SCOPE

SCOPE: The subcommittee is concerned with public transportation applications for urban passenger trains using tracks shared with the national conventional railroad system. Fields of exploration relate to operations, economics, technology, regulation, and implementation.

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Draft Minutes from the 2023 Annual Meeting

A family enjoys level boarding in Utah.  
Thank you all for participating in and supporting the Annual Meeting of TRB's Commuter Rail
Systems Team.  

A summary of the afternoon's events and a list of participants can be accessed through the links below. 

Key research topics discussed at the meeting included:

  • Ridership recovery from the COVID pandemic and the rise of the Work from Home movement
    • What is the nature of the new ridership market?  How are the new riders different from before?  Who came back?  Who is new?  What service attibutes are attracting new riders? 
  • What service attributes are most effective in attracting commuter rail passengers in the Work from Home era?   Fares?  All day service?  Freqency?   Other?
  • How are commuter railroads adjusting their service offerings to attract new riders and respond to salient concerns related to equity, inclusion and climate change? 
  • Level boarding - How can commuter railroads more quickly and efficiently develop facilities to provide level boarding at stations and terminals to reduce dwell times, improve safety, speed service delivery, reduce crewing costs and provide mobility benefits for travelers with physical, sensory or cognitive functional limitations.   Critical success factors to be considered might include: Station designs and building materials, freight clearance for shared track corridors, impact of emergency egress concerns on station designs and costs, role of regulation in promoting and inhibiting change.
If you have any other suggestions or comments, you are heartly encouraged to leave comments below or email david.nelson@jacobs.com or jberk@gfnet.com  



Thursday, January 12, 2023

Thanks for making our Annual Meeting so successful!

It was great afternoon on Tuesday January 10th when we convened the Annual Meetings of the Commuter Rail Subcommittee and the Urban Rail Transit Committee.

Links to the various documents presented and discussed at the meeting are found below

COMMUTER RAIL SUBCOMMITTEE

Committee Presentation

URBAN RAIL TRANSIT COMMITTEE

Agenda

Committee Presentation

Minutes from the 2022 Meeting

TCRP Presentation



In other news, the Commuter Rail Subcommittee is thrilled to welcome our new Secretary!  

Jeanette Berke of Gannett Fleming in Jacksonville Florida