Lecture -6

System for the Future

 Need for Improved Systems

Population growth.
Minimize travel time.
Pollution ( air, water, noise).
Energy efficiency of transport.
Uneven development of modes.
 Development Goals
What goals should govern research and development for the future?
There are several possible areas for improvement.
Speed
Accessibility
Intensive land use
Transport alternatives
 Development Goals-Speed
High speed is a definite need for intercity and corridor travel of the
future. If the extension of suburban areas and commuting travel
time continue, higher speeds will be needed to bring people and
goods to and from decentralized zones within urban complexes.
A major thrust is the reducing of door-to-door travel time to a
point that it is competitive with the air plus ground time of air
travel.
Commercial jet aircrafts already fly at speeds of 600+ mph. It is
probable that conventional land modes can be improved to move
at speeds of 125 to 200 mph.
The costs of developing new land modes at faster speeds demand
that speeds must be significantly higher to justify research and
development costs.
Hence 300 to 500 mph may be considered the probable range for
such vehicles.
Such speeds would permit one-day business round trips between
major city pairs.
 Development Goals-Accessibility

For urban transport, route flexibility is more significant than speed.

Accessibility to expanding land uses will be required.
Multi-mode devices or an automobile compatible with energy and
environmental resources or a combination of the two may be the
answer.
 Development Goals- Intensive Land Use

An entirely different approach is based on the type of land use

intended.
A decentralized sprawl requires an acceptable design of
individualized vehicle.
The intensive use of land, identified with high-rise living units,
assembled in small land areas and served by electronic high speed
elevators would best be served by a mass-transit type of system.
 Development Goals- Intensive Land Use
Urban sprawl or suburban sprawl describes the expansion of human
populations away from central urban areas into low-density, and
usually car-dependent communities, in a process called
suburbanization.
Development Goals- Intensive Land Use
 Development Goals- Transport Alternatives

Future development might well combine intensive

land with a greater reliance on transport
alternatives.
The possibilities of combining living quarters, work opportunities,
and shopping and entertainment in one high-rise building.
Small, self-centered cities and self-contained neighborhoods
within large cities are possible alternatives to the problems and
costs of transport.
 Development Goals- Transport Alternatives

Smart growth is an urban

planning and transportation
theory that concentrates
growth in compact
walkable urban centers to
avoid sprawl. It also
advocates compact, transit-
oriented, walkable, bicycle-
friendly land use, including
neighborhood schools,
complete streets, and
mixed-use development
with a range of housing
choices
Development Goals- Transport Alternatives [read only]

Mixed-use development is a type of

urban development that blends
residential, commercial, cultural,
institutional, or industrial uses,
where those functions are physically
and functionally integrated, and that
provides pedestrian connections.
Mixed-use development can take the
form of a single building, a city block,
or entire neighborhoods.
 Short Term Improvement
Walking
Bicycles
Rail improvements
Highways
Airways
 Short Term Improvement-Walking
Walking is a ready and available solution to urban transport
problems.
Walking can be encouraged by the construction of malls in the
CBDs and other activity areas, by the grouping of business and
other activity enterprises as in a shopping center, by providing over
or underpasses for the safe crossing of busy streets, and by covered
walkways to protect pedestrians from elements.
Walking may also be supplemented by moving sidewalks.
Landscaping and art displays that add interest to the walk provide
additional interests.
Short Term Improvement-Walking
 Short Term Improvement-Walking

Covered Walkways to Protect Pedestrians

Short Term Improvement-Walking

MOVING SIDEWALKS
 Short Term Improvement-Bicycles
Problems of traffic congestion and human health may be
solved by bicycle transport over distances of one to three
miles.
Safe and adequate bikeways to be provided to facilitate
direct access to destinations.
Short Term Improvement-Bicycles
 Short Term Improvement-Rail Improvements
Speed, comfort and dependability characterize rail travel.
State of the Art rapid transit cars combine new concepts in
automated control with improved springing and suspension,
coupling devices, heating, air-conditioning, and interior dcor and
comfort.
The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) [serving San Francisco Bay Area in
California] contains a variety of features that make rail suburban
service attractive
Features of innovative interests are; the systems of automatic train
control and dispatching, low noise levels, high speed, automatic
ticketing, electronic destination signs and pleasing dcor and
seating.
Light rail systems with lower construction and operating costs high
capacity and updated for speed and comfort are offering transport
solutions for cities too small ( less than 500,000 population) for full
scale rapid transit.
 Short Term Improvement-Rail Improvements [cont..)
Electrification of selected intercity rail lines is a likely prospect for
the near future, especially as liquid fuel shortages and demand for
less air pollution increase.
Concrete offers an alternative for the decreasing supply of tie
wood.
Automated classification yards and improved scheduling speed
traffic between and through terminals.
Automated car identification (ACI) and computerized control of car
movements, both loaded and empty , are improving the efficiency
of car usage.
Coordination between highway and rail is secured with trailer-on-
flat-car (TOFC) and containerization (COFC) with much package
freight being shifted.
 Characteristics of Rail Roads

TOFC: trailer on flatcars

COFC: container on flat car
 Short Term Improvement-Highways
Seat belt and shoulder harness.
Inflatable air cushions to reduce injury from collision impacts.
Electric energy for small vehicles making short trips in urban areas.
Electrically powered trolley bus.
Articulated bus capable of moving its two hinged sections with
over 100 passengers through the sharp turns of urban street and
traffic.
Automated and computerized traffic control to permit maximum
flow.
Designation of express lanes for buses (BRT) and car pools (HOV
Lane).
Contra lanes for bus operation reserve one lane of a multilane
facility for bus movement in a direction opposite to the normal use
of that lane. The direction of bus flow can be changed to
accommodate morning and evening peaks.
 Car
Pooling
HOV Lane and Sign
The HOV lanes in Highway
404 in Southern Ontario are
separated by a striped buffer
zone that breaks occasionally
to allow vehicles to enter and
exit the HOV lane.
 Short Term Improvement-Highways
The automated highway system is defined as "a lane or set of lanes
where specially equipped cars, trucks and buses could travel together
under computer control. Automated highway systems combine
various combinations of technologies:
Magnetic sensors could be imbedded along the highway lanes. Magnetometers
under the car's bumpers would sense the magnets and automatically keep the
cars in the center of the lane.
Networks of small computers would be installed in vehicles and along the sides
of roadways to coordinate the flow of traffic.
Digital radio equipment in each car would allow the computer on board to
communicate with other vehicles in the vicinity and with supervisory computers
monitoring the roadway.
Forward looking sensors: Using radar or an infrared laser, these sensors would
detect dangerous obstacles and other vehicles ahead.
Linked to computers that process images rapidly, video cameras could detect
dangerous obstacles and other vehicles ahead.
Mounted on the dashboard or projected onto the windshield, Visual Displays
would give the driver information about the operation of the vehicle.
 Short Term Improvement-Airways
The present speeds of 965 kph are not likely to be increased for
commercial jets. Higher speed cause marked increase in energy
consumption. Supersonic transport (SST) has adverse
environmental effects.
Helicopter use will be increased as feeder service and to give
accessibility to sites with limited landing areas.
The biggest improvement may occur on the ground to give greater
capacity and faster accessibility to airports and more speed and
comfort in moving through the terminal to and from the aircraft.
Improved building layout, use of moving sidewalks, intra-terminal
transport between buildings and departure gates, improved
luggage handling, and service to the airport by rapid transit are
means to this end.
 High Speed Systems
Very high-speed ground transport refers primarily to speeds of 300
mph or higher. It also refers primarily to passenger movement.
Speed in freight movement is more dependent on reduction in
terminal time than an increase in road speed.
Location: An underground tunnel location is usually considered for
very high-speed systems.
Human Problems: High speed itself combined with underground
location, poses certain specific problem.
o Acceleration and Deceleration Rates: An actual rate of
acceleration of 3 mph per second is considered maximum
desirable for the normal conditions of high speed rapid transit.
At this rate about 8 miles would be required to attain a speed
of 300 mph ( which means a limit of 16 miles of station
spacing for the system.
o Claustrophobia, a fear of confining places , presents a likely
hazard for those subject to its effects.
 High Speed Systems
Human Problems [cont]:
o Motion Sickness: Riders may experience nausea and
disorientation.
o Air Pressure: Pressure can build up inside vehicle, causing
physical discomfort. The rate of pressure change should exceed
0.10 psi per minute.
o Noise Levels: a conversational level of 55 dB should be
maintained. Sound must be kept below the 80-85 dB level at
which injury to the air may develop.
o Ventilation: Heat from motors and compacted air must be
dissipated and fresh air produced.
o Vibration: Both vertical and lateral vibration contributes to
motion sickness and fatigue. At vibratory rates of 20 to 30
cycles per second, the head tends to resonate and vision is
disturbed.
o Human Control: Human control is required for decision
making.
 High Speed Systems
Technological Problems: Many technological problems arise in
the effort to develop high speed ground transportation systems.
Propulsion
Power Pickup
Speed Control
Guidance
Support and Levitation
Magnetic Levitation
Earth Movements
Tunnel Construction
Air Compression
 Specific High-Speed Ground Concepts
Automatic Highway
Auto Carriers
Monorail
Maglev
Specific High-Speed Ground Concepts- Automatic Highway
Specific High-Speed Ground Concepts- Auto Carriers
 Specific High-Speed Ground Concepts- Monorail
A monorail is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail.
Specific High-Speed Ground Concepts- Monorail
 Specific High-Speed Ground Concepts- Maglev
Maglev (derived from magnetic levitation) is a transport method that
uses magnetic levitation to move vehicles without making contact
with the ground. With maglev, a vehicle travels along a guideway using
magnets to create both lift and propulsion, thereby reducing friction
by a great extent and allowing very high speeds