Track design handbook for light rail transit

695 Pages·2012·33.41 MB·English

by  National Research Council (U.S.). Transportation Research Board.

TCRP
TRANSIT
COOPERATIVE
RESEARCH
PROGRAM
REPORT 155
Sponsored by
the Federal
Transit Administration
Track Design Handbook
for Light Rail Transit
Second Edition
TCRP OVERSIGHT AND PROJECT TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD 2012 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE*
SELECTION COMMITTEE*
CHAIR OFFICERS
Keith Parker Chair: Sandra Rosenbloom, Professor of Planning, University of Arizona, Tucson
VIA Metropolitan Transit
ViCe Chair: Deborah H. Butler, Executive Vice President, Planning, and CIO, Norfolk Southern
Corporation, Norfolk, VA
MEMBERS
exeCutiVe DireCtor: Robert E. Skinner, Jr., Transportation Research Board
John Bartosiewicz
McDonald Transit Associates MEMBERS
Michael Blaylock
Jacksonville Transportation Authority J. Barry Barker, Executive Director, Transit Authority of River City, Louisville, KY
Raul Bravo William A.V. Clark, Professor of Geography and Professor of Statistics, Department of Geography,
Raul V. Bravo & Associates University of California, Los Angeles
Terry Garcia Crews Eugene A. Conti, Jr., Secretary of Transportation, North Carolina DOT, Raleigh
Metro Cincinnati James M. Crites, Executive Vice President of Operations, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, TX
Carolyn Flowers
Paula J. C. Hammond, Secretary, Washington State DOT, Olympia
Charlotte Area Transit System
Michael W. Hancock, Secretary, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Frankfort
Angela Iannuzziello
Chris T. Hendrickson, Duquesne Light Professor of Engineering, Carnegie-Mellon University,
Genivar Consultants
John Inglish Pittsburgh, PA
Utah Transit Authority Adib K. Kanafani, Professor of the Graduate School, University of California, Berkeley
Paul Jablonski Gary P. LaGrange, President and CEO, Port of New Orleans, LA
San Diego Metropolitan Transit System Michael P. Lewis, Director, Rhode Island DOT, Providence
Sherry Little Susan Martinovich, Director, Nevada DOT, Carson City
Spartan Solutions LLC Joan McDonald, Commissioner, New York State DOT, Albany
Jonathan H. McDonald
Michael R. Morris, Director of Transportation, North Central Texas Council of Governments, Arlington
HNTB Corporation
Tracy L. Rosser, Vice President, Regional General Manager, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Mandeville, LA
Gary W. McNeil
Henry G. (Gerry) Schwartz, Jr., Chairman (retired), Jacobs/Sverdrup Civil, Inc., St. Louis, MO
GO Transit
Beverly A. Scott, General Manager and CEO, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, Atlanta, GA
Bradford Miller
Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority David Seltzer, Principal, Mercator Advisors LLC, Philadelphia, PA
Frank Otero Kumares C. Sinha, Olson Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering, Purdue University,
PACO Technologies West Lafayette, IN
Peter Rogoff Thomas K. Sorel, Commissioner, Minnesota DOT, St. Paul
FTA Daniel Sperling, Professor of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science and Policy; Director, Institute
Jeffrey Rosenberg of Transportation Studies; and Acting Director, Energy Efficiency Center, University of California, Davis
Amalgamated Transit Union
Kirk T. Steudle, Director, Michigan DOT, Lansing
Richard Sarles
Douglas W. Stotlar, President and CEO, Con-Way, Inc., Ann Arbor, MI
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
C. Michael Walton, Ernest H. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering, University of Texas, Austin
Michael Scanlon
San Mateo County Transit District
EX OFFICIO MEMBERS
James Stem
United Transportation Union Rebecca M. Brewster, President and COO, American Transportation Research Institute, Smyrna, GA
Gary Thomas
Anne S. Ferro, Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, U.S.DOT
Dallas Area Rapid Transit
LeRoy Gishi, Chief, Division of Transportation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the
Frank Tobey
Interior, Washington, DC
First Transit
Matthew O. Tucker John T. Gray II, Senior Vice President, Policy and Economics, Association of American Railroads,
North County Transit District Washington, DC
Phillip Washington John C. Horsley, Executive Director, American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Denver Regional Transit District Officials, Washington, DC
Alice Wiggins-Tolbert Michael P. Huerta, Acting Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S.DOT
Parsons Brinckerhoff David T. Matsuda, Administrator, Maritime Administration, U.S.DOT
Michael P. Melaniphy, President and CEO, American Public Transportation Association, Washington, DC
EX OFFICIO MEMBERS
Victor M. Mendez, Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, U.S.DOT
Michael P. Melaniphy Tara O’Toole, Under Secretary for Science and Technology, U.S. Department of Homeland Security,
APTA Washington, DC
Robert E. Skinner, Jr. Robert J. Papp (Adm., U.S. Coast Guard), Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Department
TRB
of Homeland Security, Washington, DC
John C. Horsley
Cynthia L. Quarterman, Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration,
AASHTO
U.S.DOT
Victor Mendez
FHWA Peter M. Rogoff, Administrator, Federal Transit Administration, U.S.DOT
David L. Strickland, Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S.DOT
TDC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Joseph C. Szabo, Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration, U.S.DOT
Polly Trottenberg, Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy, U.S.DOT
Louis Sanders
APTA Robert L. Van Antwerp (Lt. Gen., U.S. Army), Chief of Engineers and Commanding General,
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, DC
SECRETARY Barry R. Wallerstein, Executive Officer, South Coast Air Quality Management District,
Diamond Bar, CA
Christopher W. Jenks
TRB Gregory D. Winfree, Acting Administrator, Research and Innovative Technology Administration,
U.S.DOT
*Membership as of December 2011. *Membership as of March 2012.
T R A N S I T C O O P E R AT I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M
TCRP
REPORT 155
Track Design Handbook
for Light Rail Transit
Second Edition
Parsons Brinckerhoff, inc.
Washington, DC
in association with
Metro tech consulting services, engineering & architecture, P.c.
New York, NY
track guy consultants
Canonsburg, PA
Wilson, ihrig & associates, inc.
Emeryville, CA
Subscriber Categories
Public Transportation • Railroads
Research sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration in cooperation with the Transit Development Corporation
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD
WASHINGTON, D.C.
2012
www.TRB.org
TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM TCRP REPORT 155
The nation’s growth and the need to meet mobility, environmental, Project D-14
and energy objectives place demands on public transit systems. Current ISSN 1073-4872
systems, some of which are old and in need of upgrading, must expand ISBN 978-0-309-25824-1
service area, increase service frequency, and improve efficiency to serve Library of Congress Control Number 2012940282
these demands. Research is necessary to solve operating problems, to
© 2012 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
adapt appropriate new technologies from other industries, and to intro-
duce innovations into the transit industry. The Transit Cooperative
Research Program (TCRP) serves as one of the principal means by
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
which the transit industry can develop innovative near-term solutions
to meet demands placed on it. Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining
The need for TCRP was originally identified in TRB Special Report written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously
published or copyrighted material used herein.
213—Research for Public Transit: New Directions, published in 1987
and based on a study sponsored by the Urban Mass Transportation Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this
publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the
Administration—now the Federal Transit Admin istration (FTA). A
understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA,
report by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), FMCSA, FTA, or Transit Development Corporation endorsement of a particular product,
Transportation 2000, also recognized the need for local, problem- method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for
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research and other technical activities in response to the needs of tran-
sit service providers. The scope of TCRP includes a variety of transit
research fields including planning, service configuration, equipment,
NOTICE
facilities, operations, human resources, maintenance, policy, and
administrative practices. The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the Transit Cooperative Research
Program, conducted by the Transportation Research Board with the approval of the
TCRP was established under FTA sponsorship in July 1992. Pro-
Governing Board of the National Research Council.
posed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, TCRP was autho-
The members of the technical panel selected to monitor this project and to review this
rized as part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act
report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance.
of 1991 (ISTEA). On May 13, 1992, a memorandum agreement out- The report was reviewed by the technical panel and accepted for publication according to
lining TCRP operating procedures was executed by the three cooper- procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved
by the Governing Board of the National Research Council.
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Transportation Research Board (TRB); and the Transit Development The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this report are those of the
researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation
Corporation, Inc. (TDC), a nonprofit educational and research orga-
Research Board, the National Research Council, or the program sponsors.
nization established by APTA. TDC is responsible for forming the
The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the National Research
independent governing board, designated as the TCRP Oversight and
Council, and the sponsors of the Transit Cooperative Research Program do not endorse
Project Selection (TOPS) Committee.
products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because
Research problem statements for TCRP are solicited periodically but they are considered essential to the object of the report.
may be submitted to TRB by anyone at any time. It is the responsibility
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to reach the intended audience, special emphasis is placed on dissemi-
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nating TCRP results to the intended end users of the research: tran-
sit agencies, service providers, and suppliers. TRB provides a series TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM
of research reports, syntheses of transit practice, and other support- are available from:
ing material developed by TCRP research. APTA will arrange for
Transportation Research Board
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that results are implemented by urban and rural transit industry 500 Fifth Street, NW
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The TCRP provides a forum where transit agencies can cooperatively and can be ordered through the Internet at
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C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M S
CRP STAFF FOR TCRP REPORT 155
Christopher W. Jenks, Director, Cooperative Research Programs
Crawford F. Jencks, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs
Stephan A. Parker, Senior Program Officer
Megha Khadka, Senior Program Assistant
Eileen P. Delaney, Director of Publications
Ellen M. Chafee, Editor
TCRP PROJECT D-14 PANEL
Field of Engineering of Fixed Facilities
Charles L. Stanford, North Olmsted, OH (Chair)
David N. Bilow, Skokie, IL
Arthur J. Keffler, Leesburg, VA
Kenneth J. Kirse, Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District, Portland, OR
Dingqing Li, Transportation Technology Center, Inc., Pueblo, CO
Eric Madison, District of Columbia DOT, Washington, DC
Najmedin Meshkati, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
William H. Moorhead, TRAMMCO, LLC, Smithfield, VA
David F. Peterson, AECOM, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Jessica Shaw, FTA Liaison
Martin Schroeder, APTA Liaison
Peter Shaw, TRB Liaison
Jennifer Rosales, TRB Liaison
Ann Purdue, TRB Liaison
F O R E W O R D
By Stephan A. Parker
Staff Officer
Transportation Research Board
TCRP Report 155: Track Design Handbook for Light Rail Transit, Second Edition provides
guidelines and descriptions for the design of various common types of light rail transit
(LRT) track. The track structure types include ballasted track, direct fixation (“ballastless”)
track, and embedded track. The components of the various track types are discussed in
detail. The guidelines consider the characteristics and interfaces of vehicle wheels and rail,
tracks and wheel gauges, rail sections, alignments, speeds, and track moduli. The Hand-
book includes chapters on vehicles, alignment, track structures, track components, special
trackwork, aerial structures/bridges, corrosion control, noise and vibration, signals, traction
power, and the integration of LRT track into urban streets. These chapters provide insight
into other systems that impact the track design and require interface coordination. In
addition, the Handbook includes chapters on the construction and maintenance of LRT
trackwork. This Handbook will be of interest to designers, operators, manufacturers, and
those maintaining LRT systems.
In the research effort led by Parsons Brinckerhoff, Inc., the research team collected over
500 documents related to the topic through literature searches and contacts with professional
colleagues, agencies, and the industry. The collected information was uploaded to a project
collaboration website. Site visits were made to the San Francisco Municipal Railway and
the two LRT systems in Germany. In addition, numerous contacts were made by phone or
e-mail with operating agency LRT personnel.
The primary focus of the first phase of work was to identify opportunities to improve on
the first edition of the Handbook (published in 2000 as TCRP Report 57), collect and analyze
information addressing those opportunities, and identify an action plan for the revised
Handbook. The second phase was concerned with the production of the revised Handbook,
incorporating the findings of the first phase and including such additional investigations as
might be required, plus the production of a final report documenting all efforts.
This Handbook and a PowerPoint presentation describing the entire project are available
on the TRB website at http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/166970.aspx.
AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The research for and development of the Track Design Handbook for Light Rail Transit, Second Edition,
was performed under TCRP Project D-14 by a team including PB Americas, Inc. (also known as Parsons
Brinckerhoff or PB), Wilson, Ihrig & Associates, Inc. (WIA), Metro Tech Consulting Services, Engineer-
ing & Architecture, P.C. (MT), and Track Guy Consultants (TGC). Parsons Brinckerhoff was the prime
contractor and Lawrence G. Lovejoy, P.E., was the principal investigator. Subcontractor responsibilities
included the following:
• Vehicle issues were addressed by Metro Tech.
• Noise and vibration investigations were done by Wilson, Ihrig & Associates.
• LRT track construction and maintenance topics were addressed by Track Guy Consultants.
While all members of the team contributed to virtually all of the individual chapters, the principal and
secondary authors of each of the Handbook chapters (and their affiliations) were as follows:
Chapter 1 General Introduction: Lawrence G. Lovejoy, P.E. (PB)
Chapter 2 Light Rail Transit Vehicles: Stelian Canjea (MT) and Lawrence G. Lovejoy, P.E.
Chapter 3 Light Rail Transit Track Geometry: Lawrence G. Lovejoy, P.E., and Gordon W. Martyn (PB)
Chapter 4 Track Structure Design: Gordon W. Martyn, Thomas R. Carroll, P.E., and Lawrence G.
Lovejoy, P.E.
Chapter 5 Track Components and Materials: Gordon W. Martyn and Lawrence G. Lovejoy, P.E.
Chapter 6 Special Trackwork: Lawrence G. Lovejoy, P.E., and Gordon W. Martyn
Chapter 7 Structures and Bridges: David A. Charters, P.E. (PB) and Jason Doughty, P.E. (PB)
Chapter 8 Corrosion Control: Geradino A. Pete, P.E. (PB), Herbert S. Zwilling, P.E. (PB),
and Lawrence G. Lovejoy, P.E.
Chapter 9 Noise and Vibration Control: James T. Nelson, P.E. (WIA)
Chapter 10 Transit Signal Work: Harvey Glickenstein, P.E. (PB), Gary E. Milanowski, P.E. (PB),
Thomas R. Carroll, P.E., and Lawrence G. Lovejoy, P.E.
Chapter 11 Transit Traction Power: Herbert S. Zwilling, P.E., and Lawrence G. Lovejoy, P.E.
Chapter 12 LRT Track in Mixed Traffic: Jack W. Boorse, P.E., P.L.S. (PB), and Lawrence G. Lovejoy,
P.E
Chapter 13 LRT Track Construction: John Zuspan (TGC) and Lawrence G. Lovejoy, P.E.
Chapter 14 LRT Track and Trackway Maintenance: John Zuspan and Lawrence G. Lovejoy, P.E.
Technical editing of all chapters was performed by Lawrence G. Lovejoy, P.E.
The authors of this second edition would be remiss if we did not recognize the extensive work per-
formed by the team that wrote TCRP Report 57, the first edition of the Track Design Handbook for Light
Rail Transit, which was also prepared by Parsons Brinckerhoff under TCRP Project D-6 and published
in 2000. Those persons included, in addition to many of the gentlemen named above, Eugene G. Allen,
Harold B. Henderson, Theodore C. Blaschke, Lee Roy Padgett, Kenneth J. Moody, Kenneth Addison,
Laurence E. Daniels, Alan C. Boone, and Charles G. Mendell.
C O N T E N T S
1-1 Chapter 1 General Introduction
2-1 Chapter 2 Light Rail Transit Vehicles
3-1 Chapter 3 Light Rail Transit Track Geometry
4-1 Chapter 4 Track Structure Design
5-1 Chapter 5 Track Components and Materials
6-1 Chapter 6 Special Trackwork
7-1 Chapter 7 Structures and Bridges
8-1 Chapter 8 Corrosion Control
9-1 Chapter 9 Noise and Vibration Control
10-1 Chapter 10 Transit Signal Work
11-1 Chapter 11 Transit Traction Power
12-1 Chapter 12 LRT Track in Mixed Traffic
13-1 Chapter 13 LRT Track Construction
14-1 Chapter 14 LRT Track and Trackway Maintenance
Chapter 1—General Introduction
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1—GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1-1
1.1 Introduction 1-1
1.1.1 Background 1-1
1.1.2 Purpose and Goals of the Handbook 1-1
1.1.3 The Handbook User 1-2
1.2 What Is Light Rail? 1-4
1.2.1 Background 1-4
1.2.2 Light Rail Defined 1-4
1.2.3 Light Rail as a Spectrum 1-5
1.2.4 Where the Rails and Wheels Meet the Road 1-6
1.2.5 The Regulatory Environment 1-6
1.3 Handbook Organization 1-7
1.4 Units of Measurement 1-8
1.5 The Endmark 1-9

1-i