Rail

Historical Transportation Development

Garrison, William L.
2003

The main tasks for this overview of transportation development are the provision and interpretation of information on the unfolding of the transportation systems. What have been the processes at work? What explains the similarities and differences from here to there and among systems? Big questions! But they are eased by ways systems are products of experiences, as will be seen when the paragraphs immediately following summarize early experiences. Life support systems, sustainability, and social development topics will be mentioned. After examining their immediate precursors, the...

Linkages Between Transportation Planning and the Environment

Wachs, Martin
1999

Transportation investments have historically been among society’s most important contributors to environmental improvement, but today transportation programs and projects are more often of concern as sources of major environmental problems. Over the past thirty years, since the enactment of the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) and the first Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA), the relationship between transportation planning and environmental policy making has continuously become ever more complex and problematic. Until about 1835, when early public transport was just being...

Welfare Analysis of Informal Transit Services in Brazil and the Effects of Regulation

Golub, Aaron David
2003

In Brazil, the recent explosion of informal transport activity is having profound effects on formal, regulated transport systems and is the source of great controversy in the urban passenger transportation arena. A variety of policies are being proposed to manage what has been an uncontrolled growth of the sector. This study seeks to understand the advantages these systems have for users who choose them, and how proposed policies will impact these benefits. A corridor in Rio de Janeiro with substantial informal activity was used as a case study and field trips were made to gather basic...

Urban Development on Railway-Served Land: Lessons and Opportunities for the Developing World

Cervero, Robert
2020

Under the right conditions -- serious traffic congestion, a permissive regulatory environment, and frequent and reliable transit services -- rail transit investments can powerfully shape cities and regions. Rail transit’s city‐shaping powers are due to market forces and policy interventions. By enhancing accessibility (the ability of those living, working, or shopping rail near stops to quickly reach desired destinations) rail services increase the value and desirability of properties in and around stations. Market pressures by themselves rarely produce transit oriented development. To...

Life-cycle Energy and Emissions Inventories for Motorcycles, Diesel Automobiles, School Buses, Electric Buses, Chicago Rail, and New York City Rail

Chester, Mikhail
Horvath, Arpad
2009

The development of life-cycle energy and emissions factors for passenger transportation modes is critical for understanding the total environmental costs of travel. Previous life-cycle studies have focused on the automobile given its dominating share of passenger travel and have included only few life-cycle components, typically related to the vehicle (i.e., manufacturing, maintenance, end-of-life) or fuel (i.e., extraction, refining, transport). Chester (2009) provides the first comprehensive environmental life-cycle assessment of not only vehicle and fuel components but also...

Environmental Life-cycle Assessment of Passenger Transportation: A Detailed Methodology for Energy, Greenhouse Gas and Criteria Pollutant Inventories of Automobiles, Buses, Light Rail, Heavy Rail and Air

Chester, Mikhail
Horvath, Arpad
2007

The passenger transportation modes of auto, bus, heavy rail, light rail and air are critical systems relied upon for business and leisure. When considering their environmental effects, most studies and policy focus on the fuel use of the vehicles, and ignore the energy and other resource inputs and environmental outputs from the life cycles of necessary infrastructures, fuels, and vehicles. The goal of this project is to develop comprehensive life-cycle assessment (LCA) models to quantify the energy inputs and emissions from autos, buses, heavy rail, light rail and air transportation in...

Environmental Life-cycle Assessment of Passenger Transportation: A Detailed Methodology for Energy, Greenhouse Gas and Criteria Pollutant Inventories of Automobiles, Buses, Light Rail, Heavy Rail and Air v.2

Chester, Mikhail
Horvath, Arpad
2008

The passenger transportation modes of auto, bus, heavy rail, light rail and air are critical systems relied upon for business and leisure. When considering their environmental effects, most studies and policy focus on the fuel use of the vehicles, and ignore the energy and other resource inputs and environmental outputs from the life cycles of necessary infrastructures, fuels, and vehicles. The goal of this project is to develop comprehensive life-cycle assessment (LCA) models to quantify the energy inputs and emissions from autos, buses, heavy rail, light rail and air transportation in...

Bus Rapid Transit Impacts on Land Uses and Land Values in Seoul, Korea

Cervero, Robert
Kang, Chang Deok
2009

More and more cities are turning to Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) as a way of cost-effectively expanding public transit services to help relieve traffic congestion, reduce carbon emissions, and increase mobility options for the poor. Because of the inherent flexibility advantages of rubber-tire buses – e.g., unlike rail systems, the same vehicle that functions as a line-haul carrier can also morph into a neighborhood feeder -- BRT is especially suited for many lower density and non- CBD settings.Some of the most advanced and widely heralded BRT services today are found in Latin America, such as...

Direct Ridership Model of Bus Rapid Transit in Los Angeles County

Cervero, Robert
Murakami, Jin
Miller, Mark A.
2009

A Direct Ridership Model (DRM) for predicting Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) patronage in Southern California is estimated. Attributes of bus stops and their surroundings constitute the data observations of the DRM, enabling a fairly fine-resolution of analysis to be carried out on factors that influence ridership. The best-fitting DRM revealed that service frequency strongly influences BRT patronage in Los Angeles County. High intermodal connectivity, with both feeder bus routes and rail-transit services, also significantly induces BRT travel. Population densities also contribute to BRT...

Low Cost Upgrades to At-Grade Crossing Safety Devices

Cooper, Douglas L
Ragland, David R
Felschundneff, Grace
2013

The only way to absolutely prevent all drivers from going around lowered gates at level rail-highway crossings is to make it physically impossible, or at least very difficult, for them to do so. While there are various options to accomplish this (constructing a separation of grade, closing the crossing, or deploying an impenetrable concrete barrier), most have high monetary or social costs. Alternative approaches—such as channelization devices and long-arm gates—while not 100 percent effective, can be used to prevent deaths and injuries while remaining economically feasible. Research has...