Light Rail Research Articles

Risk Analysis for Train Collisions Using Fault Tree Analysis: Case Study of the Hanoi Urban Mass Rapid Transit

The urban mass rapid transit (UMRT) Line HN2A is the first light rail transit line in Vietnam. It is also the first time the operational safety assessment for the whole life cycle of a railway project is applied and assessed by an applicable scientific tool. While various industry standard methods have been deployed in many countries, their application is not appropriate for assessing the outdated railway infrastructure in Vietnam. This article proposes a method for generating safety risk models for train collisions using the fault tree analysis (FTA) technique. The FTA method comprehensively evaluates the fundamental error and failure probability that could potentially lead to accidents in general and train collisions in particular on Line HN2A. The study describes the procedure for establishing FTA and determining assumptions based on technical specifications and similar railway systems. Compared with the statistical failure results using data from operational tests and commissioning (2018–2021) of the metro line, the results here indicate that this is a reasonable theoretical model applicable to UMRT in Vietnam. The theoretical model will be processed to generate the first-ever scientific risk assessment system based on empirical evidence. In addition, real-time accident and operation data will continue to be collected and compared to the theoretical model to improve its accuracy. The findings of this study could serve as a starting point for risk management on current and future freight, passenger, and metro lines in Vietnam.

The impact of light rail transit station area development on residential property values in Calgary, Canada: Focus on land use diversity and activity opportunities

Although many studies have examined the effects of transit accessibility on housing prices, fewer studies have looked more closely at the implications of transit station area development on the urban housing market. Employing a multi-level hedonic price model, we examined the effect of light rail transit (LRT) station area development on residential property values in Calgary, Canada. Station area development is measured by 1) land use diversity index, also known as land use entropy, and 2) activity opportunity count (i.e., the number of selected business licenses) within the 400m-buffers of station. In the case of Calgary, land use diversity is not associated with property values, which is counter to the existing knowledge. However, our findings suggest that activity opportunities around stations are positively related, particularly to the value of apartment properties. We also observed that a lack of activity opportunities for pedestrians and transit users and a poorly designed station area can partially explain the unexpected outcomes.

Vibration Responses of the Railcar Under Rail Irregularities: Case of Addis Ababa Light Rail Transit

Vibration Responses of the Railcar Under Rail Irregularities: Case of Addis Ababa Light Rail Transit

Transit justice: community perceptions and anticipations of a new light rail transit line in Prince George’s County, Maryland, United States

ABSTRACT Transit-oriented developments are increasingly important as they address many modern urban environment problems such as urban sprawl, pollution, and rising rates of non-communicable diseases. However, their implementation is difficult as cities are complex systems. Urban health improvements is a labyrinthian process as enhancements in one area often leads to several unintended side effects, such as transit-induced gentrification or injustice. The Purple Line Impact on Neighborhood, Health and Transit (PLIGHT) study examines the community impact of a forthcoming light rail train line in Prince George’s County, Maryland, a predominantly Black and Hispanic community. Results show that despite mindful planning the Purple light rail train is subject to ‘Transit Orientated Development’ idealism, which can propagate transit injustices. This qualitative study highlights the disconnect between this idealism and practice. It explicitly identifies the most vulnerable of transit users and highlights how neoliberal urbanism contributes to health inequities in Transit Orientated Development practice.

Working Period Relationship, Safety Knowledge, and Safety Performance among the Construction Workforce of Light Rail Transit

Introduction: Safety performance refers to an individual safety behavior that can be determined by two groups of factors, environmental and individual. Each company has its own safety performance program for its employees. The company's role in occupational health and safety is to create a positive organizational climate by implementing an occupational safety and health management system. This relates to the organization's commitment to prevent accidents and occupational diseases, and to improve the level of work productivity. This research aims to analyze the relationship between the Working Period, safety knowledge, and safety performance among the workforce of the LRT construction project. Method: This research used the quantitative research approach which emphasizes data in the form of numbers and processing by statistical methods. The research design was observational with a cross-sectional approach. The population of this research was 97 respondents who filled in the questionnaires. The independent variables were Working Period relationship and safety knowledge while the dependent variable was safety performance. Result: The results show that the Working Period has a negative relationship with safety performance. Safety knowledge has a positive relationship with safety performance. The individual characteristics of the Jabodebek LRT station construction project are based on a Working Period of < 1 year for 38 people. Conclusion: Working Period has a weak relationship with safety performance and has criteria which relate to negative relationships. However, the relationship between safety knowledge and safety performance has a positive and significant relationship because the broad knowledge of safety of the employees improves their safety performance.

Impact of a light rail transit line on physical activity: Findings from the longitudinal Travel Assessment and Community (TRAC) study

IntroductionIncreasing transit infrastructure could increase transit use and result in higher physical activity if users actively travel to access transit. Few studies have rigorously examined transit use and physical activity change from before to years after among residents living close versus farther away from new transit options. MethodsAn initial sample (n = 722) of residents living either close (<1 mile network distance; exposed) or farther away (>1 mile network distance; unexposed) from future new light rail transit (LRT) stops in the Seattle/King County area were recruited and assessed prior to LRT opening and again 1-2 and 3–4 years later. At each assessment timepoint, residents wore an accelerometer and GPS data logger for 7 days and completed a 7-day travel log and demographic and attitudinal survey. Difference-in-difference analyses examined longitudinal change between those exposed versus unexposed to LRT in physical activity, walking (both utilitarian and recreational), and transit-related walking, and transit use. ResultsThere was no differential change by LRT exposure in overall physical activity (including or not including light intensity physical activity), recreational walking, or utilitarian walking, with most decreasing significantly in both exposure conditions through follow-ups. There was a differential change in transit-related walking, with those exposed to LRT slightly increasing such physical activity to the most distal follow-up, but the difference from the unexposed condition was modest (<2 min/day). There was no substantial differential change over time in transit use by LRT exposure. ConclusionsExposure to a new light rail line did not markedly change the frequency of transit use of nearby residents, but did result in a small increase in transit-related walking relative to those unexposed. This did not differentially change the amount of overall physical activity or time spent walking compared to residents living farther away from the new LRT.

Assessing the perception of E-scooters as a practical and equitable first-mile/last-mile solution

E-scooters have disrupted and altered the urban mobility landscape. During their introductory period, they have been commonly touted as part of a larger micromobility solution that erases equity barriers and solves the first-mile/last-mile problem. However, few studies in the nascent e-scooter literature have considered these claims. In this study, we used a d-efficient method to design and administer a stated choice experiment (SCE) to students at Portland State University (PSU) (n = 1,968). In the SCE, students were given a three-mode labelled choice set consisting of three travel modes: car, bike, and e-scooter + MAX light rail. (The e-scooter + MAX light rail choice is multimodal, with the e-scooter acting as the first-mile access mode). We generated attitudinal indices using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) in order to control for mode perception. To demonstrate the relationship of travel time and cost in addition to other covariates on mode choice, we estimated a mixed multinomial logit (MMNL) model. We performed elasticity and sensitivity analyses to uncover factors that encouraged first-mile/last-mile e-scooter usage. We then used the model to generate catchment area maps for multimodal trips in the Portland area. Results indicated that e-scooters were lackluster in bringing racial and gender equity in transportation. Additionally, we found that there was no place in Portland where combining an e-scooter and light rail to travel to PSU was most utilitarian compared to bike or private car. This suggests that e-scooters are not perceived as a preferred solution to the first-mile/last-mile problem. Yet, our findings revealed “dials” that can be tweaked through policy measures in order to promote this kind of use, including parking pricing, travel times, fares, and traveler attitudes towards modes. Overall, our analysis of the implementation of e-scooters suggests that their promise is overstated, at least without substantial policy changes to encourage desired use cases.

Harassment of low-income women on transit: A photovoice project in Oregon and Utah

• Past policies like redlining result in unsafe spaces today. • Truly safe spaces must account for experiences of low-income women of color. • Participants suggest societal and transit agency changes that improve safety. Scholarship on gendered mobilities has shown that women experience transit differently than men do, particularly regarding personal safety. Not enough studies have considered the everyday interaction of women of color with transit systems. This research employs a photovoice methodology which includes in-depth interviews and phone texting with 22 low-income women of color who ride transit at least a few times a month in Oregon and Utah. Like other gender mobility research, participants discussed sexual harassment on buses, streetcar, and light rail while walking or waiting for public transportation in either crowded areas downtown or desolated spaces outside of it. At the same time, this article makes a unique contribution to this body of literature because it shows that women feel targeted also based on their racial or ethnic identity and not only their gender. The article discusses women’s actions every day to increase their sense of safety.

The Association between Changes in Built Environment and Changes in Walking among Older Women in Portland, Oregon.

Some cross-sectional evidence suggests that the objectively measured built environment can encourage walking among older adults. We examined the associations between objectively measured built environment with change in self-reported walking among older women by using data from the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF). We evaluated the longitudinal associations between built environment characteristics and walking among 1253 older women (median age = 71 years) in Portland, Oregon using generalized estimating equation models. Built environment characteristics included baseline values and longitudinal changes in distance to the closest bus stop, light rail station, commercial area, and park. A difference of 1 km in the baseline distance to the closest bus stop was associated with a 12% decrease in the total number of blocks walked per week during follow-up (eβ = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.78, 0.99). Our study provided limited support for an association between neighborhood transportation and changes in walking among older women. Future studies should consider examining both objective measures and perceptions of the built environment.

Tribological Properties of Laser Cladded Alloys for Repair of Rail Components.

Tram or light rail systems are heavily relied upon for passenger transit; however, low-carbon steel grades commonly used in special trackwork, such as in switches, are prone to wear, rolling contact fatigue (RCF), and deformation under cyclic wheel-rail contact. To address this, laser cladding can be used to apply a metal coating to protect the underlying substrate and rebuild the worn rail profiles. Laser cladding may also be applied to remove cracking by rebuilding the rail head. The tribological characteristics of light rail components after laser cladding with Stellite 6 and a newly developed martensitic stainless steel were investigated, using roller-on-disc wear testing. Analysis of the microstructure, mechanical properties, and wear performance was undertaken to develop a comprehensive understanding of the influence of the laser cladding type on the wear and surface fatigue performance. Both cladding alloys significantly improved the tribological performance. These findings were compared to those for a laser cladded hypereutectoid rail type (reported in our previous study). It was found that laser cladding with a suitable alloy was an effective technique for improving the tribological properties, increasing the wear resistance, and increasing the retardation of cracking on both substrates. These findings suggest laser cladding may be used to repair light rail components, and this technique can be optimized to suit different rail grades. This makes laser cladding a flexible and versatile maintenance strategy, in both coating and repair applications, to prolong the operational lifetime of critical components for the railway industry.

Characteristics of Light Rail Travel Time: Examples from France

The total journey time of Light Rail Vehicles (LRVs) is made up of running time, dwell time (station stops for passenger boarding and alighting), and signal delay (delay of LRVs being stopped by the regular traffic signals). Data from operational surveys of six modern light rail systems in France has shown that LRV running time was 65-71 percent of the total journey time and dwell time was 22-27 percent, while signal delay was 7 to 8 percent of the total journey time. The average operating speed of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) ranged from 17.7 to 22.8 km/h and has an approximate linear relationship to passenger stop frequency (stops/km).Light rail dwell time has been found to follow a log-normal distribution, although the values differed significantly between different LRT systems. The means of the dwell time distribution have the range of 16 to 31 seconds in off-peak periods and 21 to 37 seconds in peak periods. Factors that influence light rail dwell time include the number of passengers at the stops, the number of standees in the vehicles, vehicle design (number of doors, door size, low floor or high floor vehicle, etc.), fare collection system, and the location of LRT stops.The findings in this paper could be used by LRT planners and operators directly in developing and assessing operating and service changes and in providing input to long-range planning procedures. The results can also be used in microscopic simulation modeling studies of LRT in an urban network, such as the TRGMSM model.

Journeys to Crime: Assessing the Effects of a Light Rail Line on Crime in the Neighborhoods

The implementation of new transit lines is sometimes dogged by concerns that such lines may increase crime rates in station neighborhoods. Affluent communities have often complained that transit lines transport crime to the suburbs. This study focuses on the Green Line transit system in Los Angeles and examines its effects on crime in the adjacent areas. The Green Line light rail system passes through some high-crime, inner-city neighborhoods and terminates at its western end in affluent suburban communities. The study examines neighborhood level and municipality-wide crime trends for five years before and five years after the inception of the line. A piecewise regression model is developed to evaluate the impact of the opening of the line in the station neighborhoods. Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis is also utilized to identify spatial shifts in crime hot spots for the municipalities abutting the Green Line. The study finds little evidence that the transit line has had significant impacts on crime trends or crime dislocation in the station neighborhoods, nor has the line transported crime from the inner city to the suburbs.

Benefits of Proximity to Rail on Housing Markets: Experiences in Santa Clara County

Santa Clara County, California, home to both light- and commuter-rail services, has turned to transit-oriented development as a means to both reduce traffic congestion and redress severe shortages of affordable housing units. This article exanimes the degree to which proximity to two forms of rail transit—light rail and commuter rail—confer benefits to residential properties in terms of sales values. Hedonic price models are estimated that show job proximity over the transit network as well as nearness to rail stops substantially add value to residential parcels. All else being equal, large apartments within a quarter mile of a light-rail station commanded land-value premiums as high as 45 percent. Such market profits not only lure developers to station sites, but also provide a potential source of revenues to local agencies that have set up the kinds of value-recapture programs that allow them to participate in land-appreciation benefits that accrue.

Transit Station Area Land Use/ Site Assessment with Multiple Criteria: An Integrated GIS-Expert System Prototype

This article is intended to assist decision-makers confronted with the problem of determining the suitability of a site with a proposed light rail transit (LRT) stop as a transit supportive (re)development by exploring a prototype, integrated Geographic Information System (GIS) and decision-support system. An inclusive concept of a hierarchy is presented in which the multiple, diverse dimensions of the land-use/site assessment problem—from goal, criteria, to alternatives—can be embedded in deciding suitability of a site as a transit-supportive development.Framed as a multicriteria procedure, and integrated with a GIS, the decision-support system provides the flexibility to account not only for the configurational or physical features of the built environment and the patterns of growth (or decline) of the population and employment in the region, but also the socioeconomic, demographic, and trip-making characteristics of the targeted population. The joint effects of the population (demand) characteristics and the features of the built environment of land use/transportation (supply) are reflected in the scores of the site assessment. Furthermore, the prototype facilitates decision making by deriving the relative importance of the multiple “supply” and “demand” factors strategically and adaptively vis-a-vis the site-specific constraints and opportunities. Finally, criteria-weighted land-use suitability scores are computed and displayed to indicate the suitability of the site as a transit-supportive development. The multicriteria part of this prototype is implemented with a C++ program as an interactive, expert decision-support system integrated with a GIS.

Influence of the Rail Program on Bus Transit in Los Angeles

In November 1980, voters in Los Angeles County, California, approved Proposition A, which stipulated a one-time, three-year rollback of bus fares to 50¢. Afterwards, at least 35 percent of the revenues had to be used for rail construction and operation (with a stated emphasis on construction). The program moved forward as called for, and by the early 1990s the Blue Line to Long Beach was in operation. The subway and an additional light rail line would both open by 1995.In the early 1990s, however, opponents of rail began a campaign to discredit the program using premature, distorted, and sometimes simply false information about rail s effectiveness. Embarrassed by construction problems and confused by internal issues, the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) found it difficult to defend the new rail system. In 1994, a suit was filed by the Bus Riders Union, a small group of bus riders. In 1996, even though most of the basic assertions of the suit were proven to have been either premature or false, the MTA agreed to a settlement it is now trying to live up to.In truth, the MTA fully supported the bus system well after falling ridership would have called for service cutbacks. The number of buses in service stayed high, the bus-miles of service dropped far less than ridership, and the number of empty bus seats actually rose. The bus system lacked for neither operating funds nor subsidies. Even the average fare paid by the transit user (in constant 1999 dollars) changed very little since the early 1980s. Whatever the reasons for the slide in bus ridership, the rail system cannot be blamed.The new rail system continues to grow in importance. Less than 10 years after the Blue Line was inaugurated, the two light rail lines, the still incomplete subway, and the Los Angeles portion of the regional Metrolink commuter rail system together carry 11 percent of all MTA transit riders and 22 percent of its passenger-miles. Rail is also proving to be faster than the bus option even including a bus-to-rail transfer. And rail‘s operating cost effectiveness, already better than that of the bus, keeps improving.

Transit-Oriented Development Suitability Analysis by the Analytic Hierarchy Process and a Geographic Information System: A Prototype Procedure

A prototype procedure is illustrated to assess the suitability of land use around proposed light rail transit stations of a metropolitan area, with an example of a focus on one station area land use pattern. Transit oriented development (TOD) guidelines provide the criteria for an assessment. The procedure for assessment is facilitated by a geographic information system (GIS), and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), a multicriteria methodology that is increasingly employed in conjunction with geographic information systems. The weights of the criteria are determined through paired comparisons (relative measurement), and a ratings intensity scale is used to determine the scores of land units (absolute measurement). This flexibility in measurement is helpful in situations where land use criteria, such as TOD guidelines, as suitability factors and with certain desirable thresholds of intensity are known, but must be considered strategically and adaptively, responsive to local priorities and site-specific conditions. The scores of land uses on a scale of zero to 100 percent are determined, which indicate the degrees of the suitability of a transit station area as a potential TOD. As well, the proportions suggest changes that target particular parcels—individually and as a group—so as to bring about a desirable mix of the public, core/employment, and housing uses for an urban TOD. This prototype application highlights the versatile properties of the AHP, particularly when used in the specific context of a development paradigm (TOD) in conjunction with a geographic information system that has not been previously addressed in the literature on applications.

Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction: A Study of MyRapid in Malaysia

MyRapid is the dominant player in Malaysia's public transportation industry. It innovates and drives public transportation systems in the country while providing public transportation services such as light rail transit (LRT), monorail, and bus services to connect millions of people from different states. This paper examines if the service quality of the public transport services influences customer satisfaction in Penang, Malaysia. The five dimensions of service quality include assurance, empathy, reliability, responsiveness, and tangibles. A total of 150 MyRapid users participated in the survey. Findings revealed that the only two dimensions of service quality, which are reliability and tangibles were significantly related to customer satisfaction whereas the other three dimensions are not supported. The findings provide insight into the public transportation industry to improve the public transportation system in Malaysia, given that service quality is a critical driver of customer satisfaction. Keywords: Customer satisfaction, Penang, Public transportation, Service quality, Malaysia

Bus Rapid Transit: A Viable Alternative?

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) presents a significant opportunity for the public transit industry to enhance the set of transportation investment options that can be brought to bear on the mobility problems experienced by urban areas across the country. As new Census data are released, the picture of strong population growth in dispersed patterns, growing congestion levels, and stubbornly modest transit use levels emerges. This paints a compelling picture that merits serious consideration by transportation planners with regard to the full range of transportation investment options available for urban areas.This article addresses several specific characteristics of BRT that differentiate it from other public transit modes and supports the explicit consideration of BRT as an alternative in Major Investment Studies (MIS). Clearly, the high cost of rail transit limits the possible role it can play in urban mobility even under radical changes in modal spending priorities. The pursuit of more moderate costing infrastructure transit options increases the chances of public transit being able to make more meaningful contributions to urban mobility. A key characteristic of BRT is the prospect that it can offer a lower-cost method of providing better performing public transit service (not yet fully verified) that is able to both retain current and attract new customers as well as garner political and taxpayer support. Evidence provided by the Government Accounting Office (GAO) in its recent report on BRT indicated that the BRTprojects reviewed cost less to build than the light rail transit (LRT) projects reviewed, on a per-mile basis. In addition, the GAO also points out that ridership was comparable between the BRT and LRT systems reviewed and that five of the six BRT projects had higher overall system operating speeds than the LRT projects.This article also addresses the definition of BRT and the implications of the various definitions on branding of the mode. An interesting perspective on the BRT branding is offered by looking at it from the perspective of various user groups. In addition, the article explores the prospects of BRT becoming attractive to the public transit industry and with customers, decision-makers, and taxpayers. It continues by addressing certain aspects of BRT that differentiate it from LRT and the comparative impacts on land use by BRT and LRT. The article concludes by offering thoughts regarding the opportunities presented by BRT concept.

Learning Multimodal Transportation Before and After Covid-19 Pandemic

This study aims to look at the trend of Light Rail Transit (LRT) mass transportation during the covid-19 pandemic as a lesson for multimodal transportation courses. The type of qualitative research that becomes a research instrument is the researcher himself (the author) who is directly involved in the research. The determination of informants in this study uses purposive techniques where only certain people or parties will be used as research objectives as a source of information, namely Informant I: Head of the Section on the Utilization of Facilities and Infrastructure, Informant II: Officials making committees of public service agencies, Informant III: Managers of Passenger Numbers and Revenues, Informant IV: Train Travel Organizers. The results of the study are expected to be able to measure the level of understanding of cadets in the Multiomoda Transportation course. Through the pre-test as the average basis for cadets' knowledge of the Multimodal Transportation course of 87.00, then an intervention was carried out through education and material training based on the results of a research study of light rail transit (LRT) mass transportation trends before and after the Covid-19 Pandemic and a reassessment was carried out to obtain the average post-test results and the results changed to 91.86. Through the Paired Sample T-Test test, the significance value of the pre-test and post-test can be tested, a significance value of 0.000 is obtained, which means that there is a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test values. Furthermore, it can be seen the Correlation value of 0.525 which shows the strength of the relationship of the 2 variables tested, namely pre-test and post-test.

Redevelopment along arterial streets: The effects of light rail on land use change

AbstractWe use difference‐in‐differences approaches and parcel‐level data from Minneapolis to estimate the effects of light rail on land use change using alternate definitions of treatment area. Results using circular buffers corroborate previous findings that light rail has virtually no effect on land use change in our study area. In contrast, light rail increases the likelihood of land use change along arterial streets that cross the line at station areas. To accurately model the effects of public transit projects on urban land use, one must consider how potential riders access station areas, rather than assuming accessibility improves radially around a station.