2013 Session: 586

• Examining Accelerated Transit Operations Using the Directness Factor
  Abstract: The past 20 years have witnessed a remarkable period of growth for commuter rail. The potential to share existing infrastructure has made this mode of transportation an attractive solution to challenges posed by population growth and rising fuel costs. The increasing value placed on urban planning strategies that promote density has also boosted the attractiveness of this mode. This popularity has driven up demand for high levels of service performance – defined by trip times that are competitive with automobile travel and high rates of cost recovery relative to other transit modes. Therefore, developing and implementing strategies that reduce travel time and improve asset utilization has become a timely and appropriate consideration for commuter rail planners. This paper introduces the directness factor, a measure that can facilitate the evaluation of transit service alternatives by synthesizing timetable characteristics that may otherwise require an extended explanation. For organizations considering options for accelerated service, defined as service plans where not all trains serve all stations, this measure can help identify the connections between timetable alternatives and system performance. For sketch-level planning exercises, where limited information and institutional resources are available, it can be used to focus questions and structure more intensive investigations. Within the current range of available planning and evaluation tools, it is intended to fill a gap between extended descriptions of service at stops on a specific line and modeled service demand and operating characteristics. The paper will consider three specific implementations of accelerated service on American commuter railroads and use the directness factor to analyze the impact of those improvements.
  Authors: Cornillie, Thomas C.
  Authors: Cornillie, Thomas C.
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Planning and Forecasting; Railroads; Public Transportation; Rail
  Session: 586
  Paper Number: 13-0090
• Revenue and Environmental Benefits of New Off-Peak Commuter Rail Service: Case of Pascack Valley Line in New Jersey
  Abstract: Although researchers have long argued in favor of off-peak transit service, studies that have empirically estimated its benefits regarding revenue generation, trip diversions, and greenhouse gas emission are rare. This study provides important evidence about the benefits of off-peak commuter rail service by focusing on the Pascack Valley line in New Jersey, where off-peak service was introduced in October 2007. The research involved two focus groups and an onboard survey of passengers. Benefits were estimated regarding additional revenue generation, reduction in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. Based on analysis of survey data, the study provides estimates of additional revenue generated from the new service, reduction in VMT because of diversions from other modes to the line, and net reduction in GHG. The research shows that both peak period and off-peak riders benefited from the new off-peak service. Evidence is found about a significant diversion of trips from automobile to transit, an increase in new transit riders, and a modest increase peak period usage because of the off-peak service.
  Authors: Deka, Devajyoti; Marchwinski, Thomas W.
  Authors: Deka, Devajyoti; Marchwinski, Thomas W.
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Planning and Forecasting; Railroads; Public Transportation; Rail
  Session: 586
  Paper Number: 13-3756
  Practice-Ready: Yes
• Right-Sizing Conductor Roster at Metro-North Railroad: Model Development and Application
  Abstract: MTA Metro-North Railroad (Metro-North), like many US commuter railroads, collects fares manually on-board or verifies that a valid time-based ticket is held by the customer using on-board visual inspection methods. If insufficient personnel are available to perform these functions, there is potential for lost revenue. Daily personnel availability is typically a result of fluctuating absence levels and unscheduled work such as flagging for capital projects. Each day after all available FTEs (full time equivalents) and FTEs available to work overtime have been assigned to assignments, if any assignments still remain open they will not be filled. When an assignment is not filled it is referred to as a “blanked” assignment at Metro-North. The cost of blanking an engineer or conductor assignment is very high as this would result in annulling a train; thus engineers and conductors are always staffed to a level where this will rarely if ever occur. However, the cost of having insufficient ticket collectors, a task fulfilled by assistant conductors at Metro-North, will depend on the revenue exposure if one or more ticket collector assignments are not filled (and therefore fares are not collected / verified). There are many factors that influence revenue exposure and these will vary by system depending on fare policy and operating characteristics. Revenue exposure becomes a key factor in determining the optimal assistant conductor staffing level, which is the staffing level that produces the overall minimum cost. Increasing staffing is one way to reduce both overtime and blanked assignments, but this comes at a cost of training new hires and paying additional wages and benefits. Previously the Operations Services and Operations Planning Departments at Metro-North determined the engineer, conductor and assistant conductor staffing needs based on data analysis (customer counts, schedules, usage patterns) experience and rules of thumb. However, this process was difficult to explain and it lacked transparency. Furthermore, over the past few years Metro-North has found it increasingly difficult to cover all of its assistant conductor assignments each day. This is largely a result of Metro-North policies aimed at reducing overtime, combined with a recently instated longer training program for assistant conductors necessitating additional lead time in work force planning. Expected to further exacerbate this issue is an anticipated high level of retirements in 2013 and reduced overtime potential due to the Federal Railway Administration’s Passenger Hours of Service Regulation. Assessing the impacts of all of these factors required a new method of evaluating staffing needs. Metro-North chose to take a detailed and analytical approach to address this issue by building a sophisticated and complex model in-house to determine the optimal number of engineers, conductors, and especially assistant conductors. The model was designed to be used by the Operations Services department to right-size the assistant conductor roster and was successfully used to justify the staffing levels and actions to senior management. The model balances and weights all of the varying requirements including the cost of training a new FTE as well as the potential for revenue loss as a result of blanking an assignment, and determines the most cost effective solution
  Authors: Schwarcz, Stacey; Bernstein, Jeffrey
  Authors: Schwarcz, Stacey; Bernstein, Jeffrey
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Planning and Forecasting; Railroads; Public Transportation; Rail
  Session: 586
  Paper Number: 13-0426
  Practice-Ready: Yes
• Real-Time Optimization of Commuter Rail Feeder Systems
  Abstract: Commuter rail systems, operating on unused or under-used railroad rights-of-way, are being introduced into many urban transportation systems. Since locations of available rail rights-of-way were typically chosen long ago to serve the needs of rail freight customers, the majority of commuter rail users do not live or work within walking distance of potential commuter rail stations. Minimizing access time to rail stations and final destinations is crucial if commuter rail is to be a viable option for commuters. This paper focuses on real time optimization of the Commuter Rail Circulator Route Network Design Problem (CRCNDP) supposing that real-time demand data can be obtained partially through users’ smart phone app. The route configuration of the circulator system – where to stop and the route among the stops – is determined on a real-time basis by employing adaptive Tabu Search to quickly solve a Mixed Integer Programming problem with an objective to minimize total cost incurred to both transit users and transit operators. Numerical experiments are executed and methodologies are proposed to find the threshold for the minimum fraction of travelers that would need to report their destinations via smart phone to guarantee the practical value of optimization based on real-time collected demand against a base case defined as the average performance of all possible routes.
  Authors: Yu, Yao; Machemehl, Randy B.
  Authors: Yu, Yao; Machemehl, Randy B.
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Planning and Forecasting; Railroads; Public Transportation; Rail
  Session: 586
  Paper Number: 13-2204
• Analyzing Commuter Train User Behavior: Decision Framework for Access Mode and Station Choice
  Abstract: The purpose of the current research effort is to develop a framework for a better understanding of commuter train users’ mode and station choice behavior. Typically, mode and station choice for commuter train users is modeled as a hierarchical choice with mode being considered as the first choice in the sequence. The current study proposes a latent segmentation based approach to relax the hierarchy. In particular, this innovative approach simultaneously considers two segments of station and access mode choice behavior: Segment 1 - station first and mode second and Segment 2 – mode first and station second. The allocation to the two segments is achieved through a latent segmentation approach that determines the probability of assigning the individual to either of these segments as a function of socio-demographic variables, level of service (LOS) parameters, trip characteristics, land-use and built environment factors, and station characteristics. The proposed approach offers many advantages compared to the traditional alternatives. First, we gain a better understanding of the decision processes by examining who are the individuals who choose the station (or mode) first. Second, the approach proposed is free from simulation and easy to implement. Third, the results from our analysis will provide insights to transit agencies on how to improve transit service to reduce the automobile travel to commuter train stations. The proposed latent segment model is estimated using data from an on-board survey conducted by the Agence Métropolitaine de Transport (AMT) for commuter train users in Montreal region. The proposed model is employed to investigate the role of socio-demographic variables, LOS parameters, trip characteristics, land-use and built environment factors, and station characteristics on commuter train user behavior. The model results are employed for prediction of commuter train user behavior on a hold-out validation sample. Our data validation clearly illustrates the enhanced predictive power offered by the latent segmentation model.
  Authors: Chakour, Vincent; Eluru, Naveen
  Authors: Chakour, Vincent; Eluru, Naveen
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Planning and Forecasting; Railroads; Public Transportation; Rail
  Session: 586
  Paper Number: 13-2688
• Examining Accelerated Transit Operations Using the Directness Factor
  Authors: Cornillie, Thomas
  Authors: Cornillie, Thomas
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Rail; AICP Certification Maintenance Session; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation
  Session: 586
  Paper Number: 13-0090
• Right-Sizing Conductor Roster at Metro-North Railroad: Model Development and Application
  Authors: Bernstein, Jeff
  Authors: Bernstein, Jeff
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Rail; AICP Certification Maintenance Session; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation
  Session: 586
  Paper Number: 13-0426
• Real-Time Optimization of Commuter Rail Feeder Systems
  Authors: Yu, Yao
  Authors: Yu, Yao
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Rail; AICP Certification Maintenance Session; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation
  Session: 586
  Paper Number: 13-2204
• Analyzing Commuter Train User Behavior: Decision Framework for Access Mode and Station Choice
  Authors: Chakour, Vincent
  Authors: Chakour, Vincent
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Rail; AICP Certification Maintenance Session; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation
  Session: 586
  Paper Number: 13-2688
• Revenue and Environmental Benefits of New Off-Peak Commuter Rail Service: Case of Pascack Valley Line in New Jersey
  Authors: Deka, Devajyoti
  Authors: Deka, Devajyoti
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Rail; AICP Certification Maintenance Session; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation
  Session: 586
  Paper Number: 13-3756