TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH Number E-C145 July 2010 Joint International Light Rail Conference Growth and Renewal April 19–21, 2009 Los Angeles, California Cosponsored by Transportation Research Board American Public Transportation Association TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD 2010 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OFFICERS Chair: Michael R. Morris, Director of Transportation, North Central Texas Council of Governments, Arlington Vice Chair: Neil J. Pedersen, Administrator, Maryland State Highway Administration, Baltimore Division Chair for NRC Oversight: C. Michael Walton, Ernest H. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering, University of Texas, Austin Executive Director: Robert E. Skinner, Jr., Transportation Research Board TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD 2010–2011 TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES COUNCIL Chair: Robert C. Johns, Associate Administrator and Director, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts Technical Activities Director: Mark R. Norman, Transportation Research Board Jeannie G. Beckett, Director of Operations, Port of Tacoma, Washington, Marine Group Chair Cindy J. Burbank, National Planning and Environment Practice Leader, PB, Washington, D.C., Policy and Organization Group Chair Ronald R. Knipling, Principal, safetyforthelonghaul.com, Arlington, Virginia, System Users Group Chair Edward V. A. Kussy, Partner, Nossaman, LLP, Washington, D.C., Legal Resources Group Chair Peter B. Mandle, Director, Jacobs Consultancy, Inc., Burlingame, California, Aviation Group Chair Mary Lou Ralls, Principal, Ralls Newman, LLC, Austin, Texas, Design and Construction Group Chair Daniel L. Roth, Managing Director, Ernst & Young Orenda Corporate Finance, Inc., Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Rail Group Chair Steven Silkunas, Director of Business Development, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Public Transportation Group Chair Peter F. Swan, Assistant Professor of Logistics and Operations Management, Pennsylvania State, Harrisburg, Middletown, Pennsylvania, Freight Systems Group Chair Katherine F. Turnbull, Executive Associate Director, Texas Transportation Institute, Texas A&M University, College Station, Planning and Environment Group Chair Daniel S. Turner, Professor, University of Alabama, and Director, University Transportation Center for Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Operations and Maintenance Group Chair TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH CIRCULAR E-C145 Joint International Light Rail Conference Growth and Renewal April 19–21, 2009 Los Angeles, California Cosponsored by Transportation Research Board and American Public Transportation Association July 2010 Transportation Research Board 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 www.TRB.org TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH CIRCULAR E-C145 ISSN 0097-8515 The Transportation Research Board is one of six major divisions of the National Research Council, which serves as an independent adviser to the federal government and others on scientific and technical questions of national importance. The National Research Council is jointly administered by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The mission of the Transportation Research Board is to provide leadership in transportation innovation and progress through research and information exchange, conducted within a setting that is objective, interdisciplinary, and multimodal. The Transportation Research Board is distributing this circular to make the information contained herein available for use by individual practitioners in state and local transportation agencies, researchers in academic institutions, and other members of the transportation research community. The information in this circular was taken directly from the submission of the authors. This document is not a report of the National Research Council or of the National Academy of Sciences. Public Transportation Group Karla H. Karash, Chair 2009 Joint Light Rail Conference Planning Committee John Wilkins, Chair Chair, TRB Light Rail Transit Committee Director, Capital Planning (retired), New Jersey Transit Corporation, Newark Winston Simmonds, Vice Chair Chair, APTA Light Rail Transit Technical Forum Rail Operation–Engineering Officer, Port Authority of Allegheny County, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Harvey Berliner, InfraCounsult LLC Jeffrey LaMora, Utah Transit Authority Jack W. Boorse, Parsons Brinckerhoff Thomas F. Larwin, Larwin Consulting Danielle Boutier, Los Angeles County Anthony Loui, Federal Transit Administration Metropolitan Transportation Authority Thomas G. Matoff, LTK Engineering Services Thomas J. Carmichael, Los Angeles County Paul O’Brien, Utah Transit Authority Metropolitan Transportation Authority Martin P. Schroeder, American Public Thomas B. Furmaniak, LTK Engineering Services Transportation Association Thomas R. Hickey, Metropolitan Transit Authority John Schumann, LTK Engineering Services of Harris County Gregory L. Thompson, Florida State University Charles Joseph, Sound Transit Peter Shaw, TRB Staff Representative Mary Kissi, Senior Program Associate, LRT Conference Proceedings Coordinator Transportation Research Board 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 www.TRB.org Glenda J. Beal, Production Editor; A. Regina Reid and Jennifer Correro, Proofreading and Layout Foreword he National Joint Light Rail Transit Conference: Growth and Renewal is the 11th T conference of the Transportation Research Board series that began in Philadelphia in 1975. The American Public Transportation Association became a cosponsor in 1995. At the Philadelphia conference, the technical sessions focused on introducing—or reintroducing—the concept of light rail transit (LRT) in North America. At that time there were eight systems in operation. Now, 34 years later, there are 30 systems in operation and eight systems in the planning, design, or construction phase in North America. The focus and related topics of the previous 10 national conferences have paralleled the development and reintroduction of LRT in North America: Introduction to LRT—1st National Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1975; Light Rail Transit: Planning and Technology—2nd National Conference, Boston, Massachusetts, 1978; Light Rail Transit: Planning, Design, and Implementation—3rd National Conference, San Diego, California, 1982; Light Rail Transit: System Design for Cost-Effectiveness—4th National Conference, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1985; Light Rail Transit: New System Successes at Affordable Prices—5th National Conference, San Jose, California, 1988; Light Rail Transit: Planning, Design, and Operating Experience—6th National Conference, Calgary, Canada, 1992; Building on Success, Learning from Experience—7th National Conference, Baltimore, Maryland, 1995; Light Rail: Investment for the Future—8th National Conference, Dallas, Texas, 2000; Light Rail: Experience, Economics, and Evolution: From Starter Lines to Growing Systems—9th National Conference, Portland, Oregon, 2003; and Light Rail Transit: A World of Applications and Opportunities—10th National Conference and First Joint International Light Rail Conference, St. Louis, Missouri, April, 2006. The technical information in the proceedings of these conferences (1–10) provides planners, designers, decision makers, and operators with a valuable collection of experiences and ingredients necessary for a successful transit development project. More than 350 public transportation industry experts from across the country met at the Los Angeles Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles for the 2009 Joint Light Rail Conference, April 19–21. Sponsored by the Transportation Research Board and the American Public Transportation Association and hosted by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the conference focused on the demands of rapidly growing light rail systems. With 15 sessions, five tours, a workshop, and a products and services showcase, the conference offered up-to-date information on planning, design, construction, iii maintenance, and operations involved in running a light rail system. Research papers and MTA exhibits were presented at a special “Meet the Authors” poster paper session. The objective of each conference is to add to the growing body of knowledge and real-world experiences with modern LRT applications in order to improve continually new systems being planned, as well as those already in operation. This proceeding of 24 peer-reviewed research papers exemplifies the vibrancy of the fields. Success can be fleeting, and we need to learn from past and current experience to do the best possible job of providing cost-effective public transportation services. The information, data, and research contained in this proceeding are meant to serve this need. —John D. Wilkins, Chair Chair, TRB Light Rail Transit Committee Director, Capital Planning, New Jersey Transit Corporation Newark, New Jersey —Winston Simmonds, Vice Chair Chair, APTA Light Rail Transit Technical Forum Rail Operations/Engineering, Officer Port Authority of Allegheny County Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania REFERENCES 1. Special Report 161: Light Rail Transport. TRB, National Research Council, Washington, D.C., 1975. 2. Special Report 182: Light-Rail Transit: Planning and Technology. TRB, National Research Council, Washington, D.C., 1978. 3. Special Report 195: Light Rail Transit: Planning, Design, and Implementation. TRB, National Research Council, Washington, D.C., 1982. 4. State-of-the-Art Report 2: Light Rail Transit: System Design for Cost-Effectiveness. TRB, National Research