HONOLULU AUTHOIRTY for RAPID TRANSIT

Question?

MONORAIL – ONE TRACK, ONE TRAIN

OR

ELEVATED LIGHT RAIL – TWO TRACKS, TWO TRAINS

HART – PIERS AND SUPERSTRUCTURE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS http://www.honolulutransit.org/media/8677/20110701-final-eis-appendix-e.pdf

HART PEARL HIGHLANDS– Artistic Rendering

HART PEARLRIDGE – Artistic Rendering

May 4, 2015

THE HONOLULU RAPID TRANSIT IS AN ELEVATED LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM

Question:

Structurally soundness and Safety of Columns and Tracks designed for a

MONORAIL to operate a ELEVATED LIGHT RAIL

RAIL FACTS

Length

20 miles The system begins in East Kapolei, connects with the Honolulu

International Airport and downtown Honolulu, and ends at Ala Moana Center.

Stations

21 stations

System Features

Modern, steel-wheel-on-steel-rail technology powered by a third rail. "Steel-on-steel" technology is the most reliable, proven technology available as recommended by a panel of engineering and transit professionals. Oahu voters then specifically approved a steel-on-steel rail transit system in 2008. Honolulu's light-metro rail technology is different from the old heavy elevated rail lines in New York City, Chicago, and elsewhere. The new steel-on-steel system is quiet, smooth, efficient and uses one of the most advanced control technologies in the world.

Elevated, grade-separated

Speed

Top speed: 55 mph Average speed (including station stop time): 30 mph

Rail Vehicles

Fully automated (driverless) Capacity of 800 passengers per four-car train Each car 10 feet wide

Rail Columns Number

450 from East Kapolei to Aloha Stadium 400 from Aloha Stadium to Ala Moana Center

Kiewit Corporation was awarded contract for 450 columns from

East Kapolei to Aloha Stadium. Since September 2013 to May 4, 2015, Kiewit has constructed 150 columns from East Kapolei to Farrington Highway.

Solicitation for 400 columns, Aloha Stadium to Ala Moana Center

is TO BE ISSUED.

Rail Column and Track Design

Kiewit Infrastructure West Company (KIWC) 30 ft in height, 30 feet wide at top Supports 2 train tracks, each 20 feet wide

Rail Vehicles, Operations and Control Center

Ansaldo Honolulu was awarded the $1.4-billion Core Systems Contract for the Honolulu Rail Transit Project to design, build, operate and maintain the train vehicles in addition to the operations and control center. http://www.ansaldohonolulurail.com/

On February 24 the Hitachi and Finmeccanica boards announced the signing of binding agreements for the Japanese group to buy Napoli-based rolling stock manufacturer AnsaldoBreda and Finmeccanica’s 40% stake in Genova-based signalling, train control and turnkey transport system supplier Ansaldo STS. http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/business/single-view/v iew/hitachi-agrees-to-buy-ansaldo-sts-and-ansaldobreda.html

Kiewit Infrastructure West Company (KIWC)

SKY TRAIN BANGKOK

TOKYO MONORAIL

DISNEY WORLD MONORAIL – DUAL TRACKS

DISNEYWORLD

DISNEYLAND MONORAIL

LAS VEGAS MONORAIL

LAS VEGAS

LAS VEGAS

PHOENIX SKY TRAIN

PHOENIX SKY TRAIN

LOS ANGELES METRO RAIL STATION

LOS ANGELES METRO RAIL – INBOUND TRAIN

CANT

Cant helps a train steer around a curve, keeping the wheel flanges from touching the rails, minimizing friction and wear. At the ends of a curve, the amount of cant cannot change from zero to its maximum immediately. It must ramp gradually in a track transition curve. The length of the transition depends on the maximum allowable speed.

KWIC - KAPOLEI

American Railway Engineering and Maintenance – of – Way Association

(AREMA)

As a vehicle traverses a curve, the vehicle transmits a centrifugal force to the rail at the point of contact. This force is a function of the severity of the curve, speed of the vehicle and the mass (weight) of the vehicle. This force acts at the center of gravity of the rail vehicle. This force is resisted by the track. If the vehicle is traveling fast enough, it may derail due to tail rollover, the car rolling over or simply derailing from the combined traverse force exceeding the limit allowed by the rail-flange contact. This centrifugal force can be counteracted by the application of superelevation (or banking), which effectively raises the outside rail in the curve by rotating the track structure about the inside rail. The point, at which this elevation of the outer rail relative to the inner rail is such that the weight is again equally distributed on both rails, is considered equilibrium elevation. Track is rarely superelevated to equilibrium elevation. The difference between the equilibrium elevation and the actual superelevation is termed underbalance. Curvature limits for light rail traffic are much higher than for traditional heavy rail equipment. Like heavy rail, main line curvature is generally limited by a combination of superelevation practices and vehicular speed. However, on most light rail systems, all the vehicles are the same or very similar. Sometimes rail equipment is specifically designed for the existing system’s track geometry.

Because of this homogeneality of equipment on independent systems, curvature limitations can be approached more readily as the same limit applies to all equipment rather than a range of values found with vastly different equipment handled by heavy rail systems. The general accepted minimum radius is 500 feet for general main routes. This can be reduced to as low 115 feet for track embedded in pavement. Absolute minimums are established by the equipment used and could be as low as 82 feet or less. Because severe gradients along an alignment route can affect the ultimate speed, fuel usage, and power requirements, the gradients on new alignments are usually scrutinized more closely than horizontal gradients.

SOURCE: Lindamood, P.E., B., Strong, P.E., J., & McLeod, P. Eng., J. (2003). Chapter 6. Railway Track Design. American Railway Engineering and Maintenance–of–Way Association (AREMA) http://www.engsoc.org/~josh/AREMA/chapter6%20-%20Railway%20Track%20Design.pdf

HONOLULU RAPID TRANSIT – ROUTE MAP

CURVES, TURNS and GRADIENT/ELEVATIOS

SUFFICIENCY OF THE CANT / SUPERELEVATION

HART UNSAFE AT ANY SPEED?

Speed

Top speed: 55 mph

Average speed (including station stop time):

30 mph

Rail Vehicles

Fully automated (Driverless)

Capacity of 800 passengers per four-car train

JEOPARDY

PASSENGERS AT RISK