Evaluation of Options for Improving Amtrak's
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U.S. Department EVALUATION OF OPTIONS FOR of Transportation Federal Railroad IMPROVING AMTRAK’S PASSENGER Administration ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM Office of Research and Development Washington, DC 20590 DOT/FRA/ORD-05/06 Final Report This document is available to the public through the National December 2005 Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161. This document is also available on the FRA Web site at www.fra.dot.gov. Notice This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof. Notice The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the objective of this report. Form Approved REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188), Washington, DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED December 2005 Final Report December 2005 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS Evaluation of Options for Improving Amtrak’s Passenger Accountability System RR93/CB043 6. AUTHOR(S) Ronald Mauri and Joseph Mergel 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION U.S. Department of Transportation REPORT NUMBER Research and Innovative Technology Administration DOT-VNTSC-FRA-05-08 John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center 55 Broadway Cambridge, MA 02142-1093 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING U.S. Department of Transportation AGENCY REPORT NUMBER Federal Railroad Administration Office of Research and Development DOT/FRA/ORD-05/06 1120 Vermont Avenue, NW Mail Stop 20 Washington, DC 20590 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 12a. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE This document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia 22161. 13. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 words) In investigating the derailment of Amtrak's Auto Train on April 18, 2002, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reported that an accurate count of persons on the train at the time of the accident was not available at the accident scene. NTSB noted that emergency response would be improved with accurate count data at the accident scene and issued a Safety Recommendation to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) that it develop and implement an accurate passenger and crew accountability system. This report assesses the weaknesses in Amtrak’s passenger accounting system, the costs of improving it, and the potential safety and business benefits of an improved system. It finds that while technically feasible, the recommendation is impractical given Amtrak’s business model and would not provide the desired safety benefits. It also identifies alternative improvements to Amtrak’s passenger accounting system that can be the basis for future cost-effective Amtrak initiatives. 14. SUBJECT TERMS 15. NUMBER OF PAGES Passenger Accountability, Amtrak, National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Railroad 208 Administration, Safety, Emergency Response 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 18. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 19. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 20. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT OF REPORT OF THIS PAGE OF ABSTRACT Unlimited Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified NSN 7540-01-280-5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2-89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239-18 298-102 METRIC/ENGLISH CONVERSION FACTORS ENGLISH TO METRIC METRIC TO ENGLISH LENGTH (APPROXIMATE) LENGTH (APPROXIMATE) 1 inch (in) = 2.5 centimeters (cm) 1 millimeter (mm) = 0.04 inch (in) 1 foot (ft) = 30 centimeters (cm) 1 centimeter (cm) = 0.4 inch (in) 1 yard (yd) = 0.9 meter (m) 1 meter (m) = 3.3 feet (ft) 1 mile (mi) = 1.6 kilometers (km) 1 meter (m) = 1.1 yards (yd) 1 kilometer (km) = 0.6 mile (mi) AREA (APPROXIMATE) AREA (APPROXIMATE) 1 square inch (sq in, in2) = 6.5 square centimeters 1 square centimeter (cm2) = 0.16 square inch (sq in, in2) (cm2) 1 square foot (sq ft, ft2) = 0.09 square meter (m2) 1 square meter (m2) = 1.2 square yards (sq yd, yd2) 1 square yard (sq yd, yd2) = 0.8 square meter (m2) 1 square kilometer (km2) = 0.4 square mile (sq mi, mi2) 1 square mile (sq mi, mi2) = 2.6 square kilometers 10,000 square meters (m2) = 1 hectare (ha) = 2.5 acres (km2) 1 acre = 0.4 hectare (he) = 4,000 square meters (m2) MASS - WEIGHT (APPROXIMATE) MASS - WEIGHT (APPROXIMATE) 1 ounce (oz) = 28 grams (gm) 1 gram (gm) = 0.036 ounce (oz) 1 pound (lb) = 0.45 kilogram (kg) 1 kilogram (kg) = 2.2 pounds (lb) 1 short ton = 2,000 pounds = 0.9 tonne (t) 1 tonne (t) = 1,000 kilograms (kg) (lb) = 1.1 short tons VOLUME (APPROXIMATE) VOLUME (APPROXIMATE) 1 teaspoon (tsp) = 5 milliliters (ml) 1 milliliter (ml) = 0.03 fluid ounce (fl oz) 1 tablespoon (tbsp) = 15 milliliters (ml) 1 liter (l) = 2.1 pints (pt) 1 fluid ounce (fl oz) = 30 milliliters (ml) 1 liter (l) = 1.06 quarts (qt) 1 cup (c) = 0.24 liter (l) 1 liter (l) = 0.26 gallon (gal) 1 pint (pt) = 0.47 liter (l) 1 quart (qt) = 0.96 liter (l) 1 gallon (gal) = 3.8 liters (l) 1 cubic foot (cu ft, ft3) = 0.03 cubic meter (m3) 1 cubic meter (m3) = 36 cubic feet (cu ft, ft3) 1 cubic yard (cu yd, yd3) = 0.76 cubic meter (m3) 1 cubic meter (m3) = 1.3 cubic yards (cu yd, yd3) TEMPERATURE (EXACT) TEMPERATURE (EXACT) [(x-32)(5/9)] °F = y °C [(9/5) y + 32] °C = x °F QUICK INCH - CENTIMETER LENGTH CONVERSION 0 1 2345 Inches Centimeters 0126 3 4 5 7138 9 10 1112 QUICK FAHRENHEIT - CELSIUS TEMPERATURE CONVERSION °F -40° -22° -4° 14° 32° 50° 68° 86° 104° 122° 140° 158° 176° 194° 212° °C -40° -30° -20° -10° 0° 10° 20° 30° 40° 50° 60° 70° 80° 90° 100° For more exact and or other conversion factors, see NIST Miscellaneous Publication 286, Units of Weights and Measures. Price $2.50 SD Catalog No. C13 10286 Updated 6/17/98 ii Table of Contents Section Page Executive Summary........................................................................................................ vii 1. Background and Purpose..............................................................................................1 1.1 Background...........................................................................................................1 1.2 Objective...............................................................................................................1 2. Types of Amtrak Routes................................................................................................3 3. Amtrak Route Characteristics......................................................................................7 3.1 Service Characteristics and Ridership ..................................................................7 3.2 Stations..................................................................................................................7 3.2.1 Station Staffing .........................................................................................7 3.2.2 Passenger Boardings .................................................................................8 3.2.3 Station Intervals........................................................................................9 4. Rail Passenger Accountability Systems .....................................................................11 4.1 Amtrak’s Existing System ..................................................................................11 4.1.1 Introduction.............................................................................................11 4.1.2 Types of Train Riders and Ticketing Procedures ...................................11 4.1.3 Boarding Procedures...............................................................................12 4.1.4 Conductor’s Ticket Pouch.......................................................................14 4.1.5 Amtrak’s Printed Train Manifest and Arrow CRS .................................17 4.1.6 Conclusions on Amtrak’s Existing Passenger Accounting Systems ...................................................................................................21 4.2 Past Initiatives to Improve Amtrak’s Passenger Accounting System.................22 4.3 Amtrak’s Current Initiative to Improve Passenger Accounting .........................25 4.4 Foreign Systems..................................................................................................27 4.4.1 Eurostar Service......................................................................................27 4.4.2 British Rail..............................................................................................28 4.4.3 Japanese Intercity Passenger Trains........................................................28 4.4.4 French Intercity Railways.......................................................................30 5. Amtrak Accident History............................................................................................31