Passenger Rail Systems Research Articles

Battery only electric traction for freight trains - A technical and operational assessment

The rail transport industry has been required to engage with the world effort to reduce the climate effects, as well as the reduction of criteria pollutant and noise emissions, which strongly affects the populations nearby the rail infrastructure. Electric powertrains have been widely used by railways, with its inherent efficiency and cleanliness. However, the required infrastructure has restricted its use to medium to large density traffic corridors, given the large infrastructure and maintenance costs involved. Light to medium loaded rail stretches and large freight rail corridors, running in rural areas, have adopted the diesel-electric powertrain approach, that relies on an onboard diesel generator, with the inherent environmental negative effects, especially to the rail nearby communities. In this context, alternative traction technologies, such as Hybrid-Electric Rail, Hydrogen Fuel Cell Rail and Battery Only Electric Rail, have been considered by the rail industry as potential alternatives. The BOER route, due to the recent battery technology breakthroughs (associated with performance improvements and reduced costs) is set as a promising alternative and has a potential do be used as a decarbonization strategy for both passenger and freight rail systems at low to medium density traffic lines. Nevertheless, the BOER technology sets great challenges, given the high energy and power required by rail vehicles, as well as the harsh rail operational environment, with huge effects on the performance, charging infrastructure requirements, fleet availability, costs, as well as the environmental sustainability associated with the mining and disposal of materials required by the battery chemistries. This paper presents, based on the state of the art available technical literature, an unbiased review of the BOER technology and an assessment of its potential for the freight rail industry, highlighting the associated technical, operational and environmental challenges.

Development of a Real-Time Wheel Load Quantification System for the Transit Environment

With recent (prepandemic) growth in both transit ridership and the number of passenger rail systems nationwide, researchers have been increasingly interested in quantifying the rail transit loading environment. Research that stemmed from this renewed interest provided engineers with greater insights into the loading demands placed on the track structure of heavy, light, and commuter rail systems. Although results from this earlier work were useful in a general manner, it was not possible to provide agencies with immediately actionable information on wheel loads, since the relevant data were analyzed and reported at a later date. As a result, agencies were unable to monitor their rolling stock wheel health in real time. In addition, trend analysis was not possible because it was not feasible to track specific wheels over time. To address these limitations, researchers at the University of Illinois have developed an economical system that both provides real-time notifications to transit agencies when it detects problematic loading conditions, and tracks specific wheels over time. This paper provides a framework for installing and launching this real-time wheel health monitoring system that transit agencies can replicate, as well as presents some preliminary data that have been collected. By receiving actionable wheel load data and better understanding the wheel deterioration trends present on their networks, agencies can remove bad actor wheels from service before they damage the track structure, improving the state of good repair. In addition, a more thorough understanding of the loading environment will allow them to plan maintenance and design more effectively.

Impact of High-Speed Rail on Social Equity—Insights from a Stated Preference Survey in Vietnam

This study investigated the impact of high-speed rail (HSR) on social equity, utilizing information from a stated preference survey conducted in Vietnam. Social equity was examined across the population of four cities representing the northern, central, and southern areas of Vietnam. In general, the high price of HSR is one of the barriers to using HSR over inter-city buses and conventional trains. Low-income groups (less than VND 6 million per month) have 4.894 and 4.725 times the likelihoods, compared to higher income groups, of retaining the use of an inter-city bus or conventional train, respectively, after introducing HSR. Our findings reveal the fact that social inequity may occur, with the low-income group being especially vulnerable, due to the existence of HSR in the future. Furthermore, our results indicate that the interest of people towards inter-city buses and conventional trains varied among the four cities before and after the presence of HSR. More specifically, low-income groups in Vinh and Nha Trang were observed to have a higher feeling of staying away from HSR, as they prefer to use inter-city buses. The findings of this study suggest that planners and policymakers need to consider various components of HSR ticket planning, in order to achieve sustainable evolution of the passenger rail system.

Analyzing the Newest Interchange Connection at Cairo Metro Network Pertaining to Passenger Flow

The French standard governing occupanckes dedicated for gatherings of individuals and institutions receiving the public, including railway stations and tunnels was used in the design of Cairo’s transit network, which consists of three lines connected through three existing interchange connections and one that is currently under construction. There is a lack of studies quantifying passenger evacuation in relation to Cairo transit, especially with regard to the interchange connections. This study assessed the viability of the evacuation methods applied to the design of interchange connections in Egypt. The emergency evacuation procedures for the future interchange connection layout between Lines 1 and 3 were assessed using the French standard and NFPA 130 Standard for Fixed Guideway Transit and Passenger Rail Systems analytical methods. The analysis accounts for the traffic forecast as presented in the Egyptian company for operation and maintenance report for Line 1 and the feasibility study of Line 3. The results demonstrated that the connection was compliant with the French standard, but it did not fully meet NFPA requirements. It was concluded that there is still room for enhancement and for gaps to be considered. Recommendations include undertaking investigations into passenger characteristics and behavior in the context of passenger flow in emergency situations using approaches such as virtual research and field surveys, and simulation techniques.

Impact of high-speed rail on the operational capacity of conventional rail in China

Although many studies have evaluated the impact of high-speed rail (HSR) development on transportation connectivity and accessibility, it remains unclear to what extent the introduction of HSR may influence the operational capacities of freight and conventional passenger rail services. This paper addresses this question by examining the spatial and temporal variations of transport capacities of different rail systems. In addition, the interaction effects of different rail systems were investigated using a structural equation model. The results reveal that the spatial and temporal evolution of operational capacity varies significantly among freight, conventional passenger, and high-speed passenger rail systems. Moreover, HSR was found to have a substitutional effect on conventional passenger rail, although the effects vary spatially in different corridors. Furthermore, the operational capacity of conventional passenger rail is negatively associated with that of freight rail, which confirms that a service cut in conventional passenger rail contributes to an increase in the capacity of freight rail. The analysis also demonstrates that HSR promotes the expansion of freight rail capacity through its substitutional effect on conventional passenger rail. These findings provide important implications for transportation planners to optimize operational plans, in order to improve the performance of various rail services.

Impact of high-speed rail on social equity in China: Evidence from a mode choice survey

This paper investigates two fundamental questions related to the social impact of high-speed rail (HSR): (1) does the development of HSR infrastructure lead to the exclusion of certain social groups? and (2) what factors exclude certain users from using HSR? Based on a comprehensive survey of 4,924 passengers who chose conventional rail services in China, both binary and multinomial logit analyses were conducted to examine to what extent the mode choice of passengers who departed from Chongqing was affected by various factors, including socioeconomic and train service conditions. The analyses reveal that factors such as fare, travel habits, trip distance, and onboard amenities play significant roles in whether passengers choose conventional rail over HSR. Conversely, the study shows that lower incomes and education levels are associated with higher odds of choosing conventional trains over HSR by 24.1% and 25.3%, respectively. Furthermore, the study shows that the preference of conventional rail to HSR varies among different regions in China. In particular, people were found to prefer less to choose conventional trains in the west and central regions than the east region when the HSR service becomes available. Such a pattern suggests that HSR as a new mode of intercity travel, has become a preferred mode for many people, even for those in the less developed regions in China. However, some passengers from less developed western provinces were also found to have a stronger sense of being excluded from using HSR, given the concerns of high fares and personal perception of cities that the system serves. Overall, this study provides important implications for planning and policy-making to achieve sustainable operations and the development of the passenger rail system.

Cost-Effective, Time-Efficient Passenger Rail System for the Eastern United States

A program was developed using a genetic algorithm and automated lookup features to design an efficient passenger rail system for the eastern-half of the United States connecting large cities, metropolitan populations greater than two million, with overnight rail service. The results of the program predicted a passenger starting at the farthest point of the system boards the train at 16:02 on average and arrives at a different point of the system at 07:57 on average the following day, assuming the train travels an average speed of 70 mph. The design used actual distances by train track where possible. The system was modeled with six trains that meet at a hub and exchange passengers and continue on to their destination. The optimal solution had a total one-way minimum distance of 4334 km (2693 miles). Assuming the same ridership that currently exists on a popular train route, ticket prices would average $62 (USD) for a one-way ticket. For this system to be feasible, the government would need to own or lease one set of tracks for all the routes determined, build a hub for passengers to transfer trains near Charleston, WV, and ensure the trains are unimpeded by other trains. Installing tracks that go around cities that the trains do not stop at would be a great benefit also. With advances in communication, GPS, and train control technology, this article points out the benefits of publically available tracks to form a transportation network similar to that found in road, air, and water traffic.

Efficiency in rail transport: Evaluation of the main drivers through meta-analysis with resampling

Meta-analysis is a statistical method used to make a systematic review of the literature to integrate the results of a series of studies. It is increasingly adopted in social sciences but according to our best knowledge used for the first time to aggregate and contrast findings on rail transport efficiency. The experiment adopted a permutation test to evaluate the influence of variables discussed in the literature in the mean efficiency scores. The results suggest that railways located in Japan and in the US have characteristics that push them toward increasing efficiency. The passenger rail systems reached significantly higher estimates than conventional cargo systems. Estimates from parametric and nonparametric models showed significant difference, while from nonparametric models including Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and from Network DEA did not. The number of variables and the ratio between the number of decision making units and the number of variables employed significantly influenced the scores. Unexpectedly, different data structures did not. Validation methods are presented. Public policies based on the empirical results are commented.

Improving the reliability and availability of railway track switching by analysing historical failure data and introducing functionally redundant subsystems.

Track switches are safety critical assets that not only provide flexibility to rail networks but also present single points of failure. Switch failures within dense-traffic passenger rail systems cause a disproportionate level of delay. Subsystem redundancy is one of a number of approaches, which can be used to ensure an appropriate safety integrity and/or operational reliability level, successfully adopted by, for example, the aeronautical and nuclear industries. This paper models the adoption of a functional redundancy approach to the functional subsystems of traditional railway track switching arrangements in order to evaluate the potential increase in the reliability and availability of switches. The paper makes three main contributions. First, 2P-Weibull failure distributions for each functional subsystem of each common category of points operating equipment are established using a timeline and iterative maximum likelihood estimation approach, based on almost 40,000 sampled failure events over 74,800 years of continuous operation. Second, these results are used as baselines in a reliability block diagram approach to model engineering fault tolerance, through subsystem redundancy, into existing switching systems. Third, the reliability block diagrams are used with a Monte-Carlo simulation approach in order to model the availability of redundantly engineered track switches over expected asset lifetimes. Results show a significant improvement in the reliability and availability of switches; unscheduled downtime reduces by an order of magnitude across all powered switch types, whilst significant increases in the whole-system reliability are demonstrated. Hence, switch designs utilising a functional redundancy approach are well worth further investigation. However, it is also established that as equipment failures are engineered out, switch reliability/availability can be seen to plateau as the dominant contributor to unreliability becomes human error.

Application of Geocell Track Substructure Support System to Correct Surface Degradation Problems Under High-Speed Passenger Railroad Operations

Ballast fouling and associated degradation of track geometry is a serious problem for railway systems in general and high-speed passenger rail systems in particular. This paper presents the results of a field test on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor where a long-term problem area existed near Oakington Road, Havre de Grace, Maryland, near MP 63.7 between Philadelphia and Washington DC. This test looked at the application of a new generation of three-dimensional cellular confinement systems (geocells) in reducing the rate of track geometry degradation, particularly in poor subgrade and ballast locations which require frequent, expensive, track surface maintenance. The field test compared two distinct sets of rebuilt track conditions, to include zones with and without a layer of geocell material. Both zones were rebuilt with improved drainage and a good, well-defined track structure and substructure (to include a well-defined depth of clean ballast). The test measurements included pre-maintenance and post-maintenance track geometry measurements together with comparative subgrade pressure measurements inside and outside the geocell cell zones. The pressure cell measurements, which looked at subgrade pressure under left and right rails in both the geocell zone and the control (non-geocell) zones, included measurements under both Acela high-speed trains and lower speed regional trains. In all cases, the subgrade pressures in the geocell zone were approximately half of those for the cells in the control zone (no geocell). Track geometry measurements were made using Amtrak’s track geometry vehicle which measures key track geometry parameters at 1-ft intervals along the track. There were several well-defined locations in the overall test zone that experienced significant track geometry degradation; these were all corrected during reconstruction. In the zones with no geocell material, these geometry variations reappeared within 6 to 7 months with the same if not greater amplitudes. By contract, in the geocell zone, the “after” geometry variations were significantly smaller than the pre-reconstruction geometry variations. Furthermore, the rate of geometry degradation was signficantly less for the geocell zones compared to the pre-geocell time periods for the exact same track. This indicated the effectiveness of the geocell material in reducing the rate of track geometry degradation and extending the surfacing maintenance cycles. Analysis of the rate of degradation showed that the effect of installing the geocell material was to significantly reduce the rate of degradation (and thus increase the surfacing cycle) by a factor of 6.7 times the pre-geocell installation surfacing cycle.

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.

High-Speed Railways: Do They Produce Economic Growth?

The debate surrounding the economic benefits of extending the US high-speed passenger rail system beyond the small stretch between Washington, DC, and New York City has abated somewhat but remains of policy interest. One of the justifications advocates cite for high-speed rail (HSR) is that it can provide important stimuli to the national and select regional economies. That argument is difficult to assess in the abstract, but it may be possible to glean some insights by studying systems that operate elsewhere. To that end, this paper examines the information available regarding the world’s three largest HSR systems—those of China, Japan, and Spain. The approach is not only to look at the broad effects of those systems on the macroeconomic development of the countries involved but also to consider their more localized, regional implications. The investigation is hindered by fragmented data and data gaps, particularly gaps in data about the financial costs and opportunity costs of HSR systems. What does emerge is that, although politicians and rail enthusiasts have widely supported HSR infrastructure investment as a catalyst for economic development, academic writings abound with considerable skepticism about the economic value of such investment. Furthermore, in virtually all cases, the development argument presented in support of HSR has proved to be overly optimistic, and the anticipated economic growth effects have been minimal or even negative. Where ex ante justification has been for a geographical shift of economic activity—typically away from congested to economically deprived locations—the outcomes have seldom been as hoped.

Comprehensive Approach to Allocate Reliability and Cost in Passenger Rail System Design

Rail system design and procurement comprise the process of identifying, acquiring, selecting, and purchasing the right products to form a rail system. To acquire a new system, various products with specific costs and reliability for each subsystem and Corresponding components are chosen from equipment suppliers. Planners must carefully examine the trade-offs between life-cycle cost (LCC), system reliability, and service reliability to allocate resources optimally. This study developed a comprehensive allocation process with four types of optimization models for passenger rail system design: ( a) maximization of system reliability, ( b) maximization of service reliability, ( c) minimization of LCC, and ( d) minimization of a combination of service unreliability (delay cost) and LCC. On the basis of the characteristics of a passenger rail system and possible alternatives, the proposed process can allocate LCC and service reliability optimally to determine the ideal investment plan for rail system design. Empirical case studies have demonstrated that the proposed optimization process and models can evaluate efficiently and successfully all possible alternatives and determine the best allocation among all subsystems and Corresponding components. This comprehensive approach can help users identify the ideal balance between cost and reliability to achieve an optimal rail system design.

Train Overcrowding

Crowded trains are a feature of many railway networks and adversely affect both train passengers and rail operators. For passengers, the lack of space or inability to get a seat can lead to a lack of physical comfort, reduced productivity, and increased stress. Crowded trains can also lead to problems boarding and alighting that increase dwell times and make it harder for operators to provide a reliable service. Reducing levels of crowding is therefore desirable, but achieving this goal by increasing capacity is not always practical, and other measures must be considered. Some passengers have shown willingness to change their behavior to avoid crowding—for example, by waiting for a later train—and measures to encourage such behavioral changes more widely could be beneficial overall. Better information provision could be one such measure, and so a stated preference survey was undertaken on a commuter and airport service to investigate this issue further. It was found that the provision of information about crowding levels and seating availability on alternative trains would encourage some passengers to wait for a less-crowded train. Although the willingness of passengers to wait for a later train varied by both the purpose of the trip and the station of origin, the findings suggest that real-time information would improve the passenger experience and could form the basis of a revenue-neutral demand-management system. The implications for station design are particularly pertinent for countries such as the United States, where significant investment in new passenger rail systems is expected.

The passenger rail system in Ireland: Present trends and future prospects

Abstract not available...

Energy use and carbon dioxide emissions assessment in the lifecycle of passenger rail systems: the case of the Rio de Janeiro Metro

Passenger rail systems have been considered, from an operational perspective, as a means of transport that can contribute to meeting the carbon dioxide emission goals established by many governments worldwide. However, the impact produced by these systems can only be fully assessed by a lifecycle approach. This article assesses the energy used and the emissions produced and avoided in the lifecycle of a new line of the metro network in Rio de Janeiro, built as a requirement for hosting the Olympic Games in 2016. Infrastructure construction, train manufacture, maintenance, infrastructure operation and train operation were considered in the 60-year lifecycle. The study shows emission of 13.90 g of carbon dioxide per passenger kilometer traveled during lifecycle and that non-operational emissions will be compensated 14 years after the inauguration of the system. Infrastructure construction and train operation represent most of the emissions produced and energy used. Renewable energy represents 53.27% of total energy used. Electricity consumption has the greatest share of emissions, with 46.66%, followed by cement and concrete, with 30.53%, and steel, with 12.43%. The conclusion is that the system, over the horizon analyzed, can help to reduce emissions by the city's transport system. The increase in the renewable energy share in electricity generation and the improvements in the production of cement and steel, are the key factors in reducing emissions produced during the lifecycle.

The design speculation and action research assemblage: ‘transit for all’ and the transformation of Melbourne's passenger rail system

ABSTRACTThe planning problems of neo-liberal cities require theories and methods that are adequate to the task of engaging as well as understanding their fragmented opacity. This paper reports on research that combines well-established processes of action research and design studio teaching with more recent interest in assemblage theory. ‘Transit for All’ was a recent industry–university research collaboration investigating railway station design in Melbourne. The project illustrates ‘the design speculation action research assemblage’ as a tool for creative as well as critical thinking. Framed by the need to find ways to achieve significant modal shift toward active transport in a car-dependent city, the project brought 15 industry partners from state and local government, transport companies and the design sector together around a series of architectural and urban design studios for real sites. The outcomes of the project allow a deeper understanding of how transformative the focus on the relationship between network planning, urban renewal, interchange design and the removal of level crossings could be in bringing Melbourne's 19th century rail system into the 21st century.

Renewal and Development of Intercity Passenger Rail System: A Case of China

China’s new intercity passenger rail system has been expanding at an impressive rate, with several thousand miles being constructed or put into operation annually; attesting to this enormous expansion is the cumulative ridership of billions of passengers. China’s rapid progress in its intercity passenger rail system has a global impact; sharing the experiences of high-speed rail has become a crucial diplomatic strategy for China, and the progress itself has engaged the interest of many countries in developing their intercity passenger rail systems. The case of China can shed light on the global development of intercity passenger rail systems from the perspective of systematic transformations of transit systems. This paper ( a) demonstrates the reasons behind China’s choice of constructing a comprehensive rail system and their impact on China’s development of its intercity passenger rail system and ( b) analyzes the level of development and the framework of the system. The paper then describes China’s national high-speed rail (HSR) system, regional intercity passenger rail system, and commuter rail system in detail and demonstrates the experiences and problems encountered in the course of development of the intercity passenger rail system by addressing ( a) the competition between HSR and air transportation, ( b) the regional economic impacts, ( c) the speed limits of regional intercity passenger rail systems, ( d) the impacts of the regional intercity passenger rail system on passenger flow along the lines, and ( e) the obstacles that the commuter rail systems face; and reflects upon these phenomena on the basis of statistical facts.

Finite element modelling and field validation of prestressed concrete sleepers and fastening systems

Prestressed concrete sleepers and elastic fastening systems have been widely applied in North America to accommodate increased freight axle loading and the development of high-speed passenger rail systems. However, the design standard of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association remains unclear about the relationship between some critical design parameters and the vertical and lateral load paths through the track structure. In this study, field experimentation is conducted at the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, CO, and the test data are compared with finite element (FE) models of the track structure for model validation. Strain gauges and potentiometers are installed in the field to measure the response of concrete sleepers and fastening systems. The FE models consist of two parts: a detailed single-sleeper model to capture the local response of the loaded rail seat, and a global multi-sleeper model to provide realistic boundary conditions for the detailed model. The bond–slip behaviour between concrete and prestressing wires, and inelastic material properties are incorporated in the FE models. Good agreement is observed between the test measurement and the model output. The validated FE model is used for parametric studies on the some critical design parameters, and conclusions about the load path through the sleepers and fastening systems are summarised.

Methods of Analyzing and Comparing Energy Efficiency of Passenger Rail Systems

Because of growing concerns about the future environmental impact of passenger travel, modal energy efficiency is becoming increasingly important when benefits and costs of transportation system investment are evaluated. Because passenger rail systems are often cited as being relatively more energy efficient than other modes, reduced environmental impact is one justification for investment in new commuter rail projects. It is important that studies of purported environmental benefits analyze the energy efficiency of passenger rail systems and competing modes accurately and fairly by clearly defining the flow of energy through each transportation system. Furthermore, operational practices and constraints of the railway environment can complicate the analysis of energy efficiency; this complication makes it important to choose metrics that accurately describe the situation. This research identifies and describes four methods for analyzing the energy efficiency of passenger rail systems. Each method applies to a different system within the energy flow path. The combined methods are used to analyze the energy efficiency of 25 commuter rail systems in the United States. The results of each energy efficiency calculation method are then compared to illustrate how the relative attractiveness of each system can change on the basis of the selected analysis approach. By better understanding the challenges of conducting energy efficiency analyses involving different energy sources and fair comparison methods, researchers and policy makers can make informed decisions concerning the most appropriate method of analysis for drawing accurate comparisons between rail technologies and competing modes.