TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD No. 1489 Rail Railroad Transportation Research A peer-reviewed publication of the Transportation Research Board TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS WASHINGTON, D.C. 1995 Transportation Research Record 1489 Railway Systems Section ISSN 0361-1981 Chairman: A. J. Reinschmidt, Association of American Railroads ISBN 0-309-06155-5 Price: $26.00 Committee on Railroad Track Structure System Design Chairman: William H. Moorhead, Iron Horse Engineering Company, Inc. Subscriber Category Secretary: David C. Kelly, Illinois Central Railroad VII rail Ernest J. Barenberg, Dale K. Beachy, Harry Bressler, Ronald H. Dunn, Willem Ebersohn, Hugh J. Fuller, Stephen P. Heath, Crew S. Heimer, Printed in the United States of America Thomas B. Hutcheson, Amos Komornik, Myles E. Paisley, Jerry G. Rose, Ernest T. Selig, Joseph C. Sessa, Alfred E. Shaw, Jr., Thomas P. Smithberger, James W. Winger Committee on Electrification and Train Control Systems for Guided Sponsorship of Transportation Resear~h Record 1489 · Ground Transportation Systems Chairman: Paul H. Reisirup, Parsons Brinckerhoff International, Inc. GROUP I-TRANSPORTATION SYS.TEMS PLANNING AND Secretary: Paul K. Stangas, Edwards & Kelcey, Inc. ADMINISTRATION Kenneth W. Addison, John G. Bell, Peter A. Cannito, Richard U. Cogswell, Chairman: Thomas F. Humphrey, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Mary Ellen Fetchko, Allan C. Fisher, Jeffrey E. Gordon, Robert E. Heggestad, Stephen B. Kuznetsov, Robert H. Leilich, Thomas E. Margro, Multimodal Freight Transportation Section Robert W. McKnight, Howard G. Moody, Gordon B. Mott, Per-Erik Olson. Chairman: Anne Strauss-Wieder, Port Authority of New York William A. Petit, John A. Reach, Louis F. Sanders, Peter L. Shaw, Richard and New Jersey C. Tansil!, Robert B. Watson Committee on Freight Transportation Planning and Marketing Committee on Guided Intercity Passenger Transportation Chairman: Edward K. Morlok, University of Pennsylvania Chairman: John A. Harrison, Parsons Brinckerhoff Secretary: Susan J. Henriques-Payne, Cooperative Assistant Fund, Inc. Secretary: Larry D. Kelterborn, LDK Engineering, Inc. Faisal Ali Saleh Al-Zaben, W. Bruce Allen, John F. Betak, A. Don · John A. Bachman, Alan J. Bing, Louis T. Cerny, Harry R. Davis, William Bourquard, Russell B. Cape/le Jr., Garland Chow, John Glover, Paul C. W. Dickhart III, Robert M. Dorer, Charles J. Engelhardt, Nazih K. Hanappe, Ah-Chek Lai, Bernard J. LaLonde, Thomas H. Maze, Steven Haddad, Carl E. Hanson, Larry R. Jacobson, Richard D. Johnson, Robert McGowen, Stephen C. Nieman, Linda K. Nozick, Charles D. Sanft, John R. A. Kendall, Igor P. Kiselev, Robert L. Kuehne, Kenneth L. Lawson, Myles Scheirman, Isaac Shafran, Anthony E. Shotwell, Anne Strauss-Wieder, B. Mitchell, Jerome R. Pier, Joseph J. Schmidt, Thomas D. Schultz. Sun Joe Tsai, Robert K. Whitford, Marcus Ramsay Wigan · Duck Suh, Frank A. Vacca, Robert B. Watson, Mark E. Yachmetz Public Transportation Section Committee on Railway Maintenance Chairman: Subhash R. Mundie, Mundie & Associates Inc. Chairman: William C. Thompson, Union Pacific Railroad Secretary: Daniel B. Mesnick, TransTech Management Committee on Intercity Rail Passenger Systems Willem Ebersohn, Bernard R. Forcier, Gary A. Gordon, Wilbur M. Haas, Chairman: Emmanuel S. Horowitz, AMTRAK Anne B. Hazell. Thomas B. Hutcheson, David Michael Johnson, Robert J. Secretary: Warren D. Weber, California Department of Transportation McCown, Sue McNeil, Richard P. Reiff, A. J. Reinschmidt, Ernest T. Selig, Murthy V. A. Bondada, Daniel Brand, Robert J. Casey, William W. Thomas P. Smithberger, Harry E. Stewart, Vincent R. Terrill, Donald R. Dickhart III, Raymond H. Ellis, Sharon M. Greene, Nazih K. Haddad, Uzarski, Jeffery Todd Weathetford George Haikalis, Marika Jenstav, Ata M. Khan, Frank S. Koppelman, Robert L. Kuehne, Alexander E. Metcalf. Arrigo P. Mangini, Harriett Transportation Research Board Staff Parcells, S. David Phraner, Steven M. Polunsky, Aad Ruhl, Ronald C..:.. Robert E. Spicher, Director, Technical Activities Sheck, Brian E. Sullivan, Louis S. Thompson, Merrill L. Travis, Harold Frank N. Lisle, Engineer of Maintenance Wanaselja, Walter E. Zullig, Jr. Nancy A. Ackerman, Director, Reports and Editorial Services GROUP 2-DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF Sponsorship is indicated by a footnote at the end of each paper. The TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES organizational units, officers, and members are as of December 31, Chairman: Michael G. Katona, U.S. Air Force Armstrong Laboratory 1994. Transportation Research Record 1489 Contents Foreword v Origin-to-Destination Trip Times and Reliability of Rail Freight Services 1 in North American Railroads Oh Kyoung Kwon, Carl D. Martland, Joseph M. Sussman, and Patrick Little Modeling Single-Line Train Operations 9 A. Higgins, L. Ferreira, and E. Kozan Evaluation of Railway Subgrade Problems 17 D. Li and E.T. Selig Development of Nonconventional Tie and Track Structure Inspection Systems 26 Allan M. Zarembski and William T. McCarthy Insulating a Precast Concrete Crossing with Elastomeric Rail Enclosure 33 Hugh J. Fuller Operations and Safety Considerations in High-Speed Passenger/Freight 37 Train Corridors Kenneth B. Ullman and Alan J. Bing Evaluation of Selected Crashworthiness Strategies for Passenger Trains 50 D. Tyrell, K. Severson-Green, and B. Marquis Strategic Environmental Assessment of European High-Speed Train Network 59 Ann Dom Baltimore-Washington Corridor Magnetic Levitation Feasibility Study 67 Jack Kinstlinger and Steve Carlton Foreword Kwon and Martland have analyzed and documented origin-to-destination trip times, reliability, and car cycle times of selected types of railroad freight cars during the period from 1990 to 1991. Samples of movements throughout the United States and Canada were analyzed for boxcars, double-stack intermodal cars, and covered hopper cars in both unit train service and non-unit train movements. Of all of these car types, double-stack intermodal cars had the shortest average trip times while loaded, the highest percentage of reliability, and shortest average car cycle time. Higgins et al. present two models for optimizing the use of single-track rail lines. A mathematical programming model schedules trains over a single-track line when the priority of each train in a conflict depends on an estimate of the remaining crossing and passing delay. The second model can then be used to determine the optimal position of passing sidings on a single-track corridor to minimize the total delay and train operating costs of a given train schedule cycle. Railroad track maintenance issues are discussed in the next two papers. Li and Selig identify the major causes contributing to railway subgrade problems, the characteristics of different subgrade problems, and practical approaches for evaluation of subgrade problems. The application of each approach to railway subgrade is analyzed and discussed. During the last decade research has focused on new and improved track inspection techniques to define the condition of the track structure and its key components. Zarembski and McCarthy present the results of two research programs that led to the development and implementation of new inspection techniques: a hi-rail-based system for the measurement of track strength and track geometry and a continuous wood tie condition measurement system. Fuller describes a problem with signal circuit shunting in precast concrete grade crossings, provides a possible solution that uses electrical insulation of rail through grade crossings, and suggests a procedure for the electrical testing of grade crossings. An elastomeric rail boot, longitudinally and continuously applied to the rail through a concrete crossing, can electrically isolate the rail, allowing for correct signal circuit function. The last four papers address issues related to passenger services: three related to high-speed rail and one to Maglev. With continuing interest in the possible implementation of high-speed rail passenger services in the United States, two examples of research to operational and safety considerations are presented here. First, Ullman and Bing report research findings on recommended operations- and safety-related improvements to mixed traffic (freight and passenger) rail lines, when passenger train speeds are increased above 130 km/hr (80 mph). Second, Tyrell et al. address the crashworthiness of passenger rail cars and present research findings that the crash energy management approach to designing passenger rail cars can offer significant benefits in higher-speed collisions by distributing the structural crushing throughout the train to the unoccupied areas. An interior crashworthiness analysis also evaluated the influence of interior configuration and occupant restraint on fatality resulting from occupant motions during a collision. To ensure the objectives of a sustainable transport policy, the European Commission intends to apply strategic environmental assessment as an integral part of the decision-making process for transport infrastructure policies and for the trans-European networks in particular. Dom provides an overview of the results of a study on the environmental impact of the European high-speed train network and to compare it with the impact of conventional modes of long-distance passenger transportation (i.e., conventional rail, automobiles, and aviation). Kinstlinger and Carlton summarize an evaluation of the ability of the Baltimore-Washington corridor to accommodate