AUSTIN S NEW COMMUTER RAIL SERVICE

Transcription

1 AUSTIN S NEW COMMUTER RAIL SERVICE John Almond, P.E., Project Director Capital Metro Commuter Rail Project Team Richard Krisak, Director of Commuter Rail/ Railroad Management Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Patrick Jolly, P.E., Deputy Project Director Program Management Support Consultant to Capital Metro Lockwood, Andrews and Newnam, Inc. James Michel, P.E., Senior Project Engineer Program Management Support Consultant to Capital Metro Jacobs Engineering ABSTRACT The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (CMTA) Commuter Rail System (CRS) is a regional rail transit system planned under the auspices of the CMTA that will be constructed and operated from Downtown Austin, northwest through the residential and commercial areas of Travis and Williamson Counties and terminating at the Leander Park and Ride station. The service will use Diesel Multiple-Unit rolling stock and operate over 32-miles of the Giddings-Llano line known as the Central Sub-division on a temporal separation waiver from the FRA. CMTA owns the 165 miles of line that was purchased from the Southern Pacific Railroad in Currently, freight service is contracted to Trans-Global Solutions to serve on-line customers and interchange with the UPRR and BNSF at McNeil, Texas. The freight operator is responsible for all train operations and operates the entire property under yard limit rules using the General Code of Operating Rules (GCOR). CMTA has been improving the condition of the rail line in anticipation of starting passenger services in The project has selected a diesel- multiple unit (DMU) vehicle manufactured by Stadler that will incorporate the newest European mainline structural standards (pren 15227) employing crash energy management in which the operator and passengers are protected through use of controlled deformation in the non-occupied areas of the car. The car affords an equivalent level of safety to the North American 800,000 lb. buff strength, but requires an FRA waiver because of its unique design.

2 INTRODUCTION CMTA was created by an act of the State of Texas legislature to provide safe, reliable, convenient and cost-effective public transportation service throughout the three county Austin metropolitan area. CMTA provides over 7.75 million passenger trips annually on its existing network of local and express bus lines, linking major points in the region including state government facilities, the University of Texas, public and private sector employment centers, and recreational sites frequented by the region s citizens. As the entity that connects residents with employment, education, health care, and recreational opportunities, CMTA is vital to the region s economic well-being and to the quality of life of its 2.1 million residents. It is in fact the rapid growth of the region and resulting traffic congestion on area highways prompted the voters to approve the rail project referendum in November The City of Austin purchased 165 miles of freight lines from the Southern Pacific in 1985 to preserve local freight service and provide a basis for rail passenger service in the future. This foresight now serves as the foundation for expanding transportation options to the Austin area. The newest component of the CMTA transportation system is the planned Commuter Rail Service. The first phase is a 32-mile regional DMU transit system that will link the City of Leander with downtown Austin on a portion of existing CMTA-owned railroad right-of-way, referred to as the Central Subdivision. Subsequent phases may extend service into the downtown business district operating on city streets and to other communities east and south of Austin, potentially including the Austin Bergstrom International Airport. The CMTA CRS will interface with local bus, express bus, and Park and Ride interchange facilities to reduce automobile trips. Implementation of the project is the responsibility of CMTA s Commuter Rail Project Team, under the leadership of the Project Director. CMTA contracted with a team led by Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam and Jacobs Engineering to support the Project Director and CMTA staff as the Program Management Support Consultant (PMSC.) Together, the PMSC and CMTA project staff form the Commuter Rail Project Team.

3 EXISTING RIGHT-OF-WAY Using funds derived from freight revenue and capital grants, track structure and grade crossing protection have been undergoing a continuous improvement. CMTA has spent approximately $6 million on track upgrades in the commuter corridor over the past five years. They are currently constructing five sidings and renewing three crossings at a total cost of $3.7 million. Rail is either CWR or huck-bolted jointed rail. Grade crossing surfaces have been renewed on the Central sub-division and some of the busiest crossings have been equipped with four-quadrant gates. Most of the track in the passenger project limits meets FRA Class 4 even though the freight operations are conducted under Yard Limit rules at a maximum speed of 20 mph. The line crosses the Union Pacific at grade at McNeil, Texas, approximately fourteen miles north of Downtown Austin. Interchange tracks for the UP and BNSF as well as a yard for the freight operator are located at Abbott Yard, just east of McNeil. The UP line handles over 30 freights per day in addition to the Amtrak Texas Eagle. Early on, it was deemed absolutely necessary to grade separate this crossing to assure passenger service reliability as well as maintain safety with a non-fra compliant vehicle. CMTA freight operations consist of two to four trains daily, six days per week handling mostly aggregates and lime-based products produced in the many quarries and borrow pits in the region. On some weekends, there is a steam excursion operation operated by the Austin Steam Train Association (ASTA) that will ultimately be moved to the freight only tracks west of Leander. PLANNED IMPROVEMENTS The nine stations in the project will feature raised platforms for level boarding as well as standardized canopies and bus transfer facilities. Three stations will be Park-Ride facilities on the west end of the line including Leander, Lakeline, and Howard Lane. The line will remain single track with six passing sidings being constructed at several of the stations to accommodate the meets. The station designs have involved

4 local community groups and through the use of pick and choose color combinations of pavers and canopy finishes, the economy of standardization has been achieved while allowing local interests to create their own neighborhood identities. The passenger project will have power-operated turnouts on the sidings as well as power operated derails at the entry points to the shared trackage to block freight train movements from entering the shared area as prescribed by the FRA waiver. The dispatchers will be located in the new bus and train maintenance center, which is currently under construction. The dispatchers will also control the freight exclusive trackage with the installation of track warrant control. This provides the opportunity to double train speeds where track conditions allow. As indicated earlier, it is critical that a grade separation at McNeil be constructed. This will be incorporated into a single-track parallel passenger-only mainline around Abbott Yard, which effectively splits the 32 miles into two distinct operating zones. In this manner, a late clearing freight train will permit limited passenger operations to commence on a portion of the project minimizing the potential service disruption. The other consideration was that BNSF and UP freight crews can arrive at anytime and must have access to Abbott Yard interchange tracks to leave and pick-up their cars. By routing the passenger trains around the yard, there is no conflict. The grade separation will be constructed of standard AASHTO beams and MSE embankments using conventional light rail system grades.

5 VEHICLE DESIGN In its evaluation of rail vehicles suitable for this new service, CMTA sought a commercially available vehicle that could offer a one-seat ride operating on both the CMTA mainline and in city streets with tight curvature. CMTA considered both FRA compliant diesel multiple unit (DMU) vehicles (such as those in use on the Trinity Rail Express) and light rail style DMU vehicles. The selected vehicle is derived from European light rail designs but has been significantly upgraded to more closely resemble a mainline railroad diesel multiple unit vehicle. The six vehicles will be manufactured by Stadler and are similar in appearance and concept to the Southern New Jersey DMU being operated between Camden and Trenton. The passenger compartments consist of two car shells with driving cabs made from welded aluminum extrusions offering lightweight construction. The propulsion package is located in a single power module contained within a steel frame above the motor truck in the center of the vehicle unit. The central power module has two dieselgenerator sets providing power for auxiliaries and traction motors. Having the majority of the weight on the driving wheels provides maximum tractive-effort to negotiate grades and curves as would typically be found on an electric light rail system. These vehicles also have the ability to navigate tight curves in city streets making them suitable for future extensions into the Austin Central Business District while providing mainline performance on the 32 mile trip on private right-of-way.

6 The GTW was designed as a low-floor vehicle and developed to meet the needs of both urban and regional express rail services. Its features include a modular design and a clear, functional separation between the power module and the passenger areas. Boarding platforms will be level with the car floor promoting compliant ADA access at all doors. The vehicle has been designed for operation by one person as an independent railcar unit. However, up to four railcar units may be joined into a train. Special consideration was given to easy maintenance and servicing in the design of the vehicle. The components of the diesel-electric power installation require considerably less maintenance work compared to dieselmechanical power trains, due to the wear-free power transmission between the diesel-engine generator set and the electrical traction motors. This type of drive provides the superior solution for high operating

7 performance. All components in the power module that require maintenance are arranged for easy accessibility; all large components may be removed outwards. Accordingly, all maintenance work can be performed without cost-intensive or specialized workshop equipment. The GTW Type 4 vehicle represents the most modern and technologically advanced DMU design currently available and the very first commercially offered DMU to meet the new European Crash Energy Management (CEM) standards (pren 15227) that become effective in (The Force/Deformation diagram is shown as Figure 1) The GTW s design is also consistent with FRA research into CEM as evidenced by the vehicle crash testing at TTCI in REGULATORY ISSUES The CMTA system will utilize a temporal separation of freight and passenger operations on the shared tracks and will be a railroad fixed guideway system as defined in the Federal Transit Administration s ( FTA ) State Safety Oversight regulations, 49 CFR During the passenger-operating period, the CMTA will be subject to State Safety Oversight by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). Freight operations will remain under the jurisdiction of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) as will the signaling and track infrastructure. The petition for a shared use waiver has been filed with the FRA. SERVICE DESCRIPTION The start of service in 2008 will feature half hour frequency in the morning and evening rush hours and one or two mid-day trips. Freight operation will be restricted to non-passenger time periods through use of a central dispatching center that incorporates time managed positive blocking devices at the entry points to the shared tracks. As the system gains popularity, the plan is to introduce 15-minute headways in peak periods and service all day long. The track structure as designed will accommodate the decreased

8 headways. Planning is already underway for extensions into Austin s Central Business District along the Fourth Street Corridor as well as service to Manor, Texas to the east of Austin. In operating the passenger service, it is CMTA s intention to advertise for an experienced operator who will be expected to also manage the freight operations. This project differs from many others in that the control of passenger and freight service is controlled by a single entity. The new CTC system will be cutover in 2007 to allow the dispatchers to become familiar with the new rules and become qualified prior to the start of revenue passenger service. CMTA will retain management of the passenger marketing and revenue collection. Future expansion of rail service in the Austin region includes conventional locomotive-hauled commuter service on the Mo-Kan Corridor running north and south on the east side of Austin and potentially some commuter service on the UP line running north and south on the west side of Austin. CONCLUSION In November 2004, voters in CMTA s service area authorized the agency to implement commuter rail service. They also demanded that the service be operational before the next general election in November CMTA is well on the way to achieving this goal using only local funds. The Leander park-and-ride station is currently under construction and will commence operation with express bus service. Contracts have been let for the construction of sidings and the installation of additional four-quadrant crossing protection. The tie replacement and surfacing continues as a multi-year effort to get the entire 32-miles in excellent shape and ready for revenue service. Other station work packages as well as the train control system will be put out shortly. The grade separation at McNeil is designed and will be advertised later this year.

9 The six railcars are being fabricated in Europe. These are truly unique for North America and are consistent with the direction of the FRA for use of Crash Energy Management (CEM) in passenger train design and construction. While these are light rail style vehicles, they possess the operational behavior of a mainline DMU with the crashworthiness of a more conventional locomotive-hauled car in protecting the operator and passengers. To this end, CMTA is pleased to be a leader in introducing this technology and to create a rail service solution that improves the mobility and the environment of the Austin metropolitan area.

10 FIG. 1 - FORCE DIAGRAM

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