Abstract:
The City of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada, operates an integrated transit network that uses 24 light rail cars in conjunction with 530 buses to meet peak hour demand. The light rail transit (LRT) system, which opened in 1978, is still being expanded. In the 10 years of the system's operation, the staff has solved a variety of problems that ranged from the tracks not built to standards that yield a comfortable ride for LRT passengers to excessive rail wear to confusing signals. Edmonton's severe weather presents the staff with other, continuing problems from ice in the switch points in winter to expansion ripples in the rails in summer. Also, a railroad tunnel used by light rail vehicles is subject to flooding and has given the transit staff experience dealing with track washouts. Procedures for dealing with these and other problems and equipment are outlined.
Supplemental Notes:
This paper appears in Transportation Research Board Special Report No. 221, Light Rail Transit: New System Successes at Affordable Prices - Papers presented at the National Conference on Light Rail Transit, May 8-11, 1988, San Jose, California, Conducted by the Transportation Research Board. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
