-term planning for ring-radial urban rail transit networks

Extensive work exists on regular rail network planning. However, few studies exist on the planning and design of ring-radial rail transit systems. With more ring transit lines being planned and built in Asia, Europe and the America's, a detailed study on ring transit lines is timely. An analytical model to find the optimal number of radial lines in a city for any demand distribution is first introduced. Secondly, passenger route choice for different rail networks is analyzed, for a many-to-many Origin-Destination (OD) demand distribution, based on a total travel time cost per passenger basis. The routes considered are: (1) radial lines only; (2) ring line only or radial lines and ring line combined; or (3) direct access to a destination without using the rail system. Mathematica and Matlab are used to code the route choice model. A cost-benefit optimization model to identify the feasibility and optimality of a ring line is proposed. Unlike simulations and agent-based models, this model is shown to be easily transferable to many ring-radial transit networks. The City of Calgary is used as an example to illustrate the applicability of each model. The existing urban rail network and trip distribution are major influencing factors in judging the feasibility and optimal location of the ring line. This study shows the potential net benefit of introducing a ring line by assessing changes in passengers’ costs. The changes in passenger cost parameters, such as ride cost and access cost, are shown to greatly influence the feasibility of a ring line.     

Economic evaluation for U.S. railroads

In the United States the railroads are the only intercity freight carriers that own the vehicles, routes and terminals that they use. Routes and terminals are natural monopolies and need regulation; the operation of vehicles is naturally competitive and, at most, needs antitrust. On this view, the operation of rail vehicles should be divested and deregulated; the routes and terminals need improved regulation. The present objective is to propose a method of regulating the tolls that would be charged by the route operators. The network would be partitioned into separately owned route segments. Each segment would be operated by a supplier of route services under a franchise bidding scheme. The unit of service would be a linear space on a track; this unit would equal the length of the train plus a safety interval, and it would move along the track at a standard speed. The heart of the proposal consists of a rule for pricing this space. A unit of route service is produced if and only if the revealed gain from exchange is nonnegative, and any unit produced is sold to that train operator who values it most. Price equals incremental cost, and a bidding scheme ensures that the subsidies will be such as either to yield normal profits in the long run or else to cause the route segment to be shut down.     

Light rail transit in Canada

This paper describes current light rail transit planning and operation in Canada's major cities and smaller communities. There are ten urban areas in Canada with 250,000 or more people. Two of these have light rail systems in operation, three have lines under construction and nine others are planning LRT systems.     

Passenger rail in North America in the light of developments in Western Europe and Japan

Because of different geo‐demographic and economic conditions, the impact of the new passenger modes (road and air) on rail travel was much larger in North America than in Europe. In 1960s and 1970s, as the railway share of intercity traffic in North America shrunk to a negligible one or two percent, the passenger trains were abandoned by private railway companies and taken over by state organizations, which have continued to operate traditional trains and generate mounting losses. On the technology side, no attempts have been made to improve competitiveness of trains vis‐a‐vis automobiles and airplanes.

In Europe and Japan, the railways responded to the challenge by (i) upgrading the performance (speed) and comfort of traditional trains operating on existing tracks and (ii) developing trains which could, on short and intermediate range distances, compete successfully, in terms of speed and economy, with the road and air modes. The Japanese (Shinkansen trains) and French (TGV trains) experience clearly shows that trains operating on dedicated lines at average speeds of 150 to 200 km/hr provide a superior transportation service and economy on high‐traffic intercity routes of up to about 500 km length. In this paper the factors responsible for the present status of passenger rail in North America are analysed, the current policies in the U.S. and Canada are evaluated in the light of experience to date and developments abroad, and suggestions for a long‐term passenger rail policy are made. This includes examination of (i) the viability of continued subsidization of traditional train services, (ii) the viability of operation of faster trains on existing tracks, (iii) the scope for introduction of modern, fast trains on dedicated lines in high‐density, intercity corridors, (iv) the application of fast trains as access to major airports and integration of airports with fast intercity lines, and (v) the impact of energy (oil) consumption in transportation.

     

Emission rates of intermodal rail/road and road-only transportation in Europe: A comprehensive simulation study

Intermodal rail/road transportation combines advantages of both modes of transport and is often seen as an effective approach for reducing the environmental impact of freight transportation. This is because it is often expected that rail transportation emits less greenhouse gases than road transportation. However, the actual emissions of both modes of transport depend on various factors like vehicle type, traction type, fuel emission factors, payload utilization, slope profile or traffic conditions. Still, comprehensive experimental results for estimating emission rates from heavy and voluminous goods in large-scale transportation systems are hardly available so far. This study describes an intermodal rail/road network model that covers the majority of European countries. Using this network model, we estimate emission rates with a mesoscopic model within and between the considered countries by conducting a large-scale simulation of road-only transports and intermodal transports. We show that there are high variations of emission rates for both road-only transportation and intermodal rail/road transportation over the different transport relations in Europe. We found that intermodal routing is more eco-friendly than road-only routing for more than 90% of the simulated shipments. Again, this value varies strongly among country pairs.     

Continuous approximation for skip-stop operation in rail transit

Operating speed of a transit corridor is a key characteristic and has many consequences on its performance. It is generally accepted that an increased operating speed for a given fleet leads to reduced operating costs (per kilometer), travel and waiting times (three changes that can be computed precisely), an improved comfort and level of service, which can attract new passengers who are diverted from automobile (items harder to estimate precisely). That is why several operation schemes which aim to increase the operating speed are studied in the literature, such as deadheading, express services, and stop skipping.A novel category of solutions to this problem for one-way single-track rail transit is to perform accelerated transit operations with fixed stopping schedules. The concept is quite simple: as the time required for stopping at each station is an important part of travel time, reducing it would be a great achievement. Particular operations that take advantage of this idea already exist. This paper focuses on one of them: the skip-stop operation for rail transit lines using a single one-way track. It consists in defining three types of stations: AB stations where all the trains stop, and A and B stations where only half of the trains stop (stations type A and B are allocated interchangeably). This mode of operation is already described in the literature (Vuchic, 1973, Vuchic, 1976, Vuchic, 2005) and has been successfully implemented in the Metro system of Santiago, Chile.This work tackles the problem with a continuous approximation approach. The problem is described with a set of geographically dependent continuous parameters like the density of stations for a given line. Cost functions are built for a traditional (all-stop) operation and for skip-stop operation as described above. A simple example is presented to support this discussion. Finally, a discussion about the type of scenarios in which skip-stop operations are more beneficial is presented.     

Planning hierarchical urban transit systems for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions

Public transit systems with high occupancy can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to low-occupancy transportation modes, but current transit systems have not been designed to reduce environmental impacts. This motivates the study of the benefits of design and operational approaches for reducing the environmental impacts of transit systems. For example, transit agencies may replace level-of-service (LOS) by vehicle miles traveled (VMT) as a criterion in evaluating design and operational changes. In previous work, we explored the unintended consequences of lowering transit LOS on emissions in a single-technology transit system. Herein, we extend the analysis to account for a more realistic case: a transit system with a hierarchical structure (trunk and feeder lines) providing service to a city where demand is elastic. By considering the interactions between the trunk and the feeder systems, we provide a quantitative basis for designing and operating integrated urban transit systems that can reduce GHG emissions and societal costs. We find that highly elastic transit demand may cancel emission reduction potentials resulting from lowering LOS, due to demand shifts to lower occupancy vehicles. However, for mass transit modes, these potentials are still significant. Transit networks with buses, bus rapid transit or light rail as trunk modes should be designed and operated near the cost-optimal point when the demand is highly elastic, while this is not required for metro. We find that the potential for unintended consequences increases with the size of the city. Our results are robust to uncertainties in the costs and emissions parameters.     

Determinants of a northern high-speed railway

This is the first of two background papers sponsored for the Symposium by the Administrative Commission for the north of the Netherlands. The authors have assembled the available information on current rail travel patterns in the corridor of the proposed high speed rail line to Scandinavia and on the historical trends in travel in this corridor. On the basis of this information, their assessment of the likely future European high speed rail network and evidence on the elasticities of demand for rail travel, the authors have then estimated the traffic potential of the proposed Amsterdam-Groningen-Hamburg high speed rail link under four scenarios.     

Autonomous cars: The tension between occupant experience and intersection capacity

Systems that enable high levels of vehicle-automation are now beginning to enter the commercial marketplace. Road vehicles capable of operating independently of real-time human control under an increasing set of circumstances will likely become more widely available in the near future. Such vehicles are expected to bring a variety of benefits. Two such anticipated advantages (relative to human-driver vehicle control) are said to be increased road network capacity and the freeing up of the driver-occupant’s time to engage in their choice of leisurely or economically-productive (non-driving) tasks.In this study we investigate the implications for intersection capacity and level-of-service of providing occupants of automated (without real-time human control), autonomously-operating (without vehicle-to-X communication) cars with ride quality that is equivalent (in terms of maximum rates of longitudinal and lateral acceleration) to two types of rail systems: [urban] light rail transit and [inter-urban] high-speed rail. The literature suggests that car passengers start experiencing discomfort at lower rates of acceleration than car drivers; it is therefore plausible that occupants of an autonomously-operating vehicle may wish to instruct their vehicle to maneuver in a way that provides them greater ride comfort than if the vehicle-control algorithm simply mimicked human-driving-operation.On the basis of traffic microsimulation analysis, we found that restricting the dynamics of autonomous cars to the acceleration/deceleration characteristics of both rail systems leads to reductions in a signalized intersection’s vehicle-processing capacity and increases in delay. The impacts were found to be larger when constraining the autonomous cars’ dynamics to the more-restrictive acceleration/deceleration profile of high-speed rail. The scenarios we analyzed must be viewed as boundary conditions, because autonomous cars’ dynamics were by definition never allowed to exceed the acceleration/deceleration constraints of the rail systems. Appropriate evidence regarding motorists’ preferences does not exist at present; establishing these preferences is an important item for the future research agenda.This paper concludes with a brief discussion of research needs to advance this line of inquiry.     

Own and cross-price elasticities of demand for domestic flights and intercity trains in the U.S.

In 2009, the U.S. Federal Government announced its plan to invest in the expansion of the passenger rail system, instead of adding to the freeway or aviation systems. On the other hand, environmental studies show that passenger rails have a lower polluting impact than flights or cars. In order to evaluate whether consumers would switch from flights to trains and use the new rail system, this paper estimates the own and cross-price elasticities of demand for domestic flights and passenger trains using the methodology described in Berry (1994). Specifically, the changes in demand for domestic flights and trains with respect to their prices are evaluated. The static model in this study suggests that the substitutability between these two modes of transport is minimal, in other words, travelers will to change their choices is very small given the configuration of the transportation system when the notice was made. In particular, train trips are substituted more easily.     

ICE-design and operational aspects

On 2nd June 1991 the high speed rail era in Germany began with the introduction of the ICE (Inter-city express) on the Hamburg-Hannover-Kassel-Frankfurt-Munich line, the second ICE line followed one year later. The ICE concept and the technology of the ICE-train set marks the threshold of the 21st Century and demonstrates the as yet untapped development potential of the wheel-on-rail-system. With the development of the ICE a trainset is available which can be adapted to all European High Speed Rail lines.