THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH PROJECT IS TO INCORPORATE A CREDIBLE HIGH-SPEED RAIL ANALYSIS CAPABILITY INT…

Public award description

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH PROJECT IS TO INCORPORATE A CREDIBLE HIGH-SPEED RAIL ANALYSIS CAPABILITY INTO THE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS ANALYSIS MODEL (TSAM) TO STUDY THE IMPACT OF HIGH-SPEED RAIL TECHNOLOGY IMPACT AND INTERACTION WITH THE NEXT GENERATION AVIATION TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM (NEXTGEN). SPECIFICALLY, THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS WORK WILL BE: A) DATA COLLECTION OF RAIL DEMAND IN HEAVY CONGESTED CORRIDORS IN THE UNITED STATES, B) GENERATION OF AN ORIGIN-DESTINATION MATRIX OF RAIL DEMAND, FARE TABLES AND TRAVEL TIMES SUITABLE FOR MODEL CALIBRATION; C) DEVELOPMENT OF A MULTI-MODE TRAVEL MODULE IN TSAM TO ADDRESS HYBRID TRIPS USING HIGH-SPEED RAIL AS FEEDER TO AVIATION SERVICES AND AS A STAND-ALONE MODE OF TRANSPORTATION, D) CALIBRATION OF A MULTI-MODE CHOICE MODEL USING DATA COLLECTED IN ITEMS (A) AND (C); E) DEVELOPMENT OF TRAVEL TIME AND FARE METRICS FOR HIGH-SPEED RAIL SYSTEMS FROM BASIC ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES, AND F) APPLICATION OF THE MODEL DEVELOPED IN STEPS (A-D) TO CONDUCT TRADEOFF STUDIES OF AVIATION AND HIGH-SPEED RAIL DEMAND UNDER VARIOUS NEXTGEN SCENARIOS DEVELOPED BY NASA LANGLEY RESEARCH CENTER. THESE STUDIES WILL ACCOUNT FOR EMISSIONS AND FUEL CONSUMPTION OF DIFFERENT FUTURE MODE CHOICE SCENARIOS BY TRAVELERS. THIS RESEARCH PROJECT WILL ENHANCE THE BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF COMPETITION BETWEEN AVIATION AND HIGH-SPEED RAIL IN THE UNITED STATES. THIS WORK ATTEMPTS TO ESTABLISH A UNIFIED APPROACH TO PREDICT HIGH-SPEED RAIL DEMAND BOTH AS A COMPETITOR AND AS A COMPLEMENT TO AIR TRANSPORTATION SERVICES UNDER NEXTGEN. THE MODELING APPROACH WILL BE INTEGRATED INTO THE TSAM FRAMEWORK AS A SECOND PHASE OF THE PROJECT WITH CONTINUING IMPROVEMENTS TO THE MODEL.