Rail Transit Winterization Technology and Systems Operations Study

PDFTech ReportDOT-TSC-UMTA-80-34DOT-TSC-1773Cold weatherDeicingEquipmentIceMaintenanceMaintenance equipmentOperationsProblem solvingPublic transitRailroad tracksRailroad transportationSnowRapid transitSnow removalUrban transportationWeatherWinter maintenanceMassachusettsChicago (Illinois)United States. Urban Mass Transportation AdministrationLaMarca, Jeffrey L.King, Charles M.John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, (U.S.)United States. Urban Mass Transportation AdministrationNTL-PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION-PUBLIC TRANSPORTATIONNTL-PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION-Rail TransitVolpe National Transportation Systems Center, Technical Reference CenterThe severe winters of 1977-1978 and 1978-1979 caused all snowbelt transit systems to experience a variety of problems which resulted in impaired service ranging from systems delays to complete system shutdowns. The scope of this report includes a summary of rail transit equipment problems encountered by transit authorities due to severe winter weather; hardware measures that have been implemented to combat the effects of severe winter weather; summaries of both technological and operational measures in current use by various transit systems, as well as information on their effectiveness; and an update of the 1978 Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) study. Three background events preceded this study: (1) the 1978 study of rail transit's severe winter weather problems and some of the solutions undertaken by Alexander Kusko, Inc. (AKI) for the MBTA; (2) the severe winter experience suffered by the Chicago Transit Authority in 1978-1979; and (3) the formation of a special task force on rail transit snow and ice emergencies by the American Public Transit Authority. The conclusions are concerned with the measures and basic problems faced by transit authorities during severe winter weather. Recommendations are then provided on measures which UMTA and/or the transit authorities can support to minimize winter's impact on transit operations