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An Examination of Amtrak's Acela High Speed Rail Simulator for FRA Research Purposes, 2001, S

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An Examination of Amtrak's Acela High Speed Rail Simulator for FRA Research Purposes, 2001, S An Examination of Amtrak’s Acela High Speed Rail Simulator for FRA Research Purposes Technical Memorandum Prepared by: Mr. Stephen Reinach Foster-Miller, Inc. 350 Second Avenue Waltham, MA 02154-1196 Prepared for: Dr. Thomas Raslear U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration Office of Research and Development Washington, D.C. 20593 April 2001 Preface This technical memorandum presents the results from a study designed to examine the applicability of the Amtrak Acela high speed rail simulator for human-centered research purposes. This work was performed under contract DTFR53-95-C-00049 for the Federal Railroad Administration Office of Research and Development. Dr. Thomas Raslear was the Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative. The author would like to thank Dr. Raslear and Mr. Michael Coplen, also of the FRA Office of Research and Development, for their guidance and support throughout this project. Special thanks are due to a number of individuals and companies who made this study possible. First and foremost, thanks are due to Amtrak, and in particular, Mr. Terry Foley, Mr. Harold Shaw, Mr. Jay Gilfillan and Mr. Mark Burris for enabling the author and the evaluation team to see and experience the Acela high speed rail simulator, and for providing valuable insights and answers to many questions. The author would also like to thank each of the evaluation team members—Dr. Jordan Multer, Dr. Judith Burki-Cohen, Mr. Dave Muller, Mr. Mike Bartelme and Dr. June Pilcher— for their contributions toward this technical memorandum! The findings from this study would not have been possible without their collective expertise. Thanks are also due to Mr. Charles Radgowski from Corys Training and Engineering Support Services (T.E.S.S.j for providing technical answers and information on the Acela simulator, and answering the author’s numerous questions throughout the project. The author would also like to thank several individuals from Foster-Miller. Thanks to Ms. Sarah Acton for her assistance in helping to research behavioral and physiological sensor technologies that can be used for human-centered research in a locomotive simulator. Thanks also to Mr. Jeff Crane for assisting in managing the evaluation team meeting, which played such an integral role in this research. Thanks, too, to Ms. Judith Gertler and Ms. Susan McDonough for reviewing, and providing important feedback to, drafts of this technical memorandum. Thanks are also due to Dr. Stephen Popkin, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (NTSC), for playing a key role in the initial formulation, planning and execution of this research; to Dr. Frederick Gamst for providing background materials on locomotive engineer operation; and to Mr. Robert Harvey, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, for reviewing and providing feedback on a draft of the locomotive engineer performance measures. The author also wishes to thank Mr. Richard Fisher of the Providence and Worcester Railroad, and Mr. Pierce Haviland of Metro North Railroad, for providing the author with opportunities to ride the head-ends o f a freight train and passenger train, respectively, and to experience what it “feels like” to be in the cab of an operating locomotive. Lastly, the illustrations on the cover of this technical memorandum and in Figure 2 have been provided by, and reprinted with permission from, Mr. Charles Radgowski and Corys T.E.S.S. m Contents____________________________________________________ Preface................................................................................................................................................ iii Contents...................................................................................................................................................... iv Figures........................................................................................................................................................ vi Tables............................................................... vii Abbreviations.............................................................................................. viii 1 Introduction .......................................... 5 1.1 Background.....................................................................................................................................5 1.2 Purpose .............................................. 5 1.3 Overall approach.... .......................................................................................................................6 1.4 Organization of the technical memorandum.............................................................................6 2 T echnical Approach..................................... 8 3 The Job of a Locomotive Engineer .......................................................................... ....................10 4 FRA Research Questions and Requirements ............................................... 12 4.1 Locomotive engineer human factors research questions ....................................................... 12 4.2 Simulator requirements ...............................................................................................................15 5 The Acela High Speed Rail Simulator........................................................................................ 17 5.1 Acela simulator configuration and operation.......................................................................... 17 5.1.1 Acela high speed rail simulator physical configuration.................................................17 5.1.2 Development and validation of the Acela high speed rail simulator...........................23 5.1.3 Programming the Acela high speed rail simulator......................................................... 25 5.1.4 Operating the Acela high speed rail simulator................................................................26 5.2 Acela high speed rail simulator data collection...................................................................... 26 5.2.1 Current Acela high speed rail simulator data collection...............................................27 5.2.2 Currently feasible Acela high speed rail simulator data collection.................... 27 5.2.3 Current Acela high speed rail simulator output............................................. 28 6 Modifications to the Acela High Speed Rail Simulator............................................................ 35 6.1 Desired Acela high speed rail simulator capabilities............................................................ 35 6.1.1 Scenario development and control................. 35 6.1.2 Data collection and reduction................................................................................... 37 6.1.3 Experimental control................................................................................ 44 6.2 Recommended modifications to the Acela high speed rail simulator ................................ 45 iv 6.2.1 Approach # 1 to Acela simulator modifications ........................................................... 45 6.2.2 Approach # 2 to Acela simulator modifications ........................................................... 47 6.3 Acela high speed rail simulator modification conclusions............................................ 52 7 Recommendations for the Design of a Conventional Locomotive Research Simulator..........................................................................................................................54 7.1 Functional areas.......................................................................................................................... 56 7.2 System architecture..................................................................................... 57 7.3 System requirements................................................................................. 58 \ 7.4 Operational requirements........................................................................................................... 59 7.5 Data collection requirements......................................................................................................61 7.6 Physical and experiential requirements........................................................................ 62 7.7 Simulator fidelity.............................................................................................................. 63 7.7.1 Simulator fidelity defined....................................................................... 63 7.7.2 Simulator fidelity technical issues.................................................................................. 65 7.7.3 Locomotive simulator fidelity considerations .............................................................. 68 8 Key Findings and Recommendations............................................................................................71 8.1 Acela high speed rail simulator................................................................................................ 71 8.2 Possible development of a conventional locomotive simulator............................................72 9 References.................................................................................................... 74 Appendix A: Evaluation Team Member Biographies....................................................................... 75 Appendix B: Physiological and Behavioral Sensor Technologies.....................................................77 v Figures _________ _________ . __________________________
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