Technical Feasibility Study of Passenger Rail Service along the West Route between Las Vegas and Los Angeles ()
ABSTRACT
The study evaluates the feasibility of running passenger train service
from Las Vegas, NV on the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR), to Barstow, on the Burlington Northern
Santa Fe (BNSF) track, to Mojave on UPRR track again, and to Lancaster
connecting Metrolink to their destinations in Southern California. In this
study, the railroad infrastructure was inventoried and issues related to running
the passenger service were identified. Passenger train operation was evaluated
based on the Rail Traffic Controller (RTC) simulation model. The performance
measures of passenger trains including travel time, overall delay and average
speed are analyzed. The uncertainty in freight flow and its impact on providing
the passenger service is addressed by conducting a sensitivity analysis. The
conclusion is that the existing railroad infrastructure is sufficient to
provide a passenger train service from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. From an
operational perspective, the passenger train is not expected to influence
freight trains’ performance on the existing railroads. When freight train flows
are increased to 50%, the influence of passenger train service on the freight
operation is still minimal. This study recommends restoring a platform at the
Las Vegas Station. At the Mojave Station, special care should be given on
running the passenger trains where there is no direct railroad connection from
BNSF to UPRR. Platforms and walkways require construction at the Lancaster
Station for transferring passengers between the Metrolink trains and X-Train.
Transferring the passenger train at this station involves stopping the train on
mainline and coordinating the operations between different railroads.
Share and Cite:
Teng, H. and Kutela, B. (2023) Technical Feasibility Study of Passenger Rail Service along the West Route between Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Journal of Transportation Technologies,
13, 746-755. doi:
10.4236/jtts.2023.134035.
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