Rail Rapid Transit Systems Research Articles

A noise and vibration survey in an underground railway system

Noise and vibration measurements have been made in the rapid rail transit system (metro) in Calcutta. The track is 16·43 km long, is ballastless and has been laid for most of the journey in a specially-designed underground concrete tube of box structure. The results of measurement show that both noise and vibration levels are higher than the recommended values for reasonable comfort. The factors responsible for excessive noise have been analysed and methods to bring noise and vibration levels within comfortable limits have been suggested.

Cost-benefits in underground urban public transportation

There are now more than 80 rapid transit systems worldwide, and the number is expected to grow as the number of cities with populations greater than one million increases. This paper compares the characteristics and limits of four types of urban rapid rail transit systems: commuter railway; metro/subway; light railway; and tramways. General rules regarding costs of such systems are illustrated with examples from several countries. Benefits of underground urban rapid transit systems are discussed with regard to time aspects, passenger loads, environmental effects, safety, impact on urban development and economic implications. The author discusses the issue of costs vs benefits, which involves assessing the financial, qualitative and quantitative impacts of transit systems on the entire community. This paper describes a cost-benefit analysis method developed in 1981 in West Germany to evaluate effects of transportation projects on passengers, the transit authority and the general public. The author concludes with specific recommendations for future studies of cost-benefit analyses and methods. Il y a maintenant plus de 80 systèmes de transit rapide dans le monde, et ce nombre doit s'accroître de beaucoup suite à l'explosion du nombre de villes de plus d'un million d'habitants. Cet article compare les caractéristiques et les limites de quatre systèmes ferroviaires de transport rapide urbain: trains de banlieue, métro, trains légers, et tramways. Les règles générales sur les coûts de tels systèmes sont illustrées avec des exemples de plusieurs pays. Les avantages des systèmes de transport sous terre sont évalués en fonction des aspects de temps, du nombre de passagers, des impacts sur l'environnement, de la sécurité, des effets sur le développement urbain et des implications économiques. L'auteur discute les problèmes de coûts par rapport aux avantages, ce qui implique l'estimation des effets financiers, qualitatifs et quantitatifs des systèmes de transport sur la communauté entière. L'article décrit une méthode d'analyse coût-bénéfice développée en 1981 Allemagne de l'Ouest pour estimer les conséquences des projets de transport sur les passagers, sur le service de transport et sur le public en général. L'auteur conclut ave des recommendations spécifiques pour de futures études d'analyses et de m'ethodes coûts-bénéfices.

The Dynamics of Transit Innovation in Los Angeles

The recent reemergence of the private sector in urban transit, as well as private-sector-like behavior in the public sector, are manifestations of profound political and fiscal crises that are reshaping the service and institutional structure of the US transit industry, These crises developed as coalitions of competing place-based activists sought to deploy transit investments as strategic weapons to gain location advantages, The history and politics of transit in the intensely competitive Los Angeles metropolitan area illuminate these dynamics, especially the continuing conflict between downtown Los Angeles and outlying business centers on the issues of rail rapid transit and the role of the regional bus transit agency. Privatization and institutional fragmentation, facilitated in Los Angeles by passage of a transit sales tax in 1980, are the strategies of choice for outlying business centers, just as region-wide agencies and radial rail rapid transit systems have been downtown initiatives.

Fire safety concerns for rail rapid transit systems

A fire within an underground rail rapid transit system, particularly in a tunnel location, poses a highly hazardous condition to passengers, transit employees and emergency response personnel. Certain considerations in the improvement of fire safety are universal to all transit systems. A number of problems have been identified by the National Transportation Safety Board, an independent U.S. government accident investigation agency, as warranting immediate attention to minimize the threats posed. The Safety Board's concern was heightened by several accidents on rail rapid transit systems involving many passengers. The fact that during peak hours, a single rail rapid transit train could carry as many as 1500 to 2000 passengers was not overlooked. Specifically, the Safety Board reviewed the following topical areas which may complicate fire and life safety in confined rail rapid transit tunnel locations: - transit car materials: combustibility and toxicity; - emergency tunnel ventilation; - tunnel emergency evacuation considerations; - communications; - breathing equipment; - mobility. It is hoped that the lessons learned in our accident investigations involving fire and emergency evacuations will add to the collective knowledge of transit systems and emergency response personnel to further minimize the hazards.

Some major accident investigations of fires in underground rail rapid transit systems

Etude du niveau de securite dans le cas d'incendies survenus entre 1979 et 1981 sur les systemes BART a San Francisco, SEPTA en Pennsylvanie et NYCTA a New York

Rail Rapid Transit Investment and CBD Revitalisation: Methodology and Results

A $450 million light rapid rail transit (LRRT) system is currently under construction in Buffalo, New York. This project represents a large public investment for a transportation system for which user benefits are not the sole or even a major consideration. Anticipated increases in service employment, retail activity and land development, mainly in the declining CBD area, are viewed as the major benefits. This paper describes the methodological framework used for the analysis of these impacts. Based on the empirical results from this methodology, the paper then evaluates the overall potential of the project to promote CBD revitalisation.

Difficultés de la planification des infrastructures lourdes en milieu urbain : le cas de Montréal

The Montreal Metropolitan Area (almost 3 millions inhabitants) is achieving three networks of heavy transportation, all three unfinished : the urban highways, the subway, a regional rail rapid transit system. These developments occur in a difficult conflicting framework, at the municipal level as well as among the managers of the networks. Without any structure able to set up the final settlements, it is finally the provincial government which plays this role.

Baltimore Region Rapid Transit System Use of Precast and Prestressed Concrete

The author presents an overview of Baltimore, Maryland's new rapid rail transit system. Particular attention is given to the precast concrete segmental tunnel lining, the prestressed concrete aerial structure girders, and the precast and prestressed concrete wall and roof panels for some of the auxiliary buildings.

Population and Economic Data in Transit Analysis

An investigation is made on the nature of impacts of public investment in a Light Rail Rapid Transit System in Buffalo, New York. In particular, the impact of the public investment is measured against population and employment declines that have occurred in the region in the last ten years. By assuming that the investment in rail is justified by more than the usual travel measures, associated redevelopment trends in the CBD, the focus of the transit development, are noted. While regional employment declines, service-oriented employment increases. This increase coupled with an increase in the number of women in the labor force, and increases in household income make private investment in the CBD more attractive. New construction, related to these trends (offices, hotels, retail space) has begun, reinforcing the transit decision.

Suitability of existing vibration criteria for rail rapid transit systems

The rapid transit industry is faced with constructing and operating heavy rail rapid transit systems that do not impact adjacent communities. Groundborne vibration during construction and operation must be considered and appropriate criteria utilized. This paper reviews and compares numerous criteria relating to the effects of vibration on structures and occupants to vibration measurements and subjective response data accumulated by the New York City Transit Authority over the past 12 years. The levels of vibration measured have generally been below present criteria, yet strong reactions have occurred. Projects now underway to develop appropriate criteria are reviewed, and recommendations are made for additional study.

The determination of transit system dependability: D. I. Heimann. Proc. IEEE Reliability Symposium, Washington D.C., January 23–25, p. 314 (1979)

This paper develops a passenger-based technique to calculate the overall system dependability (or, equivalently, system availability) of a rail rapid transit system, and demonstrates the technique by means of a numerical example, based on an actual transit system. The technique uses as dependability the proportion of passengers who complete their trip with no delay greater than a given tolerance limit, and takes into account dwell and blockage delays, operating policies in response to an incident, and passenger flow rates. The resulting technique is intended to tie together the various concepts of reliability, maintainability, failure modes and effects, etc., into a single measure of system performance.

Case Study of Buffalo's Rail Transit Development

The history of the Buffalo, N.Y., Light Rail Rapid Transit System is presented. The 10-yr development period includes the establishment of a regional public transportation authority, the initial planning, the alternatives analysis, and the final development of the LRRT system. Guidelines for other cities planning rail transit systems are offered from this experience. They include establishing a strong transportation authority, involving the public from the conception of the project, developing public support, organizing political leaders, being cost conscious, and emphasizing cost of delay.

Noise survey of the Metro Rapid Rail Transit System; January 1978

The staff of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments' Areawide Environmental Noise Program underlook a noise survey of the Washington D.C. Metro Rapid Rail Transit System during the latter part of 1977. The survey included interior, station, and track‐side sound level measurements. The staff initiated the Metro noise survey after receiving numerous inquiries, regarding the availability of noise data obtained, since the system has become operative. The survey was conducted using a GenRad Type 1565‐B Sound Level Meter. The meter was calibrated before and after each measurement. Every precaution was taken to insure that all of the measurements were obtained under similar conditions. Procedures developed for the Federal Highway Administration were used to analyze the data. These procedures allow the L10 and Leq levels to be determined with 95% confidence. The results of this survey indicate that the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's efforts to minimize the noise impact from the Metro have been generally successful. In the presentation, the staff will discuss both measurement results and noise control procedures incorporated into the system.

A combined simulation of a rapid transit system

Three approaches to simulating a rail rapid-transit system are compared. The system is itself partly continuous in nature (equations of motion, for example) and partly discrete (dispatch of trains, for example). The three approaches are (1) a basi cally continuous model modified to accept discrete events, (2) a basically discrete model modified to accept representations of continuous portions, and (3) a combined model designed to accommodate both the discrete and continuous parts.

Operating and Maintenance Costs for Rail Rapid Transit

The prediction of operating and maintenance costs for rail rapid transit systems is treated from two different approaches. A detailed model for estimating those operating and maintenance costs associated with vehicle operation was developed as part of a procedure to optimize rapid transit car design. The model involves the use of many underlying microscopic variables that must be provided as input data. For the early stages of alternative planning and evaluation, a more macroscopic technique, unit cost modeling, is presented and calibrated. While less precise than the first technique, these models can be used to provide quick order of magnitude estimates upon which first-cut comparisons may be reasonably based. The relationship between labor productivity indices and unit costs is also explored, although data did not permit a complete treatment of this area.

Automatic train control for rail rapid transit systems

Automatic train control for rail rapid transit systems

Community Role in Modal Choice for Transit System Planning

The Buffalo, N.Y., SMSA is currently anticipating the construction of a rail rapid transit system. This rail rapid transit system is to be contained in a central corridor going from the existing CBD in Buffalo to the rapidly developing new State University campus and planned new community in the suburban areas. Current travel patterns and their changes in the past decade have been examined together with changes in population, employment, and shopping characteristics. As the proposed rapid transit is the culmination of a long transportation planning process begun in the early 1960's, the history of this process is reviewed. Issues that have arisen by community groups in the impact area are traced. It is noted that the diversity of the issues and current concerns regarding planning have arisen from previous transportation actions, job availability, and dependence upon the car. The paper concludes with an assessment of current actions in the corridor area.

Washington, D.C., metro: at whatrealprice the “benefits”?

There is general public enthusiasm for a rapid rail transit system in Washington, DC,primarily because it would reduce surface congestion at rush hours. METRO, as it is now designed, may nevertheless prove to be a poor second choice to the automobile by suburban commuters for destinations other than the CBD and, at the same time, fail to provide satisfactory service for the transit-dependent. If downtown employment projections (and consequently, planned patronage) are not realized, the benefits of METRO will in no way justify the costs of the inflexible fixed-track system.

Financing Metro

Metro will cost $2.5 billion to construct and equip. This includes escalation and contingency factors. The riders of the system will finance $835,000,000 of this through revenue bonds, and local governments will contribute another $573,000,000 in grants. Thus are residents will contribute about 55% of the total project cost. The remaining 45%, or $1.1 billion will be Federal grants staggered over a 10-yr. period. The results of a benefit-cost study indicate that: (1) The National Capital Region is ideally suited for rapid rail transit (2) Benefits will result not only to the person who uses the transit exclusively, but also to motorists using the transit system, to motorists not using transit, and to the business community (3) Introduction of Metro into the National Capital region will have broad, positive implications for the social environment and overall well-being of the region. (4) Implementation of the Adopted Regional Rapid Rail Transit System is a sound and profitable investment for the Federal government and for the local governments of the Washington region.

Analysis Of Rail Rapid Transit Systems By MeansOf Simulation Models

During actual operation of rail rapid transit systems, in the absence of any kind of control system, variations of stop times at stations are observed; this creates zones in which train density (train/km) is high and zones in which it is low In order to study the effectiveness of the various possible traffic control strategies, the evolution of the transport system under several different circumstances must be known. In the following, the characteristics of a simulation model and its applications in the analysis of system performance on the basis of service quality and regularity indices are described.