Factors Affecting Commuter Rail Energy Efficiency and Its Comparison with Competing Passenger Transportation Modes
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
FACTORS AFFECTING COMMUTER RAIL ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND ITS COMPARISON WITH COMPETING PASSENGER TRANSPORTATION MODES BY GIOVANNI C. DIDOMENICO THESIS Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Civil Engineering in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2015 Urbana, Illinois Advisers: Professor Christopher P.L. Barkan Senior Research Engineer C. Tyler Dick, P.E. ABSTRACT As concerns about the environmental impacts and sustainability of the transportation sector continue to grow, modal energy efficiency is a factor of increasing importance when evaluating benefits and costs of transportation systems and justifying future investment. Poor assumptions on the efficiency of the system can alter the economics of investment in commuter rail. This creates a need to understand the factors affecting commuter rail energy efficiency and the comparison to competing passenger transportation modes to aid operators and decision makers in the development of new commuter rail lines and the improvement of existing services. This thesis describes analyses to further understand the factors affecting the current energy efficiency of commuter rail systems, how their efficiency may be improved through implementation of various technologies, and how their efficiency compares to competing modes of passenger transportation. After reviewing the literature, it was evident that past studies often conducted energy efficiency analyses and modal comparisons using methods that favored one energy source or competing mode by neglecting losses in the system. Therefore, four methods of energy efficiency analysis were identified and applied to 25 commuter rail systems in the United States using data from the National Transit Database (NTD). Using the same database, an analysis of trends in energy efficiency exhibited by the United States commuter rail systems was conducted. To understand the effects of congestion, traffic heterogeneity, operational parameters, and infrastructure characteristics on energy efficiency of passenger trains, single and multi- variable analyses were conducted. Simulations in Rail Traffic Controller (RTC) provided energy consumption results that were used in the statistical analyses. The results illustrated the effects of congestion due to increased freight and passenger traffic on a single-track freight-owned railroad. The effect of alternative scheduling patterns on energy intensity was analyzed through a case study of operations on one existing commuter rail line. Using the Multimodal Passenger Simulation Tool (MMPASSIM), the energy consumption of the current operations and proposed schedules of local, zonal, skip-stop and express train stopping patterns during a weekday peak period were simulated. A trade-off between improved passenger service through reduced travel times and energy consumption was evident in the results. MMPASSIM was also used to simulate the effects of technologies and strategies to increase energy efficiency and improve service ii levels. Changes such as electrification, driver advisory systems, equipment modifications, and slow zone reductions were evaluated for their effect on energy efficiency and service metrics. Finally, MMPASSIM was used to compare the energy intensity of the same commuter rail service to competing modes of passenger transportation for equivalent commuter trips. The rail service was evaluated under local, zonal, and skip-stop patterns and compared to automobile and bus trips under off-peak and peak highway congestion levels. Load factor sensitivity charts were developed, showing lines of equal energy intensity of rail and competing modes across a range of modal load factors. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My passion for passenger rail transportation may have ended as a general interest if it weren’t for the opportunity to study and conduct research with the Rail Transportation and Engineering Center (RailTEC) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Besides the extensive railroad engineering curriculum and research program, RailTEC is led by faculty and staff that care deeply about students and their success. Not only have I received a world-class education in my time here, but I have been challenged professionally and personally. This would not have been without the efforts of Dr. Christopher P.L. Barkan and C. Tyler Dick. Dr. Barkan has redeveloped the RailTEC program to be a leader in railroad engineering education and research. C. Tyler Dick, my adviser, has been instrumental in my growth during my time here. He has an analytical mind that is brilliant at conceptualizing trends and cause-and- effect relationships. He has challenged me to work hard, do excellent research, and encouraged me when I made mistakes. This research was supported financially by the National University Rail (NURail) Center (a US DOT-OST Tier 1 University Transportation Center), the Association of American Railroads (AAR), and the National Cooperative Rail Research Program (NCRRP) of the Transportation Research Board (TRB). Special thanks are given to Gordon English and Thomas Moynihan at TranSys Research Ltd. for their collaboration and help in using MMPASSIM. I would like to thank Garrett Fullerton, who entered the program with me and continually helped me with my research and navigating graduate school in general. Mei-Cheng Shih and Ivan Atanassov were extremely helpful with the RTC cases. Nao Nishio and Taskin Sehitoglu, Undergraduate Research Assistants, helped conduct several of the analyses in this thesis. Also, my colleagues in Room B- 118 (and now 3214) deserve thanks for their friendship and fun times in and out of the office. My parents (Charles, Loretta, Mardell, and Mark) have been a great support and encouragement during my time in Champaign. I am certain I would not have been able to complete my degree, or this thesis, without their upbringing. Nancy and David, my parents-in- law, have also been a tremendous support after our move to Illinois. Finally, I owe the greatest of thanks to my wife, Brooke, who has supported me in pursuing my passion daily since we left our friends and newly-planted roots in Colorado and moved to Champaign, Illinois. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Literature Review .................................................................................................3 Chapter 3: Methods of Analyzing and Comparing Energy Efficiency of Passenger Rail Systems .......................................................................................29 Chapter 4: Analysis of Trends in Commuter Rail Energy Efficiency ............................... 49 Chapter 5: Effects of Congestion on Passenger Rail Energy Efficiency ...........................69 Chapter 6: Introduction to Multimodal Passenger Simulation Tool (MMPASSIM) and Creating Highway Grade Distributions and Congestion Characterizations Using GIS Tools ...................................................................................................83 Chapter 7: Influence of System Characteristics and Scheduling Patterns on Commuter Rail Energy Efficiency.........................................................................................95 Chapter 8: Effects of Energy-Saving Technologies and Service Improvements on Energy Intensity of Commuter Rail: Case Study ...........................................116 Chapter 9: Energy Intensity of Commuter Rail Compared with Competing Passenger Travel Modes: Case Study ...............................................................................128 Chapter 10: General Findings, Conclusions and Future Work .........................................139 References Cited.................................................................................................143 v CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Purpose The purpose of this research is to identify and analyze factors affecting commuter rail system energy efficiency and its comparison with competing passenger travel modes. 1.2 Background As concerns about the environmental impacts and sustainability of the transportation sector continue to grow, modal energy efficiency is increasingly important when evaluating the benefits and costs of future transportation system investment in commuter rail operations. Increased energy efficiency of passenger rail systems compared to other modes is often cited as a justification for new investment. Commuter rail is best characterized as a passenger rail service operating between a downtown area of a major city and the outlying suburban areas on conventional railroad infrastructure. In many metropolitan areas, this trackage may be shared with freight rail operations (Brock & Souleyrette 2013). Commuter rail typically moves riders longer distances within the greater metropolitan area of a city or region, compared to light or heavy rail rapid transit that more typically moves passengers within the city, or intercity passenger rail that covers longer distances between cities and metropolitan regions (Brock & Souleyrette 2013). Environmental concerns of energy efficiency and emissions reductions are integral in regional planning, especially in urban areas where highways and roads can become increasingly congested. Commuter rail in the United States (US) has experienced a renaissance in recent years, with rapid growth both in ridership and the number of systems in operation. Commuter rail ridership