Formulating a Strategy for Securing High-Speed Rail in the United States, Research Report 12-03

This report presents an analysis of information relating to attacks, attempted attacks, and plots against high-speed rail (HSR) systems. It draws upon empirical data from MTI’s Database of Terrorist and Serious Criminal Attacks Against Public Surface Transportation and from reviews of selected HSR systems, including onsite observations. The report also examines the history of safety accidents and other HSR incidents that resulted in fatalities, injuries, or extensive asset damage to examine the inherent vulnerabilities (and strengths) of HSR systems and how these might affect the consequences of terrorist attacks. The study is divided into three parts: (1) an examination of security principles and measures; (2) an empirical examination of 33 attacks against HSR targets and a comparison of attacks against HSR targets with those against non-HSR targets; and (3) an examination of 73 safety incidents on 12 HRS systems. The purpose of this study is to develop an overall strategy for HSR security and to identify measures that could be applied to HSR systems currently under development in the United States. It is hoped that the report will provide useful guidance to both governmental authorities and transportation operators of current and future HSR systems

High-Speed Rail Projects in the United States: Identifying the Elements of Success-Part 2, MTI 06-03

In August 2005, the Mineta Transportation Institute issued the report, High-Speed Rail Projects in the United States: Identifying the Elements for Success. The report noted that since the 1960s, highspeed ground transportation (HSGT) has “held the promise of fast, convenient, and environmentally sound travel for distances between 40 and 600 miles.” After briefly discussing the different experiences with HSGT between the United States and its Asian and European counterparts, the report proceeded to review three U.S. cases—Florida, California, and the Pacific Northwest—as a means for identifying lessons learned for successfully implementing high-speed rail (HSR) in the United States. This report is, in essence, volume 2 of the previous study. Also using a comparative case study approach, this effort adds to the earlier work with three additional cases—the Chicago Hub, the Keystone Corridor, and the Northeast Corridor (NEC). As with the earlier report, the goal of this study is to identify lessons learned for successfully implementing HSR in the United States. Given the early stages of most of these projects, “success” is defined by whether a given HSR project is still actively pursuing development or funding. However, in the case of the Northeast Corridor, a fuller discussion of success is provided since HSR has been implemented on that corridor for some time now

The Digital Automatic Coupler (DAC): An Effective Way to Sustainably Increase the Efficiency of Freight Transport in Europe

This paper employs and improves TrainDy software to simulate the in-train forces of single and coupled freight trains with a Digital Automatic Coupler (DAC), having a length from 740 m to 1500 m and hauled mass between 1600 t and 8000 t. Software improvements have focused on the ability to natively simulate the electro-pneumatic (EP) brake, which will be a feature of the future DAC. The various types of DAC and their main features are outlined in the paper. The study shows that it is also possible to increase the trains hauled mass by using radio communication between traction units (TUs). The “relative approach” method is used to demonstrate the safety of these new trains. The paper’s main results are reported in the conclusions and demonstrate the effectiveness of both technologies in increasing freight transport efficiency, even when applied to coupled trains where one train is “classic” and the other is equipped with mechanical DAC

Air Transport versus High-Speed Rail: From Physics to Economics

Purpose - This bachelor thesis compares high-speed rail (HSR) transport with air transport. The investigation considers physical fundamentals, energy consumption, environmental impact, infrastructure and investment, market situations, passenger's selection criteria to choose transportation options, and overall economics. --- Methodology - The thesis combines an investigation of physical principles with a literature review. --- Findings - Steel wheels on steel rails show by far less rolling resistance to support the train's weight than drag due to lift (induced drag) to support the aircraft's weight. This leads to less energy consumption. HSR trains use electricity from an overhead line. Hence, the environmental impact of HSR also depends much on how the electricity is produced. Airplanes only need an air traffic control environment to connect airports. In contrast, HSR needs infrastructure to connect stations. The amount of necessary infrastructure depends on the geological conditions. For example, crossing mountains means high investment. Longer passages over water are infeasible for HSR. High-speed rail is superior to air transport when connecting megacities because the trains have higher transport capacity, offer higher service frequencies and mission reliability, shorter total travel time, shorter access time to stations, shorter unproductive waiting time in stations and potentially lower travel costs. HSR is a strong competitor to airline services and has replaced some short range flights. A comparison of HSR in different world regions shows differences in the market situation and in passenger's selection criteria for transportation options. --- Research limitations - The potential of high-speed rail was investigated mainly on busy routes with high service frequencies. A comprehensive network comparison between high-speed trains and airplanes was not done and could lead to somewhat different results. --- Practical implications - The report tries to contribute arguments to the discussion about alternatives to air travel. --- Social implications - With more knowledge people can make an educated choice between transport options, can vote with their feet, and can take a firm position in the public discussion. --- Originality/value - A general comparison of HSR and air transport from physical fundamentals to economics seemed to be missing

Estimating Workforce Development Needs for High-Speed Rail in California, Research Report 11-16

This study provides an assessment of the job creation and attendant education and training needs associated with the creation of the California High-Speed Rail (CHSR) network, scheduled to begin construction in September 2012. Given the high profile of national and state commitment to the project, a comprehensive analysis that discusses the education, training, and related needs created during the build out of the CHSR network is necessary. This needs assessment is achieved by means of: 1) analyzing current high-speed rail specific challenges pertaining to 220mph trains; 2) using a more accurate and robust “bottom-up” approach to estimate the labor, education, skills, and knowledge needed to complete the CHSR network; and 3) assessing the current capacity of railroad-specific training and education in the state of California and the nation. Through these analyses, the study identifies the magnitude and attributes of the workforce development needs and challenges that lie ahead for California. The results of this research offer new insight into the training and education levels likely to be needed for the emergent high-speed rail workforce, including which types of workers and professionals are needed over the life of the project (by project phase), and their anticipated educational level. Results indicates that although the education attained by the design engineers of the system signifies the most advanced levels of education in the workforce, this group is comparatively small over the life of the project. Secondly, this report identifies vast training needs for the construction workforce and higher education needs for a managerial construction workforce. Finally, the report identifies an extremely limited existing capacity for training and educating the high-speed rail workforce in both California and in the U.S. generally

Overcoming Barriers in a Shift Towards a Sustainable Transportation System

"The three parts of this portfolio provide a critical perspective on public transit infrastructure, primarily in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), but which also strives for wider applicability. The first paper, “The Contradictions of Splintered Network-Building,” proposes that the spate of public transit physical infrastructure projects proposed in The Big Move¸ 2008 regional transportation plan for the GTHA, can be described as a process “splintered network building.” This entails an attempt to build a regional public transit system relying on neoliberal practices that would usually be associated with the fragmentation of networked infrastructures operated by state monopolies. The paper argues that The Big Move represents an infrastructure plan, rather than a comprehensive scheme to improve public transit in the region. The second paper, “Rapid Transit as a Suburban Renewal Project,” uses York Region’s Viva bus rapid transit system as an example of emergent suburban rapid transit. The paper identifies suburban rapid transit as public transit in the form of either light rail or bus rapid transit that connects within suburbs, rather than a more typical form of transit infrastructure that links peripheries to urban centres. The paper demonstrates that while these projects can deliver real improvements in the use value of public transit, they are also entrusted with the task of urbanizing the suburbs by attracting speculative real estate development. The final part of the portfolio is a photo essay documenting the various forms of development that occur next to transit, and which serve to create “places of transit.” It is intended as a visual representation of one of the exchange value orientations of public transit infrastructure.

High Speed Railway (HSR): India And The World

India has one of the largest rail networks in the world but has no line which can be classified as HSR allowing operational speed of 125mph. The current fastest train runs at 100 mph over a distance of only around 100 miles. However, supported by a robust political willingness, a new HSR corporation has been set up to kick-start the HSR projects from ideation to reality. Four major corridors have been identified and pre-feasibility studies have been commissioned. The first in this ambitious program is the HSR between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, two major population and commercial centers in the west of India. The success or failure of this project could show the way for future road map of HSR in India. This paper identifies and analyses the countries where HSR systems are in operation – their political, economic and social conditions relevant to HSR systems and then the features of HSR systems themselves to understand the commonalities between the nations that have opted for HSR. The objective is to identify if there is a common character or a baseline characteristic in terms of geographical, economic, political and social conditions which are essential to be a member of this exclusive club? Is there a standard financial and business model that has been adopted by these countries?Theattempt is also to compare these baseline benchmarks with those in India, to assess its strengths and weaknesses and reaffirm the chances of its success in taking up this project, one of the biggestever in its history. The results would be relevant not only for India but for all countries who aspire to be HSR countries in near future

Factors affecting commuter rail energy efficiency and its comparison with competing passenger transportation modes

As concerns about the environmental impacts and sustainability of the transportation sector continue to grow, modal energy efficiency is a factor of increasing importance when evaluating benefits and costs of transportation systems and justifying future investment. Poor assumptions on the efficiency of the system can alter the economics of investment in commuter rail. This creates a need to understand the factors affecting commuter rail energy efficiency and the comparison to competing passenger transportation modes to aid operators and decision makers in the development of new commuter rail lines and the improvement of existing services. This thesis describes analyses to further understand the factors affecting the current energy efficiency of commuter rail systems, how their efficiency may be improved through implementation of various technologies, and how their efficiency compares to competing modes of passenger transportation. After reviewing the literature, it was evident that past studies often conducted energy efficiency analyses and modal comparisons using methods that favored one energy source or competing mode by neglecting losses in the system. Therefore, four methods of energy efficiency analysis were identified and applied to 25 commuter rail systems in the United States using data from the National Transit Database (NTD). Using the same database, an analysis of trends in energy efficiency exhibited by the United States commuter rail systems was conducted. To understand the effects of congestion, traffic heterogeneity, operational parameters, and infrastructure characteristics on energy efficiency of passenger trains, single and multi-variable analyses were conducted. Simulations in Rail Traffic Controller (RTC) provided energy consumption results that were used in the statistical analyses. The results illustrated the effects of congestion due to increased freight and passenger traffic on a single-track freight-owned railroad. The effect of alternative scheduling patterns on energy intensity was analyzed through a case study of operations on one existing commuter rail line. Using the Multimodal Passenger Simulation Tool (MMPASSIM), the energy consumption of the current operations and proposed schedules of local, zonal, skip-stop and express train stopping patterns during a weekday peak period were simulated. A trade-off between improved passenger service through reduced travel times and energy consumption was evident in the results. MMPASSIM was also used to simulate the effects of technologies and strategies to increase energy efficiency and improve service levels. Changes such as electrification, driver advisory systems, equipment modifications, and slow zone reductions were evaluated for their effect on energy efficiency and service metrics. Finally, MMPASSIM was used to compare the energy intensity of the same commuter rail service to competing modes of passenger transportation for equivalent commuter trips. The rail service was evaluated under local, zonal, and skip-stop patterns and compared to automobile and bus trips under off-peak and peak highway congestion levels. Load factor sensitivity charts were developed, showing lines of equal energy intensity of rail and competing modes across a range of modal load factors