WIRELESS ELECTRIC PROPULSION LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT SYSTEMS IN SPAIN

A frequent criticism of new light rail transit systems is the negative visual impact of overhead 28 power lines (catenary). Vehicle manufacturers have recognized this problem and developed 29 systems that allow trams to operate without catenary. There are three main approaches: 30 providing electricity from ground level systems, storing energy on-board the vehicle, and 31 generating power on-board the vehicle.In most cities where alternatives to catenary power 32 lines have been implemented they are only implemented on particularly sensitive sections of 33 the routes. This has been the case in Spain where three of 11new light rail systems have 34 adopted a hybrid electrification system using on-board energy storage. Spain’s experience 35 with hybrid electrification provides a good case study of the technology. 36 This paper summarizes light rail system development in Spain. It focuses on 37 comparing LRT systems that use hybrid electrification versus those that do not. The research 38 confirms, consistent with previous research, that the costs for systems using hybrid 39 electrification are higher than for those using catenarypower lines. The research also shows 40 that increased streetscape redevelopment – often required in places where visual impacts need 41 to be addressed with hybrid electrification – are a key driver of these increased costs.Finally, 42 an interview with the operator managers of the 3 LRT systems that use hybrid electrification 43 was carried out to understand key operational differences between the two systems

Investment in public transport projects in cities: What do citizens think about it?

In recent years, important public transport infrastructures projects have been carried out in Andalusia (Spain), some of them having an important impact on life in the metropolitan areas. Nevertheless, no studies have been done to know the citizens’ opinion concerning these projects. This article presents an analysis about the citizens’ perception on this matter, based on a 2015 survey with a sample of 1,200 individuals living in the Andalusian capital cities. Citizens’ perceptions about public transport infrastructures are analyzed, based on citizens’ mobility preferences, on their opinion about transport infrastructures’ social impact and about their adequation to the city they live in. Results indicate that people living in cities which already have underground have a larger preference for underground means of transport than those who live in cities that only have transit on surface. In addition, it is proved that light rail is the most unpopular transport mode among citizens.Agencia de Obra Pública de Andalucía y Unión Europea a través de "Herramienta para la evaluación previa de infraestructuras de transporte público" con código GGI3003IDIE con la colaboración de la Universidad de Granada y el Departamento de Ingeniería Civil de la Universidad de Granada

Citizens’ opinion about investment in public transport projects in cities

In recent times, the increasing demand for mobility has given rise to new projects for improved public transport (PT) infrastructures. Such is the case of Andaluc ıa (Spain) where, since 2004, the transit networks were improved and new underground and light rail systems were built. These investments were made without taking into account the opinion of the citizens. In this context, this paper expounds the results of a telephone survey conducted in 2015 to record citizens’ opinions about the investment funneled into local transport infrastructures. The responses were analyzed through decision trees, in order to identify groups of homogeneous characteristics and common opinion. The results indicate that most citizens believed investment to have been insufficient, even though nearly half the respondents affirmed the PT infrastructures in their city were adequate. The results of the two majority opinion groups showed that: when citizens believe the PT infrastructures of their city are not adequate, and they are not satisfied with key attributes of the PT, they hold investment to be insufficient; in contrast, if citizens describe the PT infrastructure as adequate, they appraise key aspects and support the use of public funding for financing the PT, then they are satisfied with the investment made. Furthermore, some decision rules, and the most influential variables in the study problem (PT infrastructures adequacy, coverage, being a suburban bus user or not, and the support to use public funding for PT) were identified.This work was supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) of European Union, and the Public Works Agency and Regional Ministry of Public Works and Housing of the Regional Government of Andalusia (Spain) (AOPJA) under Grant G-GI3003/ IDIE via the Researching Project “Tool for the preliminary evaluation of PT infrastructures”

Propuesta de Accesos Ferroviarios a Granada

La llegada del tren de alta velocidad a Granada es un largo proceso que ha estado más sujeto a decisiones puntuales que a una planificación real sobre las necesidades de movilidad y el papel estratégico que debe jugar Granada en la articulación territorial de la Andalucía Oriental con la Occidental, el Levante y el Centro peninsular. El asunto de la alta velocidad a Granada se ha convertido en un campo de batalla político y social y las consecuencias son que dieciocho años aún se sigue esperando su puesta en servicio, siendo Granada una ciudad muy deficientemente comunicada por ferrocarril con el resto del país (con los principales servicios ferroviarios con Sevilla, Madrid, Barcelona, etc. cortados desde 2015) y una sensación de hartazgo entre la ciudadanía que deriva en una situación más peligrosa si cabe: la polarización y el enfrentamiento a costa del ferrocarril respecto a su forma de entrada a la ciudad (situación de la estación, soterramiento, etc.). Ante esta situación, varios colectivos y asociaciones vecinales han propuesto la paralización de los trabajos y la reconsideración de acometer otra actuación diferente del actual acceso ferroviario en superficie. Estas demandas ciudadanas han sido consideradas por el Consejo Social de Granada, solicitando el informe técnico. Por lo tanto, el objetivo de dicho Informe era proponer y priorizar alternativas para la entrada de la nueva línea de alta velocidad y para la reordenación de las líneas ferroviarias (convencionales y de alta velocidad) que llegan, o van a llegar a Granada. Como resultado, se propusieron y priorizaron diversas alternativas de acceso, variantes ferroviarias, y distintas soluciones para la nueva estación (posibles ubicaciones, en superficie, soterrado, estaciones provisionales, permanentes, etc.). Indicios de calidad: Dicho informe fue presentado el 7 de marzo de 2016 en sesión del Consejo Social del Ayuntamiento de Granada, en el Ayuntamiento de la ciudad, y en la Sede del Colegio de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos de dicha ciudad. Además, los contenidos básicos del mismo fueron suministrados a la periodista Carolina Rodríguez, y fueron publicados en el periódico IDEAL, el de más tirada de la ciudad de Granada.Consejo Social del Ayuntamiento de Granad

How do road infrastructure investments affect Powered Two-Wheelers crash risk?

The drivers of Powered Two-Wheelers (PTWs) pertain to the collective of so-called vulnerable road users. Crashes have scarcely decreased for these roadway users in recent years, whereas among other users, e.g. cars users, they have declined considerably. Meanwhile, the use of PTWs has risen sharply worldwide. This situation adds a further concern to transportation policies and makes evident the need to explore factors involved in PTW crashes. Yet there is a lack of studies specifically about road safety for PTWs. The present study therefore aspires to advance in the knowledge of the factors affecting PTW crashes on interurban roadways, by means of analyzing the effects of some variables not considered previously in this type of studies —mainly economic resources invested in roads—while also accounting specifically for the exposure to risk of PTWs (veh-km), along with relevant variables related to road traffic, the roadway infrastructure, and socioeconomic, meteorological and legislative factors. To this end, and bearing in mind the latest advancements of incorporating unobserved heterogeneity in count data models, different configurations of random parameters negative binomial models for data panels are presented. The realm of study is the network of national roads in Spain, distributed over 43 provinces, and the time period between 2007 and 2015. The results show significant associations for 11 of the variables considered: annual and accumulated investment in construction, expense on maintenance, proportion of motorways, light and heavy vehicle traffic, per capita GDP, age, unemployment rate, price of gasoline, and modification of the demerit point system (DPS). With respect to transport policy implications, the findings provided in this study may serve to monitor the effects of economic resources allocated to road construction and maintenance —along with other measures, such as gasoline prices and DPS—on PTWs safety.This study was carried out in the framework of the project RTI 2018-101770-B-I00 “Investment in roads and road safety: An international analysis (INCASE)”, financed by: MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/ERDF, within Spain's National Program of R + D + i Oriented to Societal Challenges. Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Granada

Road Investment and Traffic Safety: An International Study

The aim of this study is to analyse whether the economic resources invested in roads—both investment in construction and expenditure on maintenance and conservation—have any influence on road fatality rates. Since this is a complex problem, and because there are many factors that can influence the fatality rate, other variables related to specific transport, socioeconomic and meteorological factors are also considered. The study was carried out using a panel data model, modelling road mortality as a function of 12 variables. The scope of the study is international, focusing on the interurban road network. Data were collected from 23 European countries for the period 1998–2016. The main results obtained are that both expenditure on road maintenance and conservation and the proportion of motorways in the total road network contribute to reducing road mortality. Contrariwise, greater investment in construction leads to an increase in the fatality rate.The authors wish to express their gratitude to the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities for funding received for the project “INVERSIÓN EN CARRETERAS Y SEGURIDAD VIAL: UN ANÁLISIS INTERNACIONAL (INCASE)”, reference RTI2018-101770-B-I00, within the State Programme for R+D+i Oriented to the Challenges of Society

Efecto de los recursos económicos invertidos en construcción y mantenimiento de carreteras sobre la accidentabilidad en Europa

En el presente estudio, se formula un modelo de datos de panel a nivel europeo con el fin de analizar la posible influencia de los recursos económicos invertidos en carreteras sobre la seguridad vial. Para ello, se utilizan datos correspondientes a veinte países europeos y durante un periodo de diecinueve años. Además, debido a la multitud de factores que pueden influir en el tema de estudio, se incorporan una serie de variables de control de diversos aspectos: socioeconómicos, de composición de la red de carreteras y legislativos. Como resultado principal, cabe destacar el efecto beneficioso del gasto en mantenimiento de carreteras sobre la seguridad vial.Este estudio ha sido realizado en el marco del proyecto “Inversión en carreteras y seguridad vial: un análisis internacional (INCASE)”, financiado por: FEDER/Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades–Agencia Estatal de Investigación/ Proyecto RTI2018-101770-B-I00, dentro del Programa Estatal de I+D+i Orientado a los Retos de la Sociedad

Relationship between predicted speed reduction on horizontal curves and safety on two-lane rural roads in Spain

According to different studies, speed reduction is considered one of the major factors in contributing road safety. For that reason, several guidelines have been recommended for maximum desirable speed reductions from tangents to horizontal curves and for maximum differentials between design and operating speeds on horizontal curves. The Interactive Highway Safety Design Model (IHSDM) Design Consistency Module presents an analysis of the relationship between speed reduction and crashes for horizontal curves on U.S. two-lane rural highways. This paper presents the relationship between speed reduction and crashes for horizontal curves on Spanish two-lane rural roads. A model for using regression analysis to predict crashes is presented. Exposure, curve length (CL), and difference in 85th-percentile speeds (δV85) between successive tangents and horizontal curves, as well as between successive curves, are used. The model's coefficients were different from the ones obtained for U.S. highways, although the values of the goodness-of-fit criteria were similar. In addition, the relationship between crashes and different speeds is analyzed, taking the difference in speed as a speed differential not exceeded by 85% of the drivers traveling under free-flow conditions (δ85V), instead of considering it as δV85. The two models (δV85 versus δ85V) give very similar results

Efectos sobre la accesibilidad de la red de autovías planeada en el Plan de Infraestructuras para la Sostenibilidad del Transporte en Andalucía (España)

En este artículo se analizan los impactos en la accesibilidad territorial en Andalucía de las actuaciones en carreteras planificadas por la Consejería de Fomento y Vivienda de la Junta de Andalucía. Para ello, se ha desarrollado una herramienta informática basada en Sistemas de Información Geográfica, y se han calculado una serie de indicadores de accesibilidad y cohesión territorial. Para llevar a cabo el análisis de los efectos del Plan de Infraestructuras para la Sostenibilidad del Transporte en Andalucía, se han contemplado dos escenarios: uno sin las actuaciones previstas y otro con todas las actuaciones planeadas implementadas. También se han estudiado los efectos de dicho plan sobre la accesibilidad a hospitales, universidades y centros logísticos, así como las mejoras inducidas por cuatro importantes actuaciones concretas. Los resultados muestran mejoras significativas, como una reducción media en los tiempos de viaje del 3,6%, y que las actuaciones del plan de infraestructuras potencian la cohesión territorial.The present study aims to analyze the territorial impacts in Andalusia (through changes in accessibility) derived from the improvements in the road network planned by the Ministry of Development and Housing of the Junta de Andalusia. For this purpose, a computer tool based on Geographic Information Systems was developed, and a series of accessibility and territorial cohesion indicators were calculated. To carry out the analysis of the effects of the Infrastructure Plan for the Sustainability of Transport in Andalusia, two scenarios were considered (with and without the planned actions). The effects of this plan on accessibility to hospitals, universities and logistics centers, as well as the improvements induced by four strategic actions, were studied as well. The results show the effects of the actions of this plan of infrastructures: an average reduction of the travel times of 3.6%, and an improvement of the territorial cohesion.Este estudio ha sido realizado en el marco de los PROYECTOS DE I+D+i 2014-2015 (Código del Proyecto: GGI3003IDID), y financiado por la Consejería de Fomento y Vivienda de la Junta de Andalucía mediante fondos de la UE y de la Junta de Andalucía

Transit quality evaluation: processes conducted by managers and operators

The development of quality policies applied to the public transport sector has increased the operators and managers interest in ensuring passengers’ satisfaction standards; therefore, their actions have been instrumented through the quality of service perception. In this context, the research project GESCAL performs a comparative analysis about the evaluation techniques used by the operators, from the passengers’ point of view, as a tool that support the service quality management. This comparison shapes the innovative nature of this research. This paper presents, the diversity of procedures carried out at a national level for evaluating passengers’ perceptions about the transit service quality. Some conclusions are obtained through a qualitative analysis based on in-depth interviews conducted to operators and administrations of different public transport services (bus, train, tramway and light rail services in the urban, metropolitan and interurban contexts).These results permit to affirm that these procedures are to a large extent standardized, but the implemented methodologies are heterogeneous between organizations due to the influence of the exogenous context and different endogenous factors of the organization. Likewise, the objectives of the quality evaluation service campaigns can be affected by these conditioning factors and, in some cases there is no correspondence between the applied methodology and the postulated objectivesSpanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Research Project TRA2015-66235-R)