Benefit-Cost Evaluation of a Highway-Railroad Intermodal Control System

摘要

An intermodal control system (ICS) has been designed for the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) to minimize conflicts between trains and intersecting at-grade highways. A field test was performed in June 2001, at New Hyde Park (NHP), NY, a suburban passenger station with a nearby highway crossing. Because deployment will not occur for several years, a benefit-cost evaluation of this system is prospective, based on data obtained before and during the tests, and from simulation results. The project is of particular interests because it includes both the control of trains for the benefit of highway users and the control of highway users for the benefit of railroad operations. So far, the quantitative analysis presented here relies on illustrative trial values that are intended to be within the range of plausibility, but will require considerable further refinement.