查看更多>>摘要：The quantitative evaluation results of the nation's first light rail-to-bus connection protection (CP) system implemented by the Utah Transit Authority are presented. The CP system was designed to improve the reliability of transfers from the higher-frequency light rail TRAX trains to the lower-frequency bus services. The CP system examines the estimated arrival time of TRAX trains for the next three stations and issues a "hold at {station name} until {time}" message to buses waiting at the connecting rail stations, via the buses' onboard mobile data terminals, if the lateness of trains is within a predetermined threshold (e.g., 3 min). The evaluation consisted of a quantitative analysis of the successful rail-to-bus connections with an analysis of the rail and bus operations data and a qualitative assessment of the perspectives and opinions of users based on individual experience (both riders and bus operators). The focus was the quantitative analysis that employed an unmatched with-and-without experimental design. Overall, the analysis results showed that CP did significantly increase the percentage of successful train-to-bus connections. Train riders meeting a bus trip when CP was active and a "hold until" message was issued to the bus operator were between 3.1 and 3.9 times more likely to have had a successful connection than were train riders meeting the same bus trips when CP was inactive, depending on the wait time assumption for a successful connection to take place.
查看更多>>摘要：In assessing the design of a public transfer station, it is important to be able to predict the routes taken by passengers. Most simulation tools use simple route choice models that take into account only the shortest walking distance or walking time between a passenger's origin and destination. To improve this type of route choice model, other factors affecting passenger route choice need to be identified. Also, the way these factors influence route choice behavior needs to be determined to indicate how each factor is valued. In this research, route choice data have been collected in two Dutch train stations by following passengers through the facility from their origins to their destinations. These data have been used to estimate extended route choice models. The focus is on the influences of level changes in walking routes on passenger route choice behavior. It appears that ways of bridging level changes (ramps, stairs, escalators) each have a significant and different impact on the attractiveness of a route to a traveler.
查看更多>>摘要：This paper summarizes research on the effects of rail transit on the performance of transportation systems in major U.S. cities. It summarizes results from the study Rail Transit In America: Comprehensive Evaluation of Benefits, which evaluates rail transit benefits on the basis of comparison of transportation system performance in major U.S. cities. It finds that cities with larger, well-established rail systems have significantly higher per capita transit ridership, lower average per capita vehicle ownership and mileage, less traffic congestion, lower traffic death rates, and lower consumer transportation expenditures than otherwise comparable cities. These findings indicate that rail transit systems can provide a variety of economic, social, and environmental benefits and that benefits tend to increase as a system expands and matures.
查看更多>>摘要：This study was conducted to identify the strategies used by operators to provide a high level of service. The research distinguishes between punctuality and regularity of service and proposes that metro passengers primarily value regularity. The focus of this research is not on incident prevention, but on strategies that can be implemented after an incident to restore service swiftly and to minimize delay. The research identifies the recovery strategies used by six metros and summarizes advantages and disadvantages of these strategies. The influence of the type of delay on the choice of strategy is described. Similarly, the impact of constraints such as line length, service frequency, and passenger crowding on the effectiveness of each strategy is also discussed. It was found that it was generally sufficient to distinguish minor incidents, slow-moving delays, and major incidents. A case study shows that those metros with higher inbuilt flexibility can return more easily to normal service. This finding will have implications for metro management The research has been carried out by the Railway Technology Strategy Centre at Imperial College London in collaboration with the Community of Metros benchmarking group. The performances and service qualities of six metros (three European, two American, and one Asian) have been analyzed and compared. The study consists of a quantitative analysis of the performance of two lines from each metro, together with a more qualitative assessment of the strategies used to optimize performance, through structured interviews with key operational and managerial staff.
查看更多>>摘要：Many urban rail transit systems share a common transportation corridor or right-of-way with FRA-compliant freight or passenger trains. Existing federal railroad safety statutes do not specify requirements for this sort of application. As the mileage of shared-use corridors increases, there is increasing concern among federal and state regulators, railroads, and transit agencies about the potential for accidents that could stem from FRA-compliant and noncompliant rolling stock operating near each other in a shared-use corridor. This paper describes the extent and characteristics of shared-use corridors in the United States, derived from a recent survey undertaken on behalf of the FRA. The paper provides an overview of current practice in the design and operation of shared-use corridors and suggests a need for research leading to standardizations of practice to address potential safety and regulatory concerns.
查看更多>>摘要：Public transportation is critical for mobility in most large cities in the United States. In Boston and eastern Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) offers subway, bus, ferry, and commuter rail service to provide options to personal automobile use and thereby reduce highway congestion, improve air quality, and reduce energy consumption. In recent years, scholarly research has suggested that railroads in the city represent an overlooked rail transit opportunity for inner-city mobility. The MBTA's Fairmount Commuter Rail Line passes through some of the most densely populated neighborhoods in the region, yet residents seldom use the line for travel. Instead, Fairmount corridor residents tend to use private automobiles and the overcrowded bus and rapid transit network to travel to downtown Boston. This report documents the methods, findings, and recommendations of a 14-month planning study to investigate strategies that would increase the attractiveness and utility of MBTA services on this underutilized line. The paper then suggests where and how the findings of the Fairmount project might be applied for other inner-city corridors.
查看更多>>摘要：This paper discusses the visual impact of the overhead wiring, known more formally as an overhead contact system, that is an integral part of a light rail transit network. In situations in which this type of impact causes community concern, the traditional approach has been to employ design concepts that minimize the amount of visible electrical hardware that is installed. This is a valid and worthy objective, but there are additional ways to address this issue. This paper explores various components of a traction power distribution system, including contact wires, feeder cables, and supporting structures. It discusses past and current practices to make some of these components less intrusive and suggests additional methods that might be employed. It also suggests, in some situations, applying design concepts that would address the issue of visual impact in a different manner. The essence of this initiative is that the visible elements might be reconfigured into a form of street art so that their appearance would actually enhance the local environment. It suggests that the concept of art in transit, now largely oriented to station areas, might be expanded to include the traction power infrastructure along the entire line.
查看更多>>摘要：This paper compares the changes experienced by transit systems in two state capitals of similar size: Columbus, Ohio, and Sacramento, California. Over the past two decades, Sacramento added a light rail transit (LRT) starter line and experienced significant ridership growth on its multimodal rail and bus system, while Columbus remained all-bus and experienced a decline in patronage. Reasons underlying the divergent performances of these two systems are analyzed and discussed. It is concluded that, in Sacramento, willing political leadership took good advantage of a one-time opportunity for federal funding to build an LRT starter line; that adding LRT made transit more visible and effective and encouraged voter approval of additional local operating and capital funding; and that all of this resulted in a synergy that attracted more riders to the total LRT and bus transit system and led to extension of the rail system to a third corridor in 2003. Although planning for LRT was begun in Columbus during these same years, a serious interruption in the flow of local funds hampered transit development, required cuts in bus service, and prevented development of that region's planned LRT line. Columbus currently has an LRT project in preliminary engineering, and recent reports suggest a consensus to proceed may be emerging.
查看更多>>摘要：In 1946 St. Louis Public Service Company, Missouri, the eighth largest transit system in the United States, was a highly respected metropolitan operation. In 1993 the St Louis transit system was no longer among the 30 largest systems. The precipitous decline paralleled a 61 % decline in the city of St. Louis population, offset by only modest suburban population growth. In an effort to restore transit viability to the St. Louis metropolitan area, an 18-mi light rail transit line was inaugurated in 1993. Using abandoned railroad facilities, including a downtown tunnel and Mississippi River bridge, the new light rail line connected Lambert Airport in Missouri with East St. Louis, Illinois. The results were immediate and positive. Patronage exceeded comfortable car capacity. More cars were acquired. Voters in Illinois and Missouri approved funding to expand light rail 17 mi into Illinois and 8 mi into suburban Missouri. Transit use increased 40%. Light rail carried 49% of the region's transit passenger miles in only 25% of the area. The cost of service slowed its inexorable rise as light rail moved people for 25 cents per passenger mile, down from 51 cents by bus in 1993. With fewer trunk lines and more feeder routes, bus service costs increased to 80 cents per passenger mile. Casualties declined significantly. St. Louis again has a functional transit system.
查看更多>>摘要：Great Britain and France have experienced a dramatic resurgence of light rail in the past two decades. Beginning in the early 1980s, following a 30-year abandonment of street railways in favor of motorbuses, cities in both countries developed new light rail transit systems as a response to declining transit ridership, faded downtowns in need of revitalization, and the high construction costs of heavy rail and metro. Britain and France have pursued greatly different approaches to the implementation of light rail. The purpose of this paper is to point out these differences and, through the use of case studies, draw conclusions as to the efficacy of each approach. A few cities in each country were studied with secondary sources. Commonality within each country was observed with great divergence between the two countries. In Britain, the requirements for light rail are onerous: a specific act of Parliament is needed for each new start. Each system must achieve full recovery of operating and maintenance costs and contribute toward capital investment while competing against unregulated buses. That some British systems have been built and successfully attract traffic is to the credit of their proponents. France has a more uniform approach published in government circulars. All French cities of substantial size must have a "versement transportes," a 1% to 2% tax on salaries and wages dedicated to regulated and coordinated public transport. French new starts, which have no need to attain 100% cost recovery (the versement transportes covers operating losses), have been implemented in about half the time of those in Britain.
NETL
NSTL