# US P asseng er Rail

Informative Pr esen tat ion on the Oper at ions and E quipmen t for In te rc ity Pa ssenger and Commut er Rail Service

# Ov er view • Objectiv e • Ov erview of P assenger Rail Ser vice in US

– Eq uipmen t Over view

– Eq uipmen t Design and Safety

– Oper ations 

### • Summary • Open Discussion (Q&A)

# Objectiv e • Pr ovide an ov erview of passenger r ail service in the US t o in fo rm the US Access Boar d Rail Ve hicle Accessibility Advisory Committe e of the char act eris tics of equipmen t used and oper ations. • Highligh t some safety r equir emen ts for passenger r ail equipmen t and oper ations

# Eq uipmen t Ov er view In te rc ity P assenger and Commuter E quipmen t (T ypical) (Dimensions of passenger cars ar e dir ectly r elated to clear ances and tr ack negotiation ability) • Single - lev el, Bi - lev el, Multi - lev el car s • Length: 85’ to 85’ 4” • Ext erior Width: fr om 9’10”’ to 10’ 6” • (Ther e is a dif

fe re nce in e xt erior width and in te rior width to accommodate side cr ash elemen ts, insulation, window atta chmen t, etc. )

– Limit ed by clear ance and construction type
– Cars with high floor s (51”) can ha ve an extreme width of up to 10’6” above the floor line but ar e limit ed t o 10’ wide below the floor line

– Multi - level cars with low floors ar e limit ed t o 10’ • Interior Width contr ols the seating and aisle width

– Widening aisles can r esult in r eduction in seating capacity

# Eq uipmen t Ov er view Con t. In te rc ity P assenger and Commuter E quipmen t (T ypical) (Dimensions of passenger cars ar e dir ectly r elated to clear ances and tr ack negotiation ability) • Heigh t: 12’6” (single - lev el) to 16’2” (bi - lev el) • Eq uipmen t length, width and heigh t ar e contr olled by clear ance limits of the tr ack • Sea ting (contr olled by interior width)

– 68 to 182 passenger s
– 1x2, 2x2 or 2x3 seating

– Wo rk stat ion ta ble between seats • (fr angible for cr ashw orthiness on new equipment)

# Eq uipmen t Design and Safety • 30 Y ear design life • Eq uipmen t main ta ined using preventative maintenance pr actices

– Pe riodic inspection, maintenance and r eplacement cycle for pr opulsion, br akes, HV

AC, lighting , truck systems
– Mid - life ov er all • Va ries with each service provider • 49 CFR P art 238 and 239

– Pa ssenger r ail equipment ar e designed with s tructur al cr ash management systems ateach end of the car • Protect passengers during collision • Limit modification of cars • Limit space in end areas of the car
– All interior fixtur e mus t be secur ed and designed for loading • withstand 8g longitudinal, 4g later al and 4g vertical loading

# Oper at ions • Amtrak and Commut er rail service pr oviders operate trains in v arious lengths (depends on demand)

– Acela: 6 cars

– Re gional: 6 - 8 car s
– Intercity: 3 - 15 car s
– Commut er: 4 - 10 car s • In te rc ity and commut er rail trains typic ally shar e track with fr eigh t trains

– Limits the positioning of high lev el platform close to tr ack s • St ation platform length depends on the service demand

# Oper at ions • In te rc ity and c ommut er t ra ins tr ave rs e tr ack s with v arying c on figur ation and char act eris tics: high gr adien t, tigh t c ur ve s in v arious co nfigur ation, super elev ation , turnouts or a co mbination of

– Can r esult in elimination of clear ance between cars (a t end inter - car connection)

– Pe riodic tilt in the car

# Summary • Pa ssenger r ail (In te rc ity and Commut er) oper ations in the US utiliz es a v ariety of equipmen t types and oper ate s over a wide ra nge of tr ack s tructur e • Eq uipmen t and tr ack s ar e designed t o ensur e safe tr ansport ation of passengers

# Open Discussion

An y Ques tions?