...California High Speed Rail Anil Hirani Concordia University Austin Texas Dr. Catalina Zarate April 5, 2015 Introduction and Highlights High speed rail (HSR) was generally defined as trains capable of travelling at least 150 mph. The origin of high speed rail in California started in early 1980s, a 130-mile bullet train project between Los Angeles and San Diego was put forward as assembly bill. Financing difficulties ultimately led the American High Speed Rail Corporation’s (AHSRC) abandonment of the project in 1984. California high speed rail authority has studied possible route alignment for the 800 mile system serving Sacramento, the San Francisco Bay Area, the Central Valley, Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, Orange County and San Diego. With two phases the study tries to concentrate the bulk of new population growth under political pressure to add stations and serve more communities throughout the state. Under the condition of, Assembly bill 3034 capped the maximum number of stations at 24. The business plan clearly defines the possible fares of the California High Speed Rail and the revenue needed for operating. Public, Private, Partnership (P3) between state and private train company was needed to overcome the total cost of the high speed rail. Problem Statement Financial Funds Alignment Revenue Problems faced by California high speed rail was finance, alignment and revenue. Necessary funds to complete the first phase of system were expected to gather...
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...Economics Development Impacts High Speed Rail Tom Kayo TMLT601, I001, Fall 15 American Public University Emmet Fritch December 26, 2015 Abstract This paper premise is the economic development impacts of transportation in general, as examined by Kumares, Sinha & Labi (2007). Multiple studies have revealed that investments in public transportation ultimately drives productivity and economic growth (Kumares, Sinha & Labi, 2007). This paper however will move away from highways and most common types of transit systems to focus on high speed rail and its potential economic development impacts in the United States. By examining additional resources such as World Bank analysis, papers from the MIT library, and reports from non-profit advocacy groups, this paper seeks answers on why a project with tremendous economic benefits has not yet happened in a country known for always being first when it comes to leading in innovation and economic development. Introduction In Kumares et al.’s. (2007), two types of transportation impact on economic development are listed. One is the impact on the overall economic development, driving income and jobs, for instance, and the other is the positive effect on investment, property appreciation and tax revenue. All of this correlates with higher wages and better communities. At the same times, when looking at other developed and emerging countries, like countries of the European Union and China for example it’s...
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...reader about the current CA High Speed Rail project and the more recently proposed Hyperloop project by Elon Musk. We also compare the two after giving the information and allow the reader to decide which they think is the better option. The report is split up into four main sections. The first section consists of the civil aspects, followed by the energy required for each system to run, then the third section explains the environmental impacts and finally the fourth section compares the pricing of both high speed trains to current modes of transportation. Of course none of this could have been done without the contribution and dedication of my classmates Hannah Bieszczat, Ryan Buckley and Devin LeBlanc. I hope you enjoy this report and if you have any questions please feel free to email me. Thank you. Respectfully, HYPERLOOP VERSUS VARIOUS FORMS OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION INCLUDING HIGH SPEED RAIL Undergraduate Engineering Students California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Last Updated: March 2014 Abstract In an attempt to meet the growing demand of quick transit as well as alleviate rising fuel prices, the state of California has approved and began construction on a new high speed rail mass transit system between Las Angeles and San Francisco. This plan has a fair amount of opposition, and out of that opposition has recently came Elon Musk’s proposal for the Hyperloop. A revolutionary new type of transit system using closed tubes to fire...
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...California HighSpeedRail Series High Speed Rail in Japan: A Review and Evaluation of Magnetic Levitation Trains MamomTaniguchi Working Paper UCTCNo. I02 The University of California Transportation Center Umversity California of Berkeley, CA 94720 The University Transportation of California Center The University of California Transportation Center (UCTC) is one of ten regional units mandated by Congress and established in Fall 1988 to support research, education, and training in surface transportation. The UCCenter serves federal Region IX and is supported by matching grants from the U.$. Departmerit of Transportation, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and the University. Based on the Berkeley Campus, UCTCdraws upon existing capabilities and resources of the Institutes of Transportation Studies at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, and Los Angeles; the Institute of Urban and Regional Development at Berkeley; and several academic departments at the Berkeley, Davis, Irvhae, and Los Angeles campuses. Faculty and students on other University of California campuses may participate in Center activities. Researchers at other universities within the region also have opportunities to collaborate with UCfaculty on selected studies. UCTC’seducational and research programs are focused on strategic planning for improving metropolitan accessibility, with emphasis on the special conditions in Region IX. Particular attention is directed to strategies for using transportation...
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...High Speed Rails Contents High Speed Rails 3 Chapter I - Introduction 3 I.1 Statement of the Problem 3 I.2 Question of the Study 3 I.3 Objective of the Paper 3 I. 4 Significance of the Study 4 Chapter II - Literature Review 4 II.1 Introduction and a Short Page of History 4 II.2 What is it exactly? A Definition 5 II. 3 What Are the Costs? 6 II. 4 Advantages of High-Speed Rails 8 II. 5 Disadvantages of High-Speed Rails 12 II. 6 Pollution 13 Chapter III – Methodology 18 Chapter IV – Findings 18 Chapter V – Conclusion 21 Abstract Technological developments are always meant to ease humans’ lives, in terms of commodity, and to offer performing solutions for their needs. However, often the technological developments are working in the benefit of humankind evolution, but in the detriment of the nature. High-speed rails are a model of such solutions, meant to improve humans’ lives. Their high speeds (between 200 and 431 km/hour), and their easy boarding (the time spent in boarding is less than 30 minutes, depending on the travelling class), transform the meaning of travelling, making it a real experience. Moreover, the high-speed rails lead to indirect benefits such as allowing the possibility to travel for business purposes, or to working relocation. On the other hand, indirectly, high-speed rails create negative outcomes: urban agglomerations because of this efficient transportation mode, automatically lead to people deserting the rural regions, for...
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...technical background. There are no doubt errors of various kinds and superior optimizations for elements of the system. Feedback would be most welcome – please send to hyperloop@spacex.com or hyperloop@teslamotors.com. I would like to thank my excellent compadres at both companies for their help in putting this together. Background When the California “high speed” rail was approved, I was quite disappointed, as I know many others were too. How could it be that the home of Silicon Valley and JPL – doing incredible things like indexing all the world’s knowledge and putting rovers on Mars – would build a bullet train that is both one of the most expensive per mile and one of the slowest in the world? Note, I am hedging my statement slightly by saying “one of”. The head of the California high speed rail project called me to complain that it wasn’t the very slowest bullet train nor the very most expensive per mile. The underlying motive for a statewide mass transit system is a good one. It would be great to have an alternative to flying or driving, but obviously only if it is actually better than flying or driving. The train in question would be both slower, more expensive to operate (if unsubsidized) and less safe by two orders of magnitude than flying, so why would anyone use it? If we are to make a massive investment in a new transportation system, then the return should by rights be equally massive. Compared to the alternatives, it should ideally be: ...
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...www.vtpi.org Info@vtpi.org 250-360-1560 Transit Price Elasticities and Cross-Elasticities 25 May 2012 Todd Litman Victoria Transport Policy Institute Abstract This paper summarizes price elasticities and cross elasticities for use in public transit planning. It describes how elasticities are used, and summarizes previous research on transit elasticities. Commonly used transit elasticity values are largely based on studies of short- and medium-run impacts performed decades ago when real incomes where lower and a larger portion of the population was transit dependent. As a result, they tend to be lower than appropriate to model long-run impacts. Analysis based on these elasticity values tends to understate the potential of transit fare reductions and service improvements to reduce problems such as traffic congestion and vehicle pollution, and understate the long-term negative impacts that fare increases and service cuts will have on transit ridership, transit revenue, traffic congestion and pollution emissions. Originally published as “Transit Price Elasticities and Cross-Elasticities,” Journal of Public Transportation, Vol. 7, No. 2, (www.nctr.usf.edu/jpt/pdf/JPT 7-2 Litman.pdf), 2004, pp. 37-58. Todd Litman 2004-2011 You are welcome and encouraged to copy, distribute, share and excerpt this document and its ideas, provided the author is given attribution. Please send your corrections, comments and suggestions for improvement. Transit Elasticities and Price...
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...of a new supersonic airline that will provide different support routes with a maximum range from the Unites States to the countries of China and India. The new airline will be titled Rockstar Airlines and will allow perspective passengers to select departure and return locations out of Florida and California. Rockstar airlines will operate aircraft that will capable of transporting a maximum of 20 passengers with a complementary crew of six personnel. The six personnel would consist of a pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer, two flight crew attendants, and a medical officer that would be used to support in-flight emergencies. The flights will have full in-flight facilities and will have the amenity standard equivalent to the first class level afforded by most commercial airlines. Program Assumptions and Limitations There are some additional program assumptions that have been planned to support a new program of this nature. The first assumption made is that an airplane can be manufactured to be used for supersonic passenger transport. Current aviation commercial airlines do not have an aircraft that can perform this function and will require a new aircraft design. With the use of high-technology computer simulation aircraft modeling software, this task can be solved very easily. The built-up of the first Engineering and Manufacturing Development aircraft will be the first major challenge that must be overcame to ensure the aircraft can be built with little or unsurmountable problems...
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...IT Doesn’t Matter by Nicholas G. Carr Reprint r0305b May 2003 HBR Case Study Leadership Development: Perk or Priority? r0305a Idalene F Kesner . HBR at Large IT Doesn’t Matter r0305b Nicholas G. Carr Is Silence Killing Your Company? r0305c Leslie Perlow and Stephanie Williams Global Gamesmanship r0305d Ian C. MacMillan, Alexander B. van Putten, and Rita Gunther McGrath The High Cost of Accurate Knowledge r0305e Kathleen M. Sutcliffe and Klaus Weber Hedging Customers r0305f Ravi Dhar and Rashi Glazer The Nonprofit Sector’s $100 Billion Opportunity r0305g Bill Bradley, Paul Jansen, and Les Silverman Best Practice Diamonds in the Data Mine r0305h Gary Loveman Frontiers Don’t Trust Your Gut Eric Bonabeau r0305j H B R AT L A R G E IT Doesn’t Matter by Nicholas G. Carr As information technology’s power and ubiquity have grown, its strategic importance has diminished. The way you approach IT investment and management will need to change dramatically. I n 1968, a young Intel engineer named Ted Hoff found a way to put the circuits necessary for computer processing onto a tiny piece of silicon. His invention of the microprocessor spurred a series of technological breakthroughs – desktop computers, local and wide area networks, enterprise software, and the Internet – that have transformed the business world. Today, no one would dispute that information technology has ...
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...TRAFFIC SIGNAL SYSTEMS 1 Combating Congestion Utilizing Adaptive Traffic Signal Systems Gregory Blazina University of St Francis MBAD 656 – Transportation Management & Economics Donald Maier PH.D. August 10, 2007 TRAFFIC SIGNAL SYSTEMS 2 Abstract Traffic congestion is an inescapable problem in large and growing metropolitan areas across the country. With 88% of America’s daily commuters using private vehicles, eliminating traffic congestion is practically impossible. The challenge then becomes finding the best methods to manage congestion as to minimize its impact on commuters, the environment, and the economy. The field of transportation engineering continues to grow and expand with an increasing use of advanced technologies to reduce congestion within our nation’s roadways. One set of technologies, which has evolved over the past 30 years and shows excellent potential for improving traffic conditions in urban areas is advanced traffic signal systems. These systems are the focus of this paper. TRAFFIC SIGNAL SYSTEMS 3 Congestion has traditionally been labeled as a problem to be solved. Between 1980 and 1999, vehicle miles of travel on U.S. roadways grew by 76 percent, while lane miles increased by only 3 percent. Average daily vehicle volumes in urban areas rose by 43...
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...transport Tuesday, 1 January, 2013 2:29 PM Transportation and Economic Development Authors: Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue and Dr. Theo Notteboom1. The Economic Importance of Transportation Like many economic activities that are intensive in infrastructures, the transport sector is an important component of the economy impacting on development and the welfare of populations. When transport systems are efficient, they provide economic and social opportunities and benefits that result in positive multipliers effects such as better accessibility to markets, employment and additional investments. When transport systems are deficient in terms of capacity or reliability, they can have an economic cost such as reduced or missed opportunities. Efficient transportation reduces costs, while inefficient transportation increases costs. The impacts of transportation are not always intended, and can have unforeseen or unintended consequences such as congestion. Transport also carries an important social and environmental load, which cannot be neglected.The added value and employment effects of transport services usually extend beyond employment and added value generated by that activity; indirect effects are salient. For instance, transportation companies purchase a part of their inputs from local suppliers. The production of these inputs generates additional value-added and employment in the local economy. The suppliers in turn purchase goods and services from other local firms. There are further...
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...Asbestos and Asbestos Health Effects What is asbestos? Asbestos is the name given to a number of naturally occurring fibrous minerals with high tensile strength, the ability to be woven, and resistance to heat and most chemicals. Because of these properties, asbestos fibers have been used in a wide range of manufactured goods, including roofing shingles, ceiling and floor tiles, paper and cement products, textiles, coatings, and friction products such as automobile clutch, brake and transmission parts. The current federal definition of asbestos is the asbestiform varieties of: chrysotile (serpentine); crocidolite (riebeckite); amosite (cummingtonite/grunerite); anthophyllite; tremolite; and actinolite. What are the health effects of asbestos exposure? Exposure to airborne friable asbestos may result in a potential health risk because persons breathing the air may breathe in asbestos fibers. Continued exposure can increase the amount of fibers that remain in the lung. Fibers embedded in lung tissue over time may cause serious lung diseases including: asbestosis, lung cancer, or mesothelioma. Smoking increases the risk of developing illness from asbestos exposure. Three of the major health effects associated with asbestos exposure include: • Asbestosis – Asbestosis is a serious, progressive, long-term non-cancer disease of the lungs. It is caused by inhaling asbestos fibers that irritate lung tissues and cause the tissues to scar. The scarring makes it hard for oxygen...
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...ENVIRONMENT IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF DELHI METRO TERM PAPER REPORT Submitted in partial fullfilment of the requiremnt for the degree of Msc. Environment Management By DHRUV VERMA UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF: H.B. VASHISHT SCIENTIST -E FOREST ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT DIVISION Forest Research Institute (Deemed) University Dehradun-248006, India CERTIFICATE This is to certify that the term paper work entitled “ENVIRONMENT IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF DELHI METRO PHASE III” is a bonafide work carried out by DHRUV VERMA, student of first semester M.Sc. Environment Management course of Forest Research Institute University, Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Dehradun submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for M.Sc. Environment Management, 2011-2013. The work has been carried out under the guidance of Mr. H.B. Vashisht, Scientist- E, Forest Ecology and Environment Division , ICFRE, Dehradun. Place: DEHRADUN Dean (Academic) Date: Forest Research Institute (deemed) University CERTIFICATE This is to certify that the term paper work entitled ENVIRONMENT IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF DELHI METRO PHASE III is a bonafide work carried out under my guidance by DHRUV VERMA, student of first semester M.Sc. Environment Management course of Forest Research Institute...
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...06B1 Advised by Professor Oleg Pavlov Department of Social Science and Policy Studies Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA 01609 (508) 831-5234 opavlov@wpi.edu May 1, 2007 Table of Contents Abstract ..........................................................................................................................3 1 Technology of Autonomous Vehicle Systems ..........................................................4 1.1 Introduction ..........................................................................................................4 1.2 Background ..........................................................................................................4 1.2.1 History ............................................................................................................8 1.2.2 Future............................................................................................................13 1.3 Technology.........................................................................................................15 1.3.1 Control Systems............................................................................................15 1.3.1.1 Lateral Control........................................................................................15 1.3.1.1.1 Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS) ......................................16 1.3.1.1.2 Lane Keeping Assist System (LKA) .................................................18 1.3.1.1.3 Parallel...
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...September 18, 2012 Mr. Patrick Heck Deputy Chief Financial Officer Denver International Airport 201 West Colfax Avenue Denver, Colorado 80202 Re: The Westin Denver International Airport – Denver, Colorado Dear Mr. Heck: Pursuant to your request, we have conducted a study of the potential market demand and developed a statement of the estimated annual operating results for a proposed 519-room Westin hotel (the “Subject”) to be located at the south terminal of the Denver International Airport (“DIA”) in Denver, Colorado. Throughout this analysis, we formally refer to the Subject as The Westin Denver International Airport. The development of the Subject hotel is expected to be financed through the issuance of tax-exempt bonds coupled with some form of public subsidies/guarantees/loans. This report has been prepared for use by the Denver International Airport and its financial advisors in determining the estimated annual operating results of the proposed Subject. The conclusions set forth in this report are based on an analysis for supply and demand for the transient lodging market in the Denver-Aurora market area as of August 8, 2012, the completion date of our fieldwork and primary market research. As in all studies of this type, the estimated results assume competent and efficient marketing and operational management, and presume no significant change in the status of the competitive lodging industry from that as set forth in this report. The terms of this engagement are such that...
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