Career Opportunities in Transit Planning and Operations

Two transit planning positions are open and available at the downtown Boston office of Jacobs Engineering. One position is an entry level job, the second is a mid-career management position.

Click here for more information.

Upper Midwest Passenger Rail Caucus: October 21-22 2011

You are cordially invited to attend the 2011 Upper Midwest Rail Passenger Caucus, on October 21-22. The Caucus provides an opportunity to get a good survey of passenger rail transit in the region bounded by Chicago and Milwaukee. If you have never been to this part of the country before, this is your chance to see the service and facilities offered by the major transit agencies in the region. If you are familiar with the area, this is a good time to see what has changed since your last visit. Due to the short time frame, the schedule is intense, but well within the capabilities of most able bodied individuals. In the sixteen year history of the Rail Passenger Caucus, no one has been left behind yet. Please see the attached file for more details (Please note that the first day’s opening session will be at the office of the Regional Transportation Authority, 175 W. Jackson Boulevard, corner of Wells Street; not at Union Station.).

For those of you traveling to Chicago, there is a full array of transportation choices. Chicago is one of Amtrak’s busiest terminals, so there is at least one daily train from most points that Amtrak serves. Chicago is also a major airline hub, with most airlines serving O’Hare (ORD) airport. If you are flying Southwest Airlines, you will be flying to Midway (MDW) airport. Convenient transit service via the Chicago Transit Authority rail system is available to downtown from both airports. Other transportation options are also available.

To place your name on the Caucus list, please reply via e-mail to Tom Hickey at Hickey@pbworld.com by October 1. Information regarding lodging in Chicago will be sent soon. I’m looking forward to seeing you in Chicago in October.

Sincerely,

David Nelson

Chair: Subcommittee on Self Powered Rail Car Technologies {AP070(1)}

Commuter Rail: Balancing Freight Clearance with Level Boarding and ADA Accessibility Requirements

Federal regulators and passenger railways are both concerned about passengers with mobility impairments that limit their abilities to use stairways. Toward that end, federal policy and railway practice strongly encourages developing services that allow for level boarding and alighting from commuter rail trains without using stairways. Beyond benefiting individuals that have trouble using stairs, level boarding can also lead to significant improvements in service delivery for the rest of the public by reducing unproductive station dwell times, improving safety and creating opportunities improve crew efficiency.

One principal obstacle to level boarding has been the concerns of freight railroads that operate over (and often own) trackage shared with the passenger trains. The freight operators wish to maintain a full horizontal clearance envelope allowing unrestricted operations. These concerns often limit the close door/platform interface necessary for level boarding.

This paper summarizes current FTA policy on level boarding, discusses the benefits of level boarding, reviews the tension between freight clearance concerns and level boarding and reviews the state of the practice in serving passengers with mobility impairments. Based on the industry review, it highlights three innovations that have been implemented or considered to expand the scope of level boarding among North American commuter railroads. Finally it provides recommendations for further research.

Click here for November 2011 revisions

Click here to see original submission

Your comments would be very much appreciated

Cuban Rail Caucus In Planning

Mark Walbrun Reports

Following our discussions at the TRB meetings in Boston, AREMA has agreed to sponsor the railroad technology tour of Cuba. The time period selected is Dec 8 – 14 (it will not be quite that long but we are blocking out time to allow for minor adjustments in the itinerary). Some of the committee chairs had asked to have plans finalized within two weeks of our meeting to allow for coordinating committee meeting plans with the time period of the trip to avoid conflicts.

Further details will be available shortly.

SPRC Fact Sheet Update

The Subcommittee's basic fact sheet on SPRC's in North American Urban Transit Applications was last updated in 2006.

An update is long overdue.

If you would like assist with this project please download and update copy of the current fact sheet by clicking here.

Please send you updates and suggestions to david.nelson@jacobs.com

Mid Year Meeting: SATURDAY JUNE 11, 2011

All members and friends of TRB Subcommittee AP070(1) are cordially invited and encouraged to attend the mid-year meeting to be held in conjunction with our parent committee AP070 at APTA’s Annual Rail Conference in Boston Massachusetts. The joint meeting will be convened Saturday June 11th from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM at the Marriott Copley Place Hotel.

Please click here for the planned agenda.

Click here for minutes from January's Annual Meeting in Washington DC.

For complete information on the APTA Rail Conference that is being held from June 11 – 15. please visit the APTA conference website: http://www.apta.com/mc/rail/Pages/default.aspx

If you have any questions, suggestions or concerns contact David Nelson (617 532 4286) or david.nelson@jacobs.com

I look forward to seeing you in Boston

David Nelson

Chair Subcommittee on Self Powered Rail Car Technologies

Ottawa O-Train Extension Approved!

June 23, 2011: Ottawa city council has approved a $59-million plan to speed up O-Train service in the city. The city agreed on Wednesday to buy six new diesel trains and build a new track along the north-south line. The city says the change will lower wait times on train platforms from 15 minutes between trains to eight minutes. Council said it would also investigate the feasibility of extending the line southward, as far as Riverside South.

Click here for more info

Click here for business case report

May 24, 2011: Alain Mercier, General Manager of Ottawa's OC Transpo, recently outlined a C$59m expansion plan for the diesel O-Train service which includes the purchase of six new DMUs. The current fleet of three Bombardier Talent vehicles have been serving the 8 km, five-station line from Bayview Transitway to Greenboro since October 2001.

Mercier said new sidings would be built to cut the current headway from 15 min to 8 min. In addition, the three existing DMUs would be refurbished.

Current ridership is around 12 000 trips/day, nearly double the target when O-Train service started as a four-year demonstration project. Mercier gave no details on how the expansion, which could be completed in three years, would be financed but he said fewer new buses would be needed.

The full report will be released on June 14.

Click here for more information

Click here for CBC report

Stadler Rail Group opens U.S. subsidiary

Bussnang, Switzerland - Stadler Rail AG, passenger rail vehicle supplier of customer-specific

solutions, recently announced the opening of Stadler US Inc, to service customers in the

United States and support sales of all the Stadler products in North America. Stadler’s previous

success of selling 37 rail vehicles in New Jersey Transit, and Texas has led the

company to expand its presence in North America.

Click here for more information

RiverLINE Employees: Injury-free for seven years

Monday, April 25, 2011

The staff of NJ Transit’s RiverLINE diesel light rail system, which runs between Trenton and Camden, N.J., over a right-of-way shared with Conrail freight trains, recently celebrated seven continuous years of operation without a Federal Railroad Administration reportable employee injury.

NS Meets Florida Transportation Officials

March 25, 2011

South Florida Regional Transportation Authority

Local and state officials and other interested parties were briefed by a delegation from Sumitomo Corporation of America and Nippon Sharyo team concerning their new FRA-compliant DMU vehicle.

For more details click here

Toronto Metrolinx purchases 12 DMUs for Air Rail Link

Metrolinx recently agreed to enter into a contract with Sumitomo Corp. of America for the purchase of 12 diesel multiple units (DMUs) for $55.7 million. The DMUs will be used for the Air Rail Link (ARL) between downtown Toronto's Union Station and Pearson International Airport.

The ARL contract also includes an option to purchase six additional vehicles, which would bring the contract's value to $76 million. The DMUs are new to North America and will be built in the United States, but where possible, Metrolinx will work with Sumitomo to "optimize Canadian content," Metrolinx officials said in a prepared statement.

The DMUs will be Tier 4-compliant clean-diesel vehicles and will be designed to convert to electric propulsion. Metrolinx has received approval from the province of Ontario to begin the environmental assessment on converting ARL to an electric service.

The ARL service is slated to begin by 2015.

Click here for more information

Portland's WES Commuter Rail marks 2nd anniversary

February 2, 2011 marked the second anniversary of the WES Commuter Rail line that provides weekday rush hour service between Beaverton and Wilsonville. Over the past year, annual ridership increased 15 percent, totaling more than 340,000 trips. WES is the state's first commuter rail line, and also the nation's first suburb-to-suburb commuter rail service.

Highlights of the year:

• Weekday trips increased 14 percent to 1,325 compared to 2009
• Weekly trips increased 14 percent to 6,625 compared to 2009
• On-time performance is 99 percent

While the ongoing recession and significant job loss in the region has impacted ridership, we are encouraged that WES ridership has been increasing throughout the year, with most months seeing double digit increases," said TriMet General Manager Neil McFarlane. "It shows that once riders try WES, they find it saves them time, money and the stress of commuting."

Spare trains added to fleet

TriMet purchased two Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs) from Alaska Railroad in 2009 to serve as replacement trains when a WES train is out of service. The RDCs will replace shuttle buses when there is a service disruption, providing nearly seamless service to riders. Shuttle buses double the length of the travel time over a train.

Over the past year, TriMet WES maintenance crews have been upgrading the RDCs, including air brake system overhaul, cab signal system installation, event recorder modification, door thresholds for level boarding and cosmetic improvements on interior and exterior.

Quiet zone & quieter operations

A new quiet zone and wayside horns along a 3.5-mile stretch in Tualatin became operational in January. No train horns will sound in the new quiet zone at four crossings, and wayside horns have been installed at four other crossings. Wayside horns locate the horn at the crossing rather than having the train sound its horn about ¼ mile from the intersection. Additionally, the WES alignment in Beaverton between SW Lombard Avenue and Farmington Road has reduced train horn decibels, down from the 96 decibel horn to 78-80 decibel range at each crossing. This change went into effect in April 2010. However, a train horn will sound at any time there is a safety concern.

Washington County Commissioner Roy Rogers added "Washington County's investment in Tualatin's Quiet Zone has made a difference in the quality of life for the neighborhoods along the alignment. It's gratifying that WES continues to attract more riders, helping to reduce both congestion and pollution."

About WES

• WES runs every 30 minutes from about 5:30 to 10 a.m. and 3:30 to 8 p.m.
• Travel time along the 14.7-mile alignment between Beaverton, Tigard, Tualatin and Wilsonville takes 27 minutes.
• WES operates on active freight tracks owned by Portland & Western Railroad (P&W). P&W operates the WES trains.
• Project partners include TriMet, Washington County and the communities of Beaverton, Tigard, Tualatin and Wilsonville.

Plan a trip or check arrival times for WES online at trimet.org, m.trimet.org or by calling 503-238-RIDE (7433) weekdays between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.

Originally posted @ http://trimet.org/news/releases/feb3-wes.htm

Minutes from 90th Annual Meeting

Minutes of the Subcommittee Meeting

AP070(1) SELF POWERED RAIL CAR TECHNOLOGIES SUBCOMMITTEE

TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2011

L’ENFANT ROOM, WASHINGTON, D.C. HILTON

Click here to view meeting minutes, attendance sheet and handouts.

VIA Rebuilds Six Vintage RDCs for Remote Services

In Moncton New Brunswick, Industrial Rail Services Incorporated is rebuilding six 1950s-era Rail Diesel Cars for VIA’s remote services in Ontario and British Columbia, retrofitting 59 of VIA’s Renaissance cars for improved handicap accessibility, and rebuilding VIA’s 98 LRC cars to extend the fleet’s life 20 years.

The firm is interested in offering more rebuilt RDC's to other customers.

Click here for more information

SMART Orders 18 FRA Compliant Self-Powered Rail Cars

In mid-December 2010, the Board of Directors of Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART)unanimously approved a contract with Sumitomo Corporation to build SMART’s passenger rail vehicles at a new Nippon Sharyo plant in Illinois. The contract covers the manufacture and delivery of up to 18 self-powered rail cars (nine two-car trains) and cost $56,853,739 – more than $23 million below the original engineer’s estimate for vehicles.

These fully FRA-Compliant DMUs will be the signature feature of the SMART project, a 70-mile passenger train and parallel bicycle-pedestrian pathway from Cloverdale to Larkspur. The vehicle selection process has been a major focus of the district since nearly 70 percent of the voters in Marin and Sonoma approved funding for the project November 2008.

Sumitoma and Nippon Sharyo presented information concerning their team and their proposed cars at the annual meeting of the Self-Powered Rail Car Technologies Subcomittee on Tuesday January 25, 2011.

Click here for more information concerning the SMART project
Click here to see Nippon Sharyo's DMU Presentation

Rail Transit Safety: Is There a Real Difference Between Cities?

In December 2009, the US DOT proposed to establish and enforce minimum Federal safety standards for rail transit systems to correct the status quo condition where 27 separate state programs are responsible for rail safety “resulting in a situation in which there are inconsistent practices and effectiveness”. This short paper conducts a statistical analysis of publicly available safety data to empirically address two questions:

• How safe is rail transit compared with other modes of transport?
• Is there a statistically significant record of inconsistent safety among rail transit agencies?

click here for more information

Hybrid DMU tests in Japan

Fuel savings of up to 20% are anticipated during tests of a power car and three DMUs fitted with a prototype hybrid battery-diesel system which reuses braking energy for acceleration.

Click here for more information.

Contributed by Colin R. Leech, P.Eng. Senior Engineer, Transit Priority City of Ottawa