© APTA and AREMA A Introduction to Railway Software C. Tyler Dick, P.E. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

© APTA and AREMA Railway Software Railroad and transit operators use many different software products and analysis tools in their normal course of business Passenger Applications Track alignment layout and infrastructure design Track structure design Vehicle design and track interaction Maintenance planning Network analysis Operations planning – crews, locomotives, rolling stock 2

© APTA and AREMA Railway Software: Design Alignment & Infrastructure – CAD Micro-Station / InRail (RailTrack) / InRoads DOT’s, Freight Railroads, some Transit Agencies AutoCAD Civil 3D Design Build contractors, some Transit Agencies, some Freights Consultants use both depending on client standards BIM just starting to get toe-hold in industry Promise-e – Wiring and signal design Track Structure Design Kentrack - Railway trackbed structural design program Track 3.1 – ACOE PCASE trackbed structural design program 3

© APTA and AREMA Railway Software: Vehicles & Maintenance Vehicle and Dynamic Analysis/Modelling Software STEPS – Pedestrian modelling & evacuation analysis VISSIM – LRT/Streetcar traffic interaction VAMPIRE – Rail vehicle dynamics TOES – Train dynamics ARENA – Process flows including railcar loading Asset Management & Work Orders TERM – FTA asset management / state of good repair Maximo – Work orders / inventory 4

© APTA and AREMA Railway Software: Operations Capacity Analysis & Infrastructure Planning Rail Traffic Controller (RTC) – Operations Simulation “Standard” platform for new operations on freight lines Determines performance and capacity of different track infrastructure and operations alternatives RailEval – Freight/passenger conflict screening tool OpenTrack, Viriato, RailSys, RailSim – Network analysis and scheduling for commuter/transit AnyLogic – Simulate terminal and station operations TOMS – Traction power and traffic flow for LRT Operations Planning Dozens of software packages that plan crew and equipment cycles for passenger/transit 5

© APTA and AREMA RTC Network Model 6

© APTA and AREMA Train Performance Simulation 7

© APTA and AREMA Time-Distance Diagram 8 Time Distance 6 Hour Disruption Shockwave Recovery Normal

© APTA and AREMA Applications for Academia Familiarity with appropriate software is essential for academic railway research programs Some tools are proprietary Partner with industry project sponsor to access Others offer academic licenses Software tools can also be integrated into railway engineering course assignments UIUC uses MicroStation and Bentley RailTrack for two courses: Railway Project Design & Construction Railway Terminal Design & Operations 9

© APTA and AREMA Rail Project Design with MicroStation and Bentley RailTrack

© APTA and AREMA Track Alignment Design in CAD Railway geometry is designed with a specialized application running within a CAD program RailTrack or Geopak most common Both run inside MicroStation Civil3D within AutoCAD is also used 11

© APTA and AREMA CAD Platform vs. Rail Software MicroStation CAD platform Generates, manipulates and prints graphics Displays aerial images, backgrounds Layer drawings into design plans RailTrack or Geopak Design Software Intelligent “brains & math” behind graphics Ties track alignment and profile geometry to graphics Stores elevation and terrain model data for existing ground and proposed subgrade surfaces 12

© APTA and AREMA MicroStation vs. AutoCAD Early days of computing, method of math processing leads to efficiency in certain areas MicroStation for large spatial civil projects AutoCAD for detailed mechanical design Many State DOTs adopted MicroStation Railways and consultants did the same Some structures work with AutoCAD, used for rail design in states with “AutoCAD DOTs” MicroStation and AutoCAD interfaces converging over time… MS v8i offers complete cross-functionality 13

© APTA and AREMA RailTrack (aka InRail) vs. InRoads Bentley RailTrack is a specialized version of the InRoads highway design software originally developed by Intergraph 95% of the commands and functions are the same Same workflow RailTrack offers additional capability for turnouts, superlevation, rail design criteria 14

© APTA and AREMA Rail design options Turnout commands

© APTA and AREMA Detailed Rail Design Workflow Aerial and ground survey Geotechnical field investigation Track design Horizontal and vertical geometry Subgrade, earthwork and basic drainage Culverts and special ditches Roadway crossings and signage Bridge and facilities design support 16 RailTrack

© APTA and AREMA Existing Ground Model Survey Contours and topo information provided in AutoCAD or MicroStation format Aerial images may also be provided Use RailTrack and survey drawing to create 3D model of existing ground Digital Terrain Model or “DTM” Network of triangles represents the surface 3 points define a plane 17

© APTA and AREMA Digital Terrain Model 18

© APTA and AREMA Interpretation of Survey Points Given four survey shots in a digital terrain model, all equidistant from point X, what is the elevation at point X? 19

© APTA and AREMA One Point, Two Elevations? Digital terrain models are composed of triangles, but how the triangles are drawn can yield very different results: 20

© APTA and AREMA Survey Breaklines Either solution is equally plausible in the absence of additional information from the surveyor Surveyor should mark ridge lines and flow lines in the topo with special features called “breaklines” DTM triangles cannot cross breaklines Breaklines force the triangles to align with ridges lines and flow lines to create the proper ground shape Breaklines should connect all top of rail shots and be used to define subgrade shoulders and ditches 21

© APTA and AREMA Geometry Design Steps 22 Preliminary Route Detailed Topo Horizontal Alignment Vertical Alignment (Profile) DTM Preliminary Subgrade Earthwork Quantities Typical Section Preliminary Limits of Cut and Fill Preliminary ROW Final Geometry (H&V) In ROW? Balanced? Grades OK?

© APTA and AREMA Horizontal Design Can set design criteria to auto-generate curves, spirals and super elevation based on track design speed and maximum super elevation 23

© APTA and AREMA Vertical Profile Design Design vertical curves by “R” value for track design Can also automate with design criteria 24

© APTA and AREMA Earthwork Design Steps 25 DTM & Typical Section TemplateFinal Geometry Corridor & Preliminary Earthwork Model Set Special Ditch Profiles Detailed Earthwork Model Final Limits of Cut and Fill Final ROW Final Cross Sections In ROW? Hydraulic check Final Quantities

© APTA and AREMA Subgrade Design Template Define subgrade and ditch width, side slopes 26

© APTA and AREMA Corridor Modeler Assign templates to horizontal and vertical geometry Preview cross sections 27 Plan Profile X-section

© APTA and AREMA Drive Roadbed Locomotive cab perspective view of proposed and existing earthwork surfaces 28 Cut with Ditches Fill Proposed Centerline

© APTA and AREMA Culvert Design Steps Detailed earthwork model and DTM combined into proposed terrain Drainage area analysis determines flows and culvert locations Culverts sized using hydraulic analysis programs outside CAD 29

© APTA and AREMA Remaining Design Steps Roadway crossings Layout of panels, protection devices Horizontal and vertical reconstruction Culverts to carry ditches under roadways Locate signage, derails, bumping posts Coordinate with bridge and/or facilities designers Railway geometry and earthwork sections Quantities & Cost Estimates 30

© APTA and AREMA Planset Creation 31 Project Layout Geometry and Quantity Summaries Typical Sections Plan and Profile Track Culvert Roadway Cross Sections Standard Details Sign Layouts Grade Crossing Layouts Drainage Area Map Bridge/Facility Drawings Standard CAD tools used to create sheets from rail design program output

© APTA and AREMA Sample Plan and Profile Sheet 32

© APTA and AREMA Availability MicroStation v8i and Bentley Rail Track v8i are available on a student/faculty academic license from Bentley Easy download through their Student Server portal Individual and institution licenses available Training & learning Academic program Educators Students 33

© APTA and AREMA Course Design Tasks CEE 411 Railway Project Design & Construction Industrial track layout in MicroStation RailTrack shoofly design for bridge replacement at grade separation on the edge of campus Horizontal alignment Vertical alignment Earthwork and cross sections CEE 598 RTD Railway Terminal Design & Operations Flat switching yard layout Bulk terminal unloading loop layout and alignment Hump classification yard layout All of the above with MicroStation 34

© APTA and AREMA Sample Student Submissions: Shoofly Design 35

© APTA and AREMA Sample Student Submissions 36 Hump Yard Design Intermodal Facility Design (redevelop existing yard site)

© APTA and AREMA It is the author’s intention that the information contained in this file be used for non-commercial, educational purposes with as few restrictions as possible. However, there are some necessary constraints on its use as described below. The materials used in this file have come from a variety of sources and have been assembled here for personal use by the author for educational purposes. The copyright for some of the images and graphics used in this presentation may be held by others. Users may not change or delete any author attribution, copyright notice, trademark or other legend. Users of this material may not further reproduce this material without permission from the copyright owner. It is the responsibility of the user to obtain such permissions as necessary. You may not, without prior consent from the copyright owner, modify, copy, publish, display, transmit, adapt or in any way exploit the content of this file. Additional restrictions may apply to specific images or graphics as indicated herein. The contents of this file are provided on an "as is" basis and without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. The author makes no warranties or representations, including any warranties of title, noninfringement of copyright or other rights, nor does the author make any warranties or representation regarding the correctness, accuracy or reliability of the content or other material in the file. Copyright Restrictions and Disclaimer Presentation Author 37 C. Tyler Dick, P.E. Senior Railway research Engineer University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 205 North Mathews Ave Urbana IL Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering