First urban rail transit class conducted
CUTR and the USF College of Engineering recently offered their first class in urban rail transit, drawing students from the USF Graduate Interdisciplinary Transportation Program, city and county transportation and planning agencies, HARTline, consulting firms, FDOT, and interested citizens. The course was developed and taught by CUTR’s Intermodal and Guideway Research Program Manager Dr. Ron Sheck.
“Rail transit is the subject of increasing interest as cities and metropolitan areas grapple with mobility, environmental, economic development, and quality of life concerns,” commented Sheck. “This course offered the opportunity to examine technology, policy, planning, design, and operations and raise the level of knowledge as we make transportation decisions about the future.”
The class was built on Sheck’s experience and expertise in rail transit based on information from a current CUTR/Florida International University project, “Guideway Transit and Inter-modalism: Function and Effectiveness.” Sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration, the project focuses on factors that make rail transit investments successful.
Examples of rail transit highlighted in the class were systems in Miami (currently has heavy rail, automated guideway and commuter rail), Orlando (developing light rail), Tampa (planning the Ybor City streetcar project and considering an extensive light rail system), and Jacksonville (expanding its automated guideway system). Topics covered in the course included:
- the evolution of rail transit
- rail transit technology, operations, and maintenance
- demand forecasting and the political processes
- system & facilities design
- service planning
- meeting development, environmental, growth management and quality of life goals
- performance evaluation and impacts of rail transit
- rail transit in Florida—present operations and future possibilities
The course also gave participants exposure to funding rail transit investments and the importance of interfacing with bus transit, pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles. In addition to the lectures, videos, presentations, discussions, and a visit to the RegioSprinter diesel light rail train demo in Tampa in March, a semester group project was conducted that focused on alignment, development, and operational issues associated with Tampa’s proposed five-route, 83-mile, HARTRail light rail system. This hands-on approach gave students an opportunity to work through the planning and development process using real-world information, including constructing maps, using GIS applications, and conducting field research.
With sufficient demand, the course will be offered again in the future. For further information, contact Dr. Sheck at sheck@cutr.usf.edu or call (813) 974-3120.
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