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Mass rapid transit system is regarded as the optimal solution for a congested urban transit corridor. Primarily, MRTS influences land values, accessibility, travel patterns, and land use. It has the potential to expand access to remote regions and stimulate urban redevelopment. Conversely, in the absence of well-planned MRTS nodes, disorderly urban transformations ensue due to sensitive accessibility and, as a consequence, land valuation escalates, ultimately succumbing to market forces. As a consequence, disorder and congestion ensue, and instantaneous progressions transpire along the MRTS corridor and within their area of influence. The purpose of this study is to determine the causes and effects of Metro on the land values and land use patterns in the locality area as A Case Study of Delhi Metro Rail. The character composition of the area chosen for the research is entirely distinct from that of other regions where metro rail has been installed. This area includes several metro stations, including Lakshmi Nagar, Nirman Vihar, and Preet Vihar. In this study primary data collection is conducted through the utilization of GIS and Erdas Imagine software to map the existing land use of the area, in addition to conducting field surveys. Prior to commencing the primary survey, a handheld GPS was utilized to gather location data and conduct intelligence. The methodology utilized was predominately based on a comparison between the designated corridor before and after the construction of the metro. By analyzing this case study, the research will enable policymakers and planners to assess the effects of MRTS and develop strategies for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transportation is an unavoidable part of every human's life. The mobility system handles the transport of humans from different places using various transport modes. According to a station in a populated area, the main problem is the presence of traffic in peak hours and wasting their valuable time on the road. The only medium which runs above the traffic is metro rails/subways. For these reasons, metro rails become a point of interest for each researcher's prophecy and provide valuable recommendations for the smooth functioning of services. Even though, in many cases, the metro systems are affected by abnormal passenger flow. So, this study handles abnormal passenger flow detection and station clustering for the behavior study of a passenger flow system. The research compares outlier detection and anomaly identification for the behavioral analysis of the metro rail passenger flow. The study use data from Kochi Metro Rail Limited for the period 2017 to 2019. Outlier removal has used in passenger flow data before building a forecasting system. In pattern recognition algorithm those components which lie outside the patterns can be considered abnormal (anomaly).The outliers are the component falling apart from the region of interest. The effect of removing the outlier from the time-series pattern is studied against the outlier included pattern to show the improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a very dense urban landscape, incorporating renewables becomes challenging due to a lack of space, planning, and mindset. Utilization of already existing large infrastructures in combination with existing technology and necessary adaptation can create the right synergy for harnessing renewables like solar. This paper proposes the installation of a solar power plant in Dhaka, Bangladesh, using available space on Metro Rail Line 6 to meet the increasing demand for clean and renewable energy. The proposed system involves the selection of suitable space, and PV panels, the calculation of annual electricity generation, and performing financial and environmental analyses. The proposed on-grid/grid-tied system offers the advantage of reducing dependence on power supplied to the grid, resulting in lower energy costs, and promoting the use of green energy. The system has a payback period of 7.7 years and a return on investment of 45.7 %. It is estimated that the system saves 14,053.203 tons of CO2 emissions per year and 281,064.06 tons of CO2 emissions over its lifetime. Also, the grid life cycle emission is 584 gCO2/kWh, and the system life cycle emission is 39,119.4 tCO2, which further proves that it is a feasible solution to meeting energy demands while reducing the dependency on fossil fuels and promoting sustainable energy utilization. The results of simulations run using PVsyst and HOMER confirm the economic viability of the proposed solar power station, supporting its viability. The levelized energy cost (LCOE), as projected by PVsyst, is $0.09 per kWh, nearly matching HOMER's prediction of $0.0835. This convergence of results from several simulation tools supports the solar power plant's predicted cost-effectiveness, demonstrating its potential as a key player in the effort to create a greener and more affordable energy landscape.

In India, Rail mode of transport serves as frequently preferrable transit systems operating with the optimal cost. Typically, the Indian Railways transport thousands of people on a day-to-day basis in addition to transporting large consignment of goods. Therefore, it is important for the trains to ensure that they run on quality tracks. At times, these tracks are challenged by the friction generated by continuous passage of trains in addition to over corrosions that occur due to their environmental imbalance. Preventive Track Maintenances (PTMs) have been recently introduced by railways for enhancing the quality of railway tracks, but on the contrary, it was failed to focus on the actual needs or emergencies of railway tracks. Moreover, none of the existing methods have been tested with real time datasets. Specifically, holding only two class labels are being considered resulting in the reduction of classification performances. But the major challenging task is that the real-time datasets fall under the category of multi-variant data. Hence, this study aims to provide a Decision Support System (DSS) that predicts the Railway Track Quality (RTQ) from the real time datasets available on the track inspection data of the Indian metro rail system. The proposed research uses clustering and classification processes for achieving Predictive Track maintenance (PTM). Furthermore, the proposed method of RPTMs includes five steps namely data collection, data transformations, clustering of data, preventive maintenances, and evaluations. The undertaken datasets are transformed into numeric formats for the creation of clusters using Kernel Mean Weight Fuzzy Local Information C Means (KMWFLICMs). The resultant clusters from the data have five major types of clusters such as Normal, Low risks, Medium, High, and Emergency Risks based on the parameters of gauge, cross level attributes, turnouts and versine of mainline. From the inferred cluster results, the dataset was further classified to choose maintenance status from four major classes namely No Actions, Fixed Maintenances, Investigate Maintenances, and Emergency Maintenance pertinent to the outcomes of FWCNNs (Fuzzy Weight Convolution Neural Networks). The proposed system was experimented on MATLAB and evaluated against various machine learning approaches. Therefore, the obtained statistical results confirmed that the proposed FWCNN model had afforded higher accuracy in predicting the maintenance interventions based on relevant risk category. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with an intelligent data analytics platform - Jaison-Paul Data Analytics Platform (JP-DAP) - for metro rail transport systems. JP-DAP is intended to ensure smooth functioning, improved customer experience, ridership forecasting, and efficient administration of metro rail transportation systems by integrating and analysing its many data sources. It consists of a middleware which is built on the top of a Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) and Spark framework, along with a set of open-source software tools like Apache Hive, Pandas, Google TensorFlow and Spark ML-lib for real-time and legacy data processing. The benchmarking of JP-DAP was conducted using TestDFSIO and have found that it performs well according to industry standards. The specific use case for this project is Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL). The analysis of Automated Fare Collection data from KMRL on JP-DAP framework have produced descriptive statistics visualisation of inflow and outflow analysis, travel patterns during weekdays and weekends, origin-destination matrix, etc.. Moreover JP-DAP framework is capable of producing short term passenger flow predictions using SVR machine learning algorithm with linear, radial basis function and polynomial kernels. Our experiments have shown that SVR linear kernel gives the most accurate results with the least errors in predicting the next day’s passenger count using the previous five weekdays data. The station usage (one-to-all) prediction using Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) is also integrated to this framework. The visualisation as well as analytical outcomes of JP-DAP framework have also been made available to the external world using a rich set of REST APIs and are projected on to a web-dashboard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a very dense urban landscape, incorporating renewables becomes challenging due to a lack of space, planning, and mindset. Utilization of already existing large infrastructures in combination with existing technology and necessary adaptation can create the right synergy for harnessing renewables like solar. This paper proposes the installation of a solar power plant in Dhaka, Bangladesh, using available space on Metro Rail Line 6 to meet the increasing demand for clean and renewable energy. The proposed system involves the selection of suitable space, and PV panels, the calculation of annual electricity generation, and performing financial and environmental analyses. The proposed on-grid/grid-tied system offers the advantage of reducing dependence on power supplied to the grid, resulting in lower energy costs, and promoting the use of green energy. The system has a payback period of 7.7 years and a return on investment of 45.7 %. It is estimated that the system saves 14,053.203 tons of CO 2 emissions per year and 281,064.06 tons of CO 2 emissions over its lifetime. Also, the grid life cycle emission is 584 gCO 2 /kWh, and the system life cycle emission is 39,119.4 tCO 2 , which further proves that it is a feasible solution to meeting energy demands while reducing the dependency on fossil fuels and promoting sustainable energy utilization. The results of simulations run using PVsyst and HOMER confirm the economic viability of the proposed solar power station, supporting its viability. The levelized energy cost (LCOE), as projected by PVsyst, is $0.09 per kWh, nearly matching HOMER's prediction of $0.0835. This convergence of results from several simulation tools supports the solar power plant's predicted cost-effectiveness, demonstrating its potential as a key player in the effort to create a greener and more affordable energy landscape., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

In railway turnout areas, vertical and horizontal structure irregularities, including geometry and stiffness, result in vibration amplification during the passage of trains. These vibrations can then spread to the surrounding environment. A steel spring floating slab track may be used to control such vibrations, especially in metro-type urban railways. An experimental study was conducted to investigate the vibration-mitigating effects of the floating slab track in turnout areas, and the results were compared with the performance of a regular slab track. Four test cases (consisting of six test sections) were selected: a floating slab track in the turnout zone (consisting of a switch rail section and a nose rail section), a floating slab track in the plain line, a slab track in the turnout zone (consisting of a switch rail section and a nose rail section), and a slab track in the plain line. The vibration characteristics of the floating slab track in the plain line and in the turnout were calculated to explain the test results. The test results indicate that when trains pass across the floating slab track in the turnout zone, the vertical vibration response is close to the horizontal response on the switch rail sections. The use of floating slab track can effectively reduce this vertical vibration. However, the vertical vibration response is much larger than the horizontal response on the nose rail sections of the turnout zone. When the floating slab track is used in these turnout zones, the vertical vibration of the rail decreases while the horizontal vibration increases. Compared to sections using the regular slab track in the turnout zone, the vibration of the floating slab track segments in the turnout zone is shown to be exacerbated, although the vibration level at the adjacent tunnel wall is effectively reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Major success factors and challenges to the use of land value capture to fund public transportation projects are identified. • Land Value Capture tools used to fund the metro rail system in Delhi, India—Delhi Metro—are reviewed. • A framework is presented to evaluate whether, how, and how well land value capture (LVC) tools are funding Delhi Metro. • Several intertwined factors, many related to land use planning and policy, limit magnitude of land value capture revenues. The proposed study contributes to the land use policy literature by first reviewing the existing literature to identify a set of major success factors and challenges to the use of land value capture (LVC) to fund public transportation projects. Next, it reviews LVC tools used to fund the metro rail system in Delhi, India—Delhi Metro. Finally, it uses the success factors and challenges identified in the study to present a framework for evaluating whether, how, and how well LVC tools are being used to fund Delhi Metro. This paper finds that several intertwined factors, many related to land use planning and policy, limit the magnitude of LVC revenues. These factors include a lack of consistency between the plans of transit agencies and local governments, that has led to poor planning for transit-oriented development (TOD) inside and around station land; the inability of transit agencies to control land use and zoning for and around the station; and over-reliance on capturing value from new properties instead of from all properties that benefit from the metro system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the impact assessment of the tunneling works on aquifer's hydrogeology in the area of Chennai metro rail corridor using groundwater numerical model (MODFLOW3D). The comprehensive environment model is used to estimate the groundwater flow system and the groundwater levels in the study area, during the tunneling period. The comprehensive environment modeling period was selected from 1995 to 2016. According to the available data and the project phasing. Three scenarios are chosen according to the time schedule of the progress of the tunneling work. The comprehensive environment model was calibrated, validated and predicted for the change in the rate and direction of movement of ground water before and after the construction of underground tunnel sections. The comprehensive environment model shows increase and decrease of water levels in the observation wells of the study area due to the obstruction created in the ground water flow regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metro rail systems (MRS) currently face a serious threat from terrorist attacks – especially through use of explosives. The threat comes at a time when scores of new MRS are under construction or at the planning stage in cities across the world. Designers of these systems need to consider ways to detect explosives without an adverse impact upon passenger comfort and profitability. This paper presents a framework for designers to identify security functions in MRS, understand current methods of threat detection used in MRS and recognise their relationship with other operational requirements. Application of this framework at the planning stage can assist in designing systems where terrorist threats can be better addressed with reduced impact on passenger experience and MRS operations. The application of a framework of analysis inspired by Ekblom’s work to nine functioning MRS yields a concise representation of the major design issues architects and security specialists have to consider for effective integration of security systems in stations.

As cities work to reduce their total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the transportation sector is lagging, accounting for a growing percentage of total emissions in many cities. The provision of public transit, and specifically urban rail transit, is widely seen as a useful tool for reducing urban transportation GHG emissions. There is, however, limited understanding of the net impact of new metro rail infrastructure on urban emissions. This paper examines the net GHG emissions the Sheppard Subway Line in Toronto, Canada. The GHG emissions associated with construction, operation, ridership and changes in residential density associated with the provision of the new metro rail infrastructure are assessed. These components are then combined and compared to calculate the net GHG impact across the study period, which extends from opening in 2002 through 2011. The GHG payback period is calculated. After nine years of operation, the Sheppard Subway Line is found to have nearly paid back its initial GHG investment in the optimistic case. The payback was due to the calculated mode shift from automobiles and changes in residential density and associated energy savings in the station pedestrian catchment areas. The payback period is very sensitive to the potential for induced demand to backfill the mode shifted automobile kilometres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metro rail systems (MRS) currently face a serious threat from terrorist attacks -- especially through use of explosives. The threat comes at a time when scores of new MRS are under construction or at the planning stage in cities across the world. Designers of these systems need to consider ways to detect explosives without an adverse impact upon passenger comfort and profitability. This paper presents a framework for designers to identify security functions in MRS, understand current methods of threat detection used in MRS and recognise their relationship with other operational requirements. Application of this framework at the planning stage can assist in designing systems where terrorist threats can be better addressed with reduced impact on passenger experience and MRS operations. The application of a framework of analysis inspired by Ekblom's work to nine functioning MRS yields a concise representation of the major design issues architects and security specialists have to consider for effective integration of security systems in stations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban public transportation remains a challenge for Indian cities. The debilitating state of current public transportation infrastructure as well as rising carbon emissions from private vehicles supports that investments be made in public transportation systems that are both efficient and mitigate environmental challenges of reducing carbon emissions. To address the problem, many Indian cities have been experimenting with metro rail systems. Metro rails are capital intensive projects. Given the budgetary constraints and limitations of external borrowing capacity, state governments in India are resorting to land based finances. Land based financing is predicated on the principle of land value capture. A popular mechanism to implement land based financing is to raise revenues through property development or real-estate cross-subsidisation. This study examined two real-estate cross subsidisation projects that were implemented to raise revenues for Bangalore metro project and Kochi metro project each. The study identified some of the key challenges to land based finances in India. In particular, the study analysed conflicts surrounding urban land management as land acquired under the rubric of 'public purpose' were transferred for commercial property development to generate finances for the metro projects. The study calls for evaluation of existing policies of land based financing for urban infrastructure projects. • The rise in land values alongside metro rail corridors in India has triggered real estate led development adjacent to the metro corridors. • Metro rail project development authorities are using real estate development opportunities to raise revenues for undefined the metro corridors. • Real-estate development activities have raised concerns over diversion of public assets for commercial uses meant to serve private purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weather influences travel behavior in both the short and long-term. We have studied the impact of extreme weather conditions of high temperatures, low temperatures, rain, thunderstorms and fog on travel choices by the metro rail users at two stations in Delhi. Stated adaptation choice survey is conducted at two metro stations (underground and elevated) having different built environments and transport infrastructure in the buffer area. The mode used and travel time to access metro stations vary between the two stations; however, the stated choices do not significantly vary between them. As per the analysis, the respondents are more likely to change their existing trip patterns during either rains or high temperatures. The metro rail users traveling for longer distances are less likely to change their existing travel patterns. Access travel time has a significant and positive impact on the alteration in travel choices during extreme weather conditions. The study highlights the need for provision and management of transport systems to support access/egress leg of the trip to minimize the exposure of users to extreme weather conditions. The study also identifies the impact of income, gender and trip purpose on the adaptation strategies. • Assess change in travel choices of metro rail users in extreme weather conditions • Maximum change is likely in rains followed by high temperatures • Long distance trips are lesser likely to change during extreme weather events • Likeliness to change the travel choice increases with increase in access travel time • Males and low-income groups are less likely to change their existing trip pattern [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]