New Technologies to Improve Commuter Rail Service Delivery

Wednesday January 25 2012 8:00AM- 9:45AM | Washington Hilton

Presiding Officer: Nelson, David O. - Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.

Sponsored By: Commuter Rail Transport Committee AP070

The last decade’s rapid advancements in computer and communications technologies have opened whole new ways for commuter railroads to communicate with and serve their customers. I-phones, androids, smart cards, Facebook, and Twitter all now have an emerging role in commuter rail service delivery. The session sampled how various commuter railroads across the country are employing new technology to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their customer service and business processes.

Technological Innovation on Boston's Commuter Rail Network (P12-5563)
Boston's MBTA has recently reclaimed its leadership in application of computer technology to improving transit service delivery for its bus, rapid transit and commuter rail customers Joshua Robin, the MBTA's director of innovation will describe three recent technological innovations that have been applied to the T's commuter rail network. Virtually all commuter rail customers enjoy free wifi service on MBTA trains. Passengers parking at most commuter rail parking lots can now pay for their daily parking using their cell phone after they've already boarded the train. Third party innovators are starting to use MBTA train movement data to communicate the progress and identify delays on the commuter rail network as they are already doing for MBTA bus customers.

Presenter: Robin, Joshua K, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

Challenges and Triumphs of Launching a Smartcard Program for a Commuter Rail System (P12-5564)
Reloadable stored value cards are becoming more and more common on local bus and rail transit systems. They pose more challenges for the distance based fares charged by commuter railroads. Rene Matthews and Brad Barkman of Miami's Tri Rail system will discuss the scope and challenges presented by implementation of the region's "Easy Card" of the Tri-Rail commuter railroad.

Presenter: Matthews, Renee , South Florida Regional Transit Authority

Social Media, Commuter Rail, and Transit Customer Communication (P12-5565)
As more and more commuters are plugged into the web with Smart Phones, laptops and other devices the role of social media such as Facebook and Twitter in the customer relations process is becoming more salient. Paul O'Brien of the Utah Transit Authority and the FrontRunner will describe Salt Lake's social media program for customer communication.

Presenter: O'Brien, Paul , Utah Transit Authority

Commuter Rail: Balancing Freight Clearance with Level Boarding and ADA Accessibility Requirements (12-1711)
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.

Authors: Nelson, David O., Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. | Martinez, Eloy , LTK Engineering Services | Bonina, Stephen , Stadler US, Inc.

Reflections from the 2009 TRB Rail Caucus: Phila PA

Saturday November 14, 2009 3:43 pm
Track 6 Suburban Platform 30th Street Station Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA

I’m sitting in the suburban nave of an art deco cathedral to the American economy. The ancient arched steel and glass canopy filters a soft grey light onto the twenty patient passengers waiting for the 4:04 R1 train to the airport. The tranquil atmosphere is hushed between infrequent weekend trains. The air is cool but not cold. A middle aged woman chats quietly in French with her aged mother. The incessant rain of the last two days has blessedly relented.

This will be the 26th passenger train I’ve boarded in the last 54 hours on a whirlwind tour of Philadelphia’s rail network organized by the Transportation Research Board. The tour gave me a chance to reconnect with old friends, renew acquaintances and make new contacts. It also provided a hands-on opportunity to ride some services and see some facilities that I’ve only read about or haven’t seen in a long time.

The Ninth TRB Rail Passenger Caucus included a joint business meeting of the passenger
rail-oriented committees in the TRB Public Transport and Rail Groups and provided an opportunity to learn more about rail transit
systems, programs, and policies through a concentrated combination of
technical presentations and field tours.

The itinerary for the Rail Passenger Caucus provided in-service demonstrations and briefings of the following modes and agencies:

Thursday, November 12
Amtrak, DART & SEPTA Commuter Rail, SEPTA Light Rail & 25th Anniversary
Ceremonies for the Center City Commuter Connection

Friday, November 13
SEPTA Commuter Rail, Rapid Rail Transit, Light Rail, Streetcar, Electric Bus.

Saturday, November 14
PATCO Rapid Rail Transit, NJ Transit Commuter Rail and Light Rail.

PARTICIPATING AGENCIES
Delaware River Port Authoriity
Delaware Transiit Corporatiion (DART)
Delaware Valley Regiionall Planning Commiissiion
National Rail Passenger Corporatiion (Amtrak)
NJ Transiit Corporation
Port Authority Transit Corporatiion (PATCO)
Southeastern Pennsylvaniia
Transportation Authority (SEPTA)
Southern New Jersey Rail Group

A few quick observations: Philadelphia, like Boston has an extensive light rail and trolley network but in contrast to Boston it generally serves the city’s lowest economic stratum rather than its highest. The biggest surprises were the odd Norristown High Speed Line, the quaint Sharon Hill and Media lines, the newly reopened Girard Street car, the vitality of NJTransit’s RiverLINE and SEPTA’s 21st century operations control center. I never realized that Philadelphia had an extensive network of underground pedestrian passages.

Philadelphia’s investment in transport infrastructure continues to lag other major America cities, and like other cities in these times, the prospects of meeting their transport funding needs are dim for the foreseeable future. But unlike other cities they have a number of underutilized transport facilities that they continue to support at no small expense. If asked, I’d advise Philadelphians to focus their economic development efforts on employment, education and safety in neighborhoods and areas that are rich in transport capacity but socially and economically deprived.

David O. Nelson
Chair Subcommittee for Self Powered Railcar Technologies AP070(1)

45 annotated photos from the caucus are found at http://picasaweb.google.com/DAVID.NELSON.AT.JACOBS/TRBPassengerRailCaucusPhilaPANovember12142009?feat=directlink

Annual Meeting Agenda Tuesday January 13, 2009

Agenda
AP070(1) Self-Powered Rail Car Technologies Subcommittee
{Joint Subcommittee of Commuter Rail Transportation Committee (AP070) and
Passenger Rail Equipment and Systems Integration Committee (AR020)}
Annual Meeting
Tuesday, January 13, 2009, 3:45 PM - 5:30 PM
Lincoln South, Washington Hilton, Washington, DC
David Nelson, Chairman---Paul Stangas, Secretary

Minutes of the Midyear Meeting – San Francisco, Saturday, May 31, 2008

Committee Business
Adjustment in Sub-Committee Sponsorship
AR020 Passenger Rail Equipment and Systems Integration to become 2nd (or 3rd) joint sponsor of the SPRC Technologies Subcommittee (See Appendix A)

2009 Session 628 Recent Developments in North American SPRC Markets
Tuesday, January 13, 2009, 7:30pm- 9:30pm Hilton, Lincoln West
Is it commuter rail or is it light rail? The demand for rail transit services continues to grow each year. In many cases, hybrid services are being created to address the demand for service while trying to control the costs of the service. This session provides a glimpse at several new-start services from the past several years.

Portland West Side Express Story Lisa M. Cobb, Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon

Austin Metro-Rail Project Stephen Bonina, Interfleet Technology, Inc.

Tri-County Commuter Rail Authority Demonstration Program Bradley A. Barkman, Tri-County Commuter Rail Authority

Discussion of Recent Industry Developments
Three new SPRC systems in 2008-2009
SPRC Manufacturing Community – Demise of Colorado Rail Car
Evolving Regulations
Shared Track
Non-Compliant Rail Cars

Research Update
2007 TCRP Shared Track Research
2007 FRA ITS Report

Plans for Midyear Meeting
Chicago June 2009?

Research Plan and Agenda