DWELL TIME RELATIONSHIPS FOR LIGHT RAIL SYSTEMS

Vehicle dwell time is an important determinant in the capacity and performance characteristics of high-frequency, high-ridership light rail lines that are common in Europe. In the United States these systems are best exemplified by the Green Line of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). In such systems cumulative dwell time can represent a significant proportion of total train running time and can contribute greatly to headway variability, which in turn affects passenger service quality. Models are estimated for both one- and two-car trains based on data gathered for the MBTA Green Line. These models explain about 70% of the observed variation in dwell times using three explanatory variables: passengers boarding, passengers alighting, and passengers on board. The effect of passenger crowding is statistically significant in most models, and adding crowding variables to reflect congestion on board the vehicle significantly improves the explanatory power of most models. Nonlinear forms of the crowding effect were also estimated, and genrally these forms performed better than the corresponding linear forms.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1992/1361/1361-041.pdf
• Record URL:
  • https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=DWELL+TIME+RELATIONSHIPS+FOR+LIGHT+RAIL+SYSTEMS&author=T.+Lin&author=N.+Wilson&publication_year=1992
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309054001
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1361, Light Rail Transit: Planning, Design, and Operating Experience (Papers presented at the Sixth National Conference on Light Rail Transit, held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, May 24-27, 1992). Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Lin, Tyh-ming
  • Wilson, Nigel H M
• Publication Date: 1992

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 287-295
• Monograph Title: Light rail transit: planning, design, and operating experience
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1361
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Boarding; Crowds; Dwell time; Headways; Light rail transit; Mathematical models; Performance; Quality of service; Running time; Travel time; Variables
• Identifier Terms: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
• Uncontrolled Terms: Capacity
• Old TRIS Terms: Alighting time
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Passenger Transportation; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00625611
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309054001
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Dec 22 1993 12:00AM