Developing Infrastructure-Relevant Guidelines for Preliminary Conceptual Planning of a New Light Rail Transit System 13 th National Light Rail & Streetcar Conference Lyndon Henry Transportation Consultant Online Columnist Railway Age Austin, Texas 17 November 2015
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Developing Infrastructure-RelevantGuidelines for Preliminary ConceptualPlanning of a New Light Rail Transit
System
13th National Light Rail & Streetcar Conference
Lyndon HenryTransportation Consultant
Online ColumnistRailway AgeAustin, Texas17 November 2015
Background
• Light rail transit (LRT) systems ("full-size" and"streetcar") continue to generate interest incities across North America
• Local planners, transit agency personnel, otherprofessionals, civic leaders, and communitystakeholders need guidelines resource
• Project aim: Initiate development of such aresource
13th National Light Rail & Streetcar Conference
Approach
• Prep work toward conceptual design manualfor systems-level "view from 30,000 feet"
• Occasional drill-down details where useful
• This presentation — overview with highlightsfrom full paper
• Full paper on LightRailNow.Wordpress.com
13th National Light Rail & Streetcar Conference
Route Selection: Corridors
13th National Light Rail & Streetcar Conference
NCHRP/TRBdefinition: "Normally,a corridor isconsidered to be a‘travel shed,’ an areawhere trips tend tocluster in a generallinear pattern ..." M
ap:NextR
ail-KC
Vehicle Clearances Profile
13th National Light Rail & Streetcar Conference
Adap
ted
by L
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om H
amilt
on P
ublic
Wor
ks
Clearance Profiles: Curvature
13th National Light Rail & Streetcar Conference
• Standard minimumcurve radius = 82 ft.(25 m), sharperturning capabilitypossible
• Tight curves limit train speed, cause "wheelsqueal" and wear on both wheels and rails
• Recommended curve radii range from 100 feet(30 m) (streets) to 300 feet (91 m) or more(exclusive alignments)
Photo: Salaam Allah/NYCSubway.org
Clearance Profiles: Gradients
• 6% gradient = desired maximum, but grades of9% and greater are possible
• Average speed 15 mph = >30 min end-to-end,implies 20 "short" (125-pax) cars needed
• With 15% spares, fleet size = 23 railcars
13th National Light Rail & Streetcar Conference
Storage and Maintenance Facility
• Space per railcar:770- 2760 SF (71-253 m²)
• Cost per car-space: $416,000-$1,546,000
13th National Light Rail & Streetcar Conference
Photo: Flickr
Summation
• Hopefully helpful to North Americancommunities in considering, evaluating, andconceptualizing new LRT systems
• Guidelines could be useful for planners, civicleaders, decisionmakers, and communitystakeholders to give a general understandingof LRT design and technical issues
• Comprehensive manual could elaborate andexpand on many of the topics discussed