TCRP Report 52: Joint Operation of Light Rail Transit Or Diesel Multiple
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CHAPTER 2: OPERATING STANDARDS, PRACTICES, AND ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH JOINT OPERATIONS 2.1 OVERVIEW current safety is not compromised but in fact enhanced. In doing so, risk factors and Developing an understanding of the critical mitigation associated with this topic are issues vital to successful joint operation of addressed. This chapter addresses these railroads and rail transit requires an issues by noting characteristics of various appreciation of the physics and operations and services and the benefits of interrelationships of mass and motion, and joint operations. Two caveats inform this the dimensional characteristics of the discussion: rolling stock and the physical plant. A safe, ! Total Physical Separation of dependable operation must consider passenger and freight movement is acceleration and deceleration, and preferred for safety and operational accommodate practicalities such as reasons. Further separation of station/terminal stops, switching, operation by speed or service mode overtakes, and potential service delays. (e.g., Commuter Rail and High- Traversing the physical plant requires the Speed Rail or Commuter Rail and support of systems and personnel to DMU/LRT operation) may also be monitor and control this movement. All of justified. these factors are ultimately incorporated in a set of operating standards and ! Temporal Separation of modes or procedures. equipment can be an effective, simple, and straightforward solution. Reconciliation of relative differences in the It does not, however, provide the dynamic performance of freight and most efficient use of the track passenger equipment operating on shared capacity. Temporal separation as track in joint service involves: now practiced in North America is exclusive use/time sharing of the ! A brief perspective on the evolution of operating philosophy railroad, not simultaneous joint use or co-mingling of train movements. ! Operational dynamics of a variety of equipment This research is directed at true joint use, or concurrent shared track by ! Operating policies, standards, and procedures railroads and rail transit. ! Operations planning and practice When space, demand, or economics ! Management and personnel resource suggested that the same track be used for considerations in operations various types of service, ranging from light ! Scheduling strategy rail to the heaviest freight trains, the earlier ! Physical plant (covered in chapter 3) railroad managements generally accepted Chapter 2 investigates the feasibility of co-mingling operations. Under single adapting standard railroad or transit ownership and operation, such joint uses practices, as appropriate, in a joint use were considered routine and normal environment so that the physical plant can operating decisions during the course of be used safely and at optimum capacity. It business. Railroads varied in executing will identify or propose operational joint use depending on local practices and modifications essential to ensuring that needs. The competing and conflicting demands that joint operations generate Chapter 2 — Page 1 require change in current thought. Any containers (of various intermodal form of joint operation likely necessitates technology). altering current operating documents, procedures, and practices. Labor issues ! Unit trains devoted solely to the bulk could also arise. Therefore, the shared shipment of one low-value track cost benefits need to outweigh these commodity, such as coal or crushed operating and safety difficulties. stone, or to the shipment of one class of finished goods, such as 2.2 RAILROAD OPERATIONS EVOLUTION automobiles. 2.2.1 Evolution of Railway Operations Practice In the past, street railways, electric interurban railways, and rail rapid transit The common use of railway track for systems also developed around the concept multiple purposes is as old as the industry of serving multiple markets. While these itself. Steam railroads grew around the systems were primarily oriented toward concept that each railroad line could be passenger travel, their facilities were often used for both local passenger and freight utilized for other purposes, such as services. Main lines subsequently shipping mail and newspapers. Freight developed to the point of accommodating a shipments sometimes even involved the wide diversity of services on shared track interchange of standard freight cars, within one right-of-way. The former received from steam railroads, for delivery Pennsylvania railroad, from New York to local customers. For example, the City to Washington, DC, is a good Chicago Transit Authority delivered example, including: hopper cars of coal to local sidings along its elevated line well into the 1970s. Such ! Express passenger trains. services are no longer common. Among the most dramatic domestic ! Local passenger trains. examples of co-mingling operations are the historic precedents of the interurban ! Regional commuter trains, electrified or steam. electric railway industry in the North America. ! Local and line-haul general freight Several large interurban electric railway services. operations shared track between electric passenger and package express cars and ! Time-sensitive shipments carried interchanged electric, steam and diesel aboard passenger trains, including hauled freight rolling stock. Best known of U.S. Mail and Railway Express these included the Pacific Electric (CA), parcel shipments. Illinois Terminal (IL,MO), Piedmont and Northern (NC,SC), Oregon Electric, ! Fast freights carrying perishable Sacramento Northern (CA), Lackawanna & commodities. Wyoming Valley (PA), Chicago, South In the modern era, two additional uses Shore & South Bend (IL,IN), and Chicago, have evolved that increase operating North Shore and Milwaukee (IL,WI) interurbans. Although these interurbans complexity: eventually lost their corporate identity and were merged into larger railroads, several ! Specialized freight trains carrying truck-trailers, roadrailer trailers or interurban routes survive today because they concentrated increasingly on the Chapter 2 — Page 2 freight side of their business. In the ! "interurban electric railways" process, they ceased to be interurbans. handling isolated interchange freight Specifically, over time they: and passengers ! built freight bypasses around points to of congestion and downtowns ! "railroads" providing some passenger ! reduced or eliminated street running service as part of the general (steam) railroad system of the U.S. (H&M, ! upgraded facilities to "steam" NYW&B and Chicago Tunnel Ry. railroad standards to handle heavy excepted.) interchange traffic, and built freight interchange connections Under the Railway Labor Act of June 21, 1934, a determination was made on the ! marketed themselves as freight status of 15 borderline electric interurban carriers, instituted innovative railway entities. Fourteen were found to be services "railroads" for regulatory and labor purposes in separate decisions during the ! cultured relations, or became years 1935-1936. They are listed below affiliated, with connecting railroads with their current disposition: ! were large enough to cover exclusive 1. Texas Electric Railway (abandoned, territories, shippers, or freight portions converted recently to LRT) markets 2. Sacramento Northern Railway ! may have had railroad parents (converted to freight feeder by parent (Southern Pacific owned the Pacific SP, portions abandoned or converted Electric) who regarded their to BARTD rapid transit) interurban offspring as freight feeders 3. Waterloo Cedar Falls & Northern Railway (converted to freight) ! Converted from electric to diesel propulsion after or during passenger 4. Piedmont & Northern Railway discontinuance. (converted to freight, absorbed, or abandoned) All of these measures contributed to the isolation of freight from passenger 5. Ft. Dodge Des Moines & Southern operations until passenger service was Railroad (tourist and freight railroad) either eliminated or converted to railroad standard commuter service. The 6. Chicago Tunnel Co. etc. (freight only significance of this maturation of narrow gauge subway - abandoned) interurban railways into freight carriers is that it gradually eliminated or reduced joint 7. Chicago, South Shore & South Bend use operating practices which had blended Railroad (commuter/freight carrier railroad and light rail standard rolling and the only rail carrier of the group stock. conducting joint passenger and freight operations. Their EMUs are A landmark decision also altered these built to railroad standards.) carriers' institutional (and joint use) status from: Chapter 2 — Page 3 8. Des Moines and Central Iowa carriers were large statewide or interstate Railroad. (converted to freight) combinations of smaller interurban lines. They were typified by the Cincinnati & 9. Utah Idaho Central Railroad Lake Erie, Lake Shore Electric (Cleveland (abandoned) to Toledo), Indiana Railroad, Detroit United Railway, and New York State 10. Pacific Electric Railway (converted Railway. On these lines, little or no to local freight carrier, portions railroad interchange freight traffic existed. converted to LRT or abandoned) Joint use by freight and passenger services was accomplished with compatible rolling 11. Hudson & Manhattan Railroad (now stock operated in streets and private rights- PATH rapid transit, no freight) of-way and often in the same train consists. All of these type interurbans failed prior to 12. Oklahoma Railway (abandoned) or immediately after World War II,