Transport Engineering and Planning Applications - Case Study Example

Civil Engineering and Built Environment Name Lecturer Course Date Introduction It is essential to have effective, attractive, amenable and safe mass transit corridor which will ensure that services are delivered to the people in a manner that is acceptable. In order to have a safe mass transit corridor various features need to be incorporated into the Brisbane cross city underground rail and they include the design and inclusion of tunnel ventilation, lighting of side works and interior travel ways, installation of fire and smoke detection, bus detection equipments, junctions, train lock and cross river rail. The train lock will work with the help of signalling that there is a train coming and then the interlocking switches at a junction will switch automatically and provide different lanes for each train safety (Franzmann, 2011). The interlocking switches will act at automatic train stops by sending signals that will control speed of the coming train in order to make it safe. The installation of tunnel ventilations, lighting of the tunnels, constructing of fire and smoke detection equipments and provision of natural ventilation for circulation of fresh air will make the underground train more amenable. Tunnel ventilation is essential in ensuring the safety of users for both employees and passengers (Tarada and King, 2009). This paper intends to find out features to be incorporated into Brisbane Cross City underground lane to make it have a public image, be safe to users, accessible, efficient and provision of information to travellers about travelling schedules. This is made possible by ensuring that there is proper connectivity and high quality services. Features to be incorporated into the Brisbane Cross City Underground Rail (BCUR) to facilitate an effective transit corridor In order to make Brisbane Cross City underground train available to users, there is need to provide for schedules which will inform users when the train is arriving and leaving. These will be in a form of signals that will alert passengers that the train will be arriving in the waiting and the platform areas. There should be various information and decisions points where passengers should get information relating to their travel. The entrance to the underground train waiting and platform areas should have vertical movement facilities which will assist passengers access the facility with easiness (Brown and Thompson, 2008). There should be signalling to the passengers when the train is coming to provide information for safety purposes. The provision of cross river rail will make the services more effective as the train will need to reschedule their travel for a few minutes not for a long period as when the cross river will provide an alternative lane. There should be a construction of green time equipment which will reduce queuing of the trains as well as a construction of the parking for trains to eliminate congestion at active lanes (Franzmann, 2011). There should be the more exclusive the right-of-way for trains hat is, the less interaction that transit trains by use of interlocking switches the greater the speed and capacity that can be achieved. In the case of light rail transit, though, this general rule does not always hold. As rights-of-way become more exclusive, speeds increase. These increased speeds require increased distances between trains in order to maintain an acceptable margin of safety, with the minimum headway determined in part by the type of signalling system used. As a result, the capacity constraint on a light rail system will often not be an on-street section but rather an off-street section operating under a train signalling system. At the same time, the lowest light rail running speeds will usually be encountered on the on-street sections, while the highest speeds will be achieved on the most exclusive right-of-way sections. Different types of right-of-way will have different capacities; the section with the lowest capacity will control the overall line capacity(Woodburn, Stone, Deevy, Morley, McCourt, and Hal David, 2009). Brisbane Cross City Underground Rail have segregated rights-of-way for buses offer a number of advantages that can improve service quality. Bus travel times, schedule adherence, and vehicle productivity are improved when buses are able to use higher-speed, uncongested facilities. These improvements, in turn, promote efficiency, improve reliability, and increase the potential to gain new riders (Brown and Thompson, 2008) Features to be incorporated into the Brisbane Cross City Underground Rail (BCUR) to facilitate safe mass transit corridor Growth of population densities in proximity of Brisbane highlights safety concerns in underground rails. This adds pressure on the infrastructure consisting of Brisbane Cross City Underground Rail, in terms of control and management, maintenance and passengers. Brisbane Cross City Underground Rail consists of a complex network of human operators, computer aided systems, and technical systems all operating in an environment finally controlled by nature difficult to predict, making it difficult to provide safety (SkyScraperLife.Com, 2012). The need to improve safety in the Tunnels and on the Rails involves improvement in design, systems that provide drivers and passengers better information about traffic, weather, and systems that improve the turnaround and reliability of train services (Karlaftis 2004). These improvements aim to: Reduce incidents known to precede accidents through analysis, Design to reduce failures resulting from technical and human errors, and those that can ensure safety of passengers even when a failure does occur and Improve access and quality of information on traffic for staff and the passengers staff. This challenge has brought new technologies designed to improve safety. In order to have safe mass transit corridor, Brisbane Cross City underground lane should have exclusive lanes for passenger trains as well as transit signals to alert passengers for incoming and outgoing trains. Train detection facility, will enable the interlock switch system switch off one lane in case tow trains are approaching the junction. This will ensure the safety of travelling passengers. They need to maintain a constant update in technology advancements in order to improve human congestion within BCUR and traffic control capabilities to decrease tragedies. Introducing new technology that is up-to-date and sufficient can relieve many human errors. The introduction of new concepts that can relieve the possibility of tragic disasters is also a good idea. Communications system is the largest part of what keeps an rail running smoothly and efficiently and therefore, if that technology were to ever fall behind it could lead to tragedy(Woodburn, Stone, Deevy, Morley, McCourt, and Hal David, 2009). Because the current threat to security due terrorism, the underground rail should have a number of security cameras to cover the entire waiting and plat foam areas. The camera should be a position to cover images of all the people entering and leaving the train section. There should also intrusion detection system which will be located at the entrance of all open spaces into the rail. This will monitor any unauthorized individuals trying to access the facility. At the entrance used by passengers there should be metal detectors to be able to detect individuals coming in with metals which may be explosives, guns and other weapons(Woodburn, Stone, Deevy, Morley, McCourt, and Hal David, 2009). There should a barrier in place, to delay escaping criminals from reaching the sensitive area or from escaping out from the platform area. This will be Crime Prevention through Environmental Design principle where the basic premise that the physical environment can be changed or managed to produce behavioural effects that will reduce the incidence and fear of crime, thereby improving the quality of life, and enhancing safety of users. It would not only reduce the chance for crime, but also make the vicinity conducive for all the passengers. The existing floor layout of the BCUR has to be changed to provide a better environment for service delivery, and at the same time, reduce the chances for crime. A fire exit is to be added to safety in case fire break out inside the Tunnel. Aside from creating an environment that would lessen the chance of crime, additional security features are needed. Additional cameras, in support for the centre camera, are required to be located at the sides that the face of every approaching individuals these areas can be monitored. Moreover, an additional Intrusion Detecting System (IDS) is needed to guard the secure room. This would alert the security guards of uncommon movement in the said area (Woodburn, Stone, Deevy, Morley, McCourt, and Hal David, 2009). Features to be incorporated into the Brisbane Cross City Underground Rail (BCUR) to facilitate an amenable transit corridor To make the Brisbane Cross City Underground Rail to amenable transit corridor various features need to be incorporated which include tunnel ventilation, lighting sidewalks and interior travel ways, installing smoke and fire detection systems as well as installing fire fighting equipments. There should be also air cooling system in the underground Rail to make it more amenable. Ventilations will supply fresh air as well reduced effect of smoke in case there is fire in the Tunnel. Tunnel ventilation as serves to supply fresh air and extract toxic gases thus they must be designed with fire and smoke behaviour in mind that is must be capable of eliminating smoke and heat during a fire(Tarada and King, 2009). This makes Tunnel ventilation essential to fire safety. Fire safety requires sufficient knowledge of ventilation-controlled fire as the presence of hot gases at the ceiling level radiates heat to combustible materials that can result to deadly flashover. Exposure can lead to dangerous conditions such as thermal injury, toxicity, asphyxiation, and obscuration. For this reason, a number of ventilation-related fire fighting technique is introduced such as horizontal and vertical ventilation for tunnel (Tarada and King, 2009). Natural ventilations use pressure difference caused by wind and temperature in and out of the Tunnel. However, due to wind suction forces, positioning of ventilation openings must be correct and able to support natural extraction of hot air from the tunnel. Sensor-controlled roof ventilations with opening actuators can be designed as a natural smoke and heat venting system. However, mechanical ventilation cost more and subject to equipment failure, utility service interruption, poor design, poor maintenance, and poor management. In contrast, properly installed and maintained natural ventilation can provide economical but with high ventilation rate, using natural forces. Smoke control is commonly considered as an important part of a fire safety strategy and it often coincide with the evaluation of the tunnel’s natural ventilation design. For instance, the air tightness that needs to be achieved within the escape may be affected by the tunnel’s natural ventilation. Mechanical smoke system are often designed with an objective of overcoming the smoke movement forces of buoyancy, thermal expansion, stack effect, and wind pressure during a fire thus any discrepancy in expected pressure differentials and airflow rates should be resolved. In fire safety strategy areas such as stairwells, lift, and lobbies are considered strategic locations where air pressure should be maintained at a level in excess of that of surrounding waiting zones (Tarada and King, 2009). Naturally ventilations intended for smoke and heat extraction depends on the air provided by the openings in a certain area, influence of wind and size of the openings, and the timing of their opening (in case of fire). In contrast, mechanical ventilation system extracts air (negative) in controlled manner in order to allow a defined volume of heat and smoke to escape. Thus, to eliminate smoke from the tunnel there should be under platform exhaust system Features to be incorporated into the Brisbane Cross City Underground Rail (BCUR) to facilitate an attractive transit corridor To have the transit corridor more attractive various features should be incorporated including the construction of monumental signs in the waiting platform as well provision of services such as a restraint, provision of huge TV screens that will be entertaining to awaiting passengers. There should be rescue and fire fighting services, which involves response, hazard mitigation, evacuation and probably even rescue of passenger that is facing an emergency. In rescue and fire fighting operations speed is very important and emergency response equipment and personnel should arrive at the spot almost immediately(Tarada and King, 2009). The speed of rescue operations determines the survivability of passengers from all types of hazards including fire accidents. Therefore, Brisbane Cross City Underground Rail fire fighters are given specialized training in application of fire fighting foams, dry chemical and cleaning agents used to extinguish burning fuel. This leads to maintenance of a path for evacuating passengers to exit the fire hazard area(Jong, Lai, Huang and Chiang, 2011). There should be primary and secondary means of direct communication between the alerting authorities in the Brisbane Cross City Underground Rail stations and passengers. It should also provide for primary and secondary means of direct communication between the passengers and employees responders’ who may be on the way to attend to an emergency and at the accident/ incident spot. Besides that the Brisbane Cross City Underground Rail emergency communication system should facilitate communication between the dispatch team and the rescue vehicles at the spot of the accident/incident. The station alarm bells should be linked to the telephone ringer, so that when there is a call on the emergency telephone line it activates the alarm bells. Alarm activation stations should be provided for formal fire service dispatch rooms. The same factors that influence transit capacity also influence speed and reliability. Faster, more reliable service is an important quality of service issue for passengers. From an agency perspective, speed improvements reduce the time required for a vehicle to travel a route, while reliability improvements may allow reductions in the recovery time provided in the schedule at the end of each run.1 In the best-case scenario for an agency, the combined reduction in running and recovery time would be greater than or equal to one headway, allowing a vehicle to be assigned to other service. More typically, the time saved postpones the need to add more service in order to maintain a particular headway due to congestion. Every intermodal system has its own characteristics and there is no system or operation that is fit for all transportation activities. The influential factors mentioned above, inkling leanness and agility have to be taken into consideration when designing an intermodal transport operation. When deciding on the modes to include in the operation the decision makers must first determined the integration of the mode. Use of IT, collaborations and customization are also very important (agile). Development of intermodal transport system basically involve coming up with best possible, cost effective, efficient, time saving and reliable (lean) combination of the five modes of transport in a transport chain. The process involves integration of operational functions, the transport modes, the administrational flows, ant the liabilities of each party involved (Jong, Lai, Huang and Chiang, 2011). The transportation of exports is mostly done by ships and requires additional modes and equipment between terminals and at the point of origin and final destinations inland. the operation requires technologies information and communication technologies which are instrumental for communication, terminal handling technologies to hand the cargo at the terminal and physical movement technologies that facilitate the actual movement of the cargo. The information and communication technologies and the cargo handling technologies are important in providing a connection between the transportation modes. Other technologies which are also important are the cargo tracking technologies live the GPS technologies (Sabri and Shaikh, 2010) The tracking technologies can also help pin point the location of vehicles at a particular time. Collaboration between the operators ensures that there is smooth flow of vehicle and the information. It further simplifies coordination of the process and improves flexibility. Meanwhile, customization ensure that the transportation design meet the requirements of the customer. This may involve modifying carrier, processes and handling at the terminal to meet exactly what the customer demands (Hanley, 2005). In order for the combination to be lean, it must be cost effective. Cost is a major determinant of the operation the customer chose. In most cases customer prefer low cost intermodal solutions. The minimization of the cost is normal achieved through proper selection of rout and optimization or modes. Second, to be lean the modes must eliminate any kinds of waste. This means that the combination of modes in the intermodal system should ensure that there is no delay and that goods reach their destination in the shortest time possible. As such delay can be eliminated by avoiding congested routes, minimizing delays at ports and terminal (Sabri and Shaikh, 2010). The load time and offload time at inland terminals and ports should also be enhanced. Other barriers such as difference in regulation between zones and indifferent modes of transport can also be eliminated since they contribute to delays which may lead to loses in case of perishables such as flowers. Finally, infrastructural buriers can be dealt with by improving the available infrastructure (Lubis, 2005). Conclusion The paper has identified features to be included in the Brisbane Cross City underground rail to make it more efficient, attractive, amenable and safe mass transit. The construction of interlocking switches, provision of tunnel ventilation, installation of security cameras and provision of quick and adequate information has been identified as features that will improve the services of the underground rail. The lighting of sideways and interior travel lanes has also been identified as a feature that will improve the services of the train. Security wise, it has been identified that metal detection equipments, intrusion detection and security cameras has necessary features. References Brown J.R. and Thompson G.L., 2008. Examining the Influence of Multidestination Service Orientation on Transit Service Productivity: A Multivariate Analysis. Transportation. Franzmann, L., 2011. Cross River rail. Available online at [ Accessed 25 April 2013]. Hanley, R. E. 2005., Moving people, goods, and information in the 21st century: the cutting-edge infrastructures of networked cities. Rutledge. Jong, J.C., Lai Y-C., Huang, S-H. & Chiang, P.C., 2011. Development and Application of Rail Transit Capacity Models in Taiwan. In Proceedings 90th Annual Meeting of Transportation Research Board. Transportation Research Board of the National Academics, Washington. Karlaftis M.G. , 2004. A DEA Approach for Evaluating the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Urban Transit Systems. 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