MINIMIZATION OF OVERALL PERSON DELAY AT LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT CROSSINGS ON CONGESTED URBAN ARTERIALS by Nikola Mitrovic A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of College of Engineering and Computer Science in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, Florida May 2011 Copyright by Nikola Mitrovic 2011 ii MINIMIZATIO OF OVERALL PERSO DELAY AT LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT CROSSINGS 0 CO GESTED URBAN ARTERIALS By ikola Mitrovic This thesis was prepared under the direction of the candidate' thesis advisor, Dr. Aleksandar Stevanovic, Department of Civi~ Environmenta~ and Geomatics Engineering, and has been approved by the members ofhis supervisory committee. It was submitted to the faculty of the College of Engineering and Computer Science and was accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree ofMaster of Science. SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: IteetSewda/ 51eJ(;UA6V/C Aleksandar tevanovic, Ph.D. Thesis or ~~ Khaled Sobhan, Ph.D. ~JiL~ P.D. Scarlatos, Ph.D. := Chair, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatics Engineering Karl . Steven , Dean, College f ngineering and Computer Science fJ!,.;)/5; U'I; !7R:I~~ Date r ( Dean, Graduate College 111 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This research is the result of two years of hard work and a lot of determination. Nonetheless, none of this would have been possible without the help, support and encouragement of the faculty and student body of the Transportation Research Group at Florida Atlantic University. I would like to convey my gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Aleksandar Stevanovic. His supervision, guidance and advice throughout the different stages of this paper were key to the completion of my research. Dr. Stevanovic has inspired and enriched my growth as a student, a researcher and a scientist. A special thanks go to the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) and Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) for providing critical data used for this study, especially to Mrs. Kerry Doene, Strategic Planner (UTA). In addition, I would like to thank Dr. Evangelos Kaisar and Mrs Jarice Rodriguez for their help and preparation of the thesis. And last but not least my transportation colleagues, Ioannis Psarros, Dusan Jolovic, Claudia Olarte and Benazir Portal. Thank you for your continuous support, motivation and encouragement iv ABSTRACT Author: Nikola Mitrovic Title: Minimization of Overall Person Delay at Light Rail Transit Crossings on Congested Urban Arterials Institution: Florida Atlantic University Thesis Advisor: Dr. Aleksandar Stevanovic Degree: Master of Science Year: 2011 This study describes analytical model as one innovative way to simulate Light Rail Transit (LRT) operations and calculate vehicular, transit and person delays at LRT crossings through Microsoft Excel. Analytical model emulates LRT trajectories from field and use these trajectories to clearly define train and car phases through Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) logic, which is part of analytical model. Simulation of train trajectories and calculations of delays were done for different LRT strategies and estimated roadway condition, Testing and validation of analytical model were performed in one case study in Salt Lake City (UT). Results show that analytical model is capable of emulating LRT trajectories and estimating delay at isolated LRT crossing. However, analytical model is not capable of simulating different train strategies at two or more LRT crossings, at the same time. Finally, extracted strategy provides savings from $100.000 to $200.000 in study area, on annual basis for projected year. v MINIMIZE PERSON DELAY AT RAILROAD CROSSING THROUGH SEARCH BASED OPTIMIZATION TOOL LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... ix 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Problem Statement ...............................................................................................2 1.2 Research Goals and Objectives ............................................................................3 1.3 Thesis Organization .............................................................................................3 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................... 5 2.1 Light Rail Operations ...........................................................................................5 2.2 Computation of Roadway Delay at Railroad Crossing ........................................8 3 NETWORK SIMULATION MODEL ..................................................................... 11 3.1 Case Study Area .................................................................................................11 3.2 Modeling process ...............................................................................................12 3.3 Calibration and Validation of VISSIM Model ...................................................15 3.3.1 Vehicular Data ............................................................................................ 15 3.3.2 Transit Data ................................................................................................. 17 3.4 Future Operations ...............................................................................................20 4 ANALYTICAL MODEL.......................................................................................... 21 4.1 Simulation of Train Trajectories ........................................................................21 vi 4.2 Calculation Vehicular, Transit and Person Delay ..............................................25 4.2.1 Vehicular Delay .......................................................................................... 26 4.2.2 Light Rail Transit Delay ............................................................................. 27 4.2.3 Person Delay ............................................................................................... 28 4.3 Validation of Analytical Model .........................................................................29 4.4 Simulation of Different Train Strategies ............................................................33 4.5 Limitations of Analytical Model ........................................................................35 5 RESULTS AND ANALYSIS ................................................................................... 37 5.1 Impact of Different Train Schedules on Overall Person Delay .........................38 5.2 Impact of Different LRT Priority Strategies ......................................................40 5.2.1 Different LRT Priorities at Crossing on 1300S SB .................................... 41 5.2.2 Different LRT Priorities at Crossing on 2100S NB .................................... 47 5.3 Person Delay Savings .........................................................................................52 6 DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................... 55 7 CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE RECOMMENDATIONS ................................... 57 8 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................... 61 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Recorded Parameters in VISSIM Simulation ..................................................... 26 Table 2: Overall Person Delay for Different Train Strategies .......................................... 38 Table 3: Overall Person Delay for Different LRT Strategies on 1300S ........................... 42 Table 4: Person Delay at Crossing on 1300S for Different Strategies on Same Crossing 43 Table 5: Significance of Results for Different Priority Strategies on 1300S .................... 45 Table 6: Overall Person Delay for Different LRT Strategies on 2100S ........................... 48 Table 7: Person Delay at Crossing on 2100S for Different Strategies on Same Crossing 49 Table 8: Significance of Results for Different Priority Strategies on 1300S .................... 50 Table 9: Person Demand at LRT Crossings ...................................................................... 53 Table 10: Saving Time at LRT Crossing .......................................................................... 53 Table 11: PM and Annual Overall Benefits ...................................................................... 54 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Case Study Area ................................................................................................ 12 Figure 2: VISSIM Model of Study Area........................................................................... 13 Figure 3: Calibration of Roadway Traffic ........................................................................ 15 Figure 4: Validation of Roadway Travel Times ............................................................... 16 Figure 5: Validation of Transit Travel Times (Southbound) ............................................ 17 Figure 6: Validation of Transit Travel Times (Northbound) ............................................ 18 Figure 7: Distribution of Lateness and Early Arrivals (Southbound) ............................... 19 Figure 8: Distribution of Lateness and Early Arrivals (Northbound) ............................... 19 Figure 9: LRT Reference Points in Study Network .......................................................... 22 Figure 10: Simulation of LRT Trajectories in Analytical Model ..................................... 24 Figure 11: Duration of Blockage Event ............................................................................ 27 Figure 12: Validation of Search Based Optimization Tool for Dwell Time ..................... 31 Figure 13: Validation of Search Based Optimization Tool for Roadway Stopped Delay 32 Figure 14: Layout Of LRT References Point In Study Area ............................................ 34 Figure 15: Simulated LRT Strategies ............................................................................... 36 Figure 16: Overall Person Delay for Different Train Strategies on 1300S....................... 39 Figure 17: Overall Person Delay for Different Train Strategies on 2100S....................... 40 ix Figure 18: Person Delay at Crossing on 1300S for Different LRT Strategies on Same Crossing .................................................................................................44 Figure 19: Impact of Priority Strategy on 1300S .............................................................. 46 Figure 20: Person Delay at Crossing on 2100S for Different LRT Strategies on Same Crossing .................................................................................................50 Figure 21: Impact of Priority Strategy on 2100S .............................................................. 51 x