M.S.

The Quebec City - Windsor corridor is the busiest and most important trade and transportation corridor in Canada. The transportation sector is the second largest greenhouse gas (GHG) emission category in the country. Governments around the world, including Canada, are considering increased mode share by rail as a way to reduce transportation emissions. To understand whether freight mode shift is a realistic means to reduce transportation emissions, an analytical model is needed that can predict the effect of government policy on mode split. / This thesis provides background on the freight transportation-GHG nexus in Canada and describes the development, implementation, reasoning behind, and results of, a Stated Preference shipper carrier choice survey for the Quebec City - Windsor corridor conducted during the fall of 2005. It then describes how the resulting carrier choice models are used to estimate the potential to displace truck traffic to rail (premium-intermodal) under current conditions, as well as to test the effectiveness of different possible future policy or service offering scenarios. / The results show that premium-intermodal has the potential to capture a substantial share of traffic between the main destinations in the Quebec City - Windsor Corridor. However, its ability to contribute significantly to reducing CO2 emissions is limited. According to the analyses conducted, potential reductions are considered to be in the range of nil to 0.413 Mt---a fraction of what the federal government was hoping to be able to achieve through "further public-private collaboration to promote the use of intermodal freight opportunities and to increase the use of low-emission vehicles and modes" (Government of Canada 2002). / At the same time, these potential reductions are based on a small proportion of total truck-related emissions and a few city-pairs. Extension of the current analysis to more city-pairs separated by longer distances might arrive at different conclusions.

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Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1982. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Susan Marie Krolewski. / M.S.

Historically, wagons have been designed according to the American Association of Railroads specifications. These require that wagons be designed to withstand a static load between the couplers of 350 tons. This implies that the structure has a certain stiffness. In order to improve load to tare ratio, there has been talk of reducing the end load specifications. This implies that the stiffness of the wagon will reduce. Using more flexible wagons implies that the freight will probably be exposed to a harsher dynamic environment. There is a trade off between the cost of packaging and the cost of protection devices installed in the vehicle. If handling damage can be prevented then an understanding of the dynamic environment will assist in reducing the packaging requirement. This research looked at the dynamic characteristics of an existing design of wagon using modal analysis. The results from the modal analysis were extended to be inputs to the time domain freight model. Various analytical models of the freight were developed depending on the configuration and dynamic properties. Special consideration was given to a cylinder with its axis transverse to the wagon. The modal model was modified to accommodate the change in mass imposed by the freight. The various sources of dynamic excitation were explored, namely inputs from the coupler and from the bogie. Data from shunting yard simulations were used to generate spectra as input to the wagon model. The objective was to use modal techniques to be able to take individual components, form them into a complete model and make informed decisions about the suitability of a certain configuration for traffic. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

In the early 1920s, discontent about freight rates led to a number of major political battles. Statistical analysis and a review of contemporary reports suggest that the economic importance of these issues was greatly exaggerated. They were blamed for problems which were mainly attributable to such factors as the world-wide recession, the movement of the terms of trade against agricultural producers or the trend towards industrial concentration. / Examination of official documents and private papers indicates that government policy-making on freight rates was influenced by political priorities (especially winning back the West), lobbying by affected interests and the opinions of strong-minded individuals. The King Government intervened in the question of railway rates, but its procrastination, obfuscation and reversals of policy reduced the political credit it received for the concessions it decided to make. Its abortive initiatives on lake and ocean rates were empty political gestures, made out of ignorance of the economics of these complex issues.

Orientador: Fausto Rodrigues Filho / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Mecanica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-25T03:07:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Martins_SergioRoberto_M.pdf: 8034823 bytes, checksum: 3e3436c2fbc1bce2cd2db72d860250ca (MD5) Previous issue date: 1999 / Resumo: O presente trabalho apresenta um programa computacional para a simulação da frenagem de trem unitário de carga, que são trens compostos por uma grande quantidade de vagões iguais. É feita uma análise das variáveis envolvidas no processo de frenagem, com o objetivo de padronização na determinação destes valores para que haja consistência nos resultados das simulações, permitindo análise comparativa. Finalizando são feitos diversos lotes de simulações, compatíveis com situações reais das ferrovias brasileiras, e uma análise comparativa dos resultados para avaliar a influência das variáveis no processo de frenagem do trem / Abstract: This study presents a computer simulation software to analyse the unit freight train braking process. These are long trains having a great number of equal freight cars. It is made an analysis of the variables involved on the braking process with the purpose of standardization of these values to get consistency on the simulationresults to allow comparative analisis. Endly are made several simulations, according to real situations found in the Brazilian railways and a comparative analysis of the results to avaliate the influence of the variables in the train braking process / Mestrado / Mecanica dos Sólidos e Projeto Mecanico / Mestre em Engenharia Mecânica

North Dakota's transportation problem is centered on geography and volume. Being a land-locked state and not having an intermodal facility within the economic range of 150 miles from North Dakota production sites, transportation costs severely reduce shipper profit margins. Options available to containerized shippers are limited and expensive. The purpose of this research is to develop a model that evaluates tradeoffs regarding the development of intermodal shipping capabilities in North Dakota. The following are specific objectives to the research process: 1. Examine historical and current issues pertaining to intermodal transportation in North Dakota; 2. Develop an empirical model to evaluate intermodal pricing, revenues, and demand; 3. Conduct a sensitivity analysis on key random variables and interpret the results; 4. Analyze a variety of coalition cooperative efforts among key players and their effect on North Dakota' s transportation environment; 5. Describe a business model that could enable efficient intermodal transportation for North Dakota intermodal operators. Examining both the base case model and sensitivities applied to the base model allowed for examining today's transportation environment and its potential. The results are reported in chapter five and applied to game theory. Incorporating the results to game theory allows development of a business model focused on subsidizing network operators to cooperate and reposition containers to service North Dakota. A linear programming model was developed to analyze logistical costs and payoffs associated with varying game alternatives. Data collected was analyzed using GAMS software to determine the cost minimizing solutions for exporters across the eight regions of North Dakota. Base model results indicate hard IP producers in North Dakota realize minimized costs by draying containers to the intermodal terminals of Saskatoon, Winnipeg, or Minneapolis. Sensitivities were applied to answer "what if" questions related to North Dakota transportation. The first sensitivity test allows for cost of shipping by bulk to the point of export versus required loading of containers at the site of production. Results show that for the three regions encompassing the eastern border and southeast comer of North Dakota (ND4, ND7 and ND8), stuffing containers at the site of production remains the cost minimizing solution. Sensitivity accounts for hard IP shipments and includes the Minot intermodal terminal. Results show that North Dakota realizes the Minot terminal as an important shipping option. The expanded model and final sensitivity accounts for the 21 metric tons per TEU limitation placed on a containers load weight moving by rail. The addition of this parameter slightly changed model results to reflect a loss of market share to the Minot terminal. Sensitivities were then conducted on the expanded model. These sensitivities display a shift in shipping patterns due to the cost of repositioning empty containers, container stuffing fees, and Minot`s terminal handling fee.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil Engineering, 1979. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Jerome Fessard. / M.S.

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