Light Rail Procurement - Tech Spec

Draft for Review

Below are the Light Rail Technical Specification document and two supporting documents that have been under development by the Light Rail Procurement Task Force. Development of these documents has included the participation of car-builders, transit agencies, consultants, vendors, the Federal Transit Administration and others with expertise in light rail technology. These documents are intended to be used in conjunction with a recommended practice on contracting also under review.

Also below is a contracting document outlining a request for proposals (RFP) for a light rail vehicle (LRV) procurement Contract. The document was developed by the APTA Procurement Terms and Conditions Working Group for use by transit agencies.

We are asking for your feedback on these documents and their general applicability to light rail car technical specifications as part of vehicle procurements.

Comments and views are due by January 31, 2011. Questions can be directed to Martin Schroeder, P.E. at mschroeder@apta.com.

Technical Specification

Document(s) to be Balloted

Title	Size (Kb)
LRV Standard Technical Specification	2,499.58	Download
LRV Standard Specification Guide	173.06	Download
LRV Technical Spec Release Notes	40.96	Download
LRV Procurement RFP	2,064.90	Download
LRV Standard Technical Specification-PDF	5,021.22	Download
LRV Standard Specification Guide-PDF	167.95	Download
LRV Technical Spec Release Notes-PDF	372.56	Download
LRV Procurement RFP-PDF	1,411.85	Download

Posted Comments

— 1/31/2011 10:13:18 PM
Section	TS2-27 / 2.7. b
Original text	b. For vehicle subsystem equipment, in revenue rail operation for at least 5 years on North American operating properties;
Proposed text	Remove North American reference
— 1/31/2011 10:11:23 PM
Section	TS2-24 / 2.5.4. - 4b
Original text	4. Average noise levels emanating from the vehicle shall not exceed the following levels with all auxiliary equipment operating simultaneously: a. Vehicle stationary, empty: 68 dBA b. Vehicle empty, on tangent track accelerating from 40 mph (64 km/h) or in maximum dynamic braking or maximum friction braking from 40 mph (64 km/h): 75 dBA
Proposed text	Measurements are done only at constant speed (according ISO3095 standard). Noise level is rather LpAeqTp < or = 76 dBA up to 40 mph (64km/h) at 5 feet.
— 1/31/2011 10:09:59 PM
Section	TS2-23 / 2.5.3. - 7
Original text	3. With the vehicle stationary with windows and doors closed, with all auxiliary equipment operating simultaneously under normal operating conditions, the interior noise level shall not exceed 72 dBA.
Proposed text	Noise generated separately by any side door operation, measured with the fast meter response, 1 ft (305 mm) inboard from the doorway centerline at a height of 5 ft (1.5 m) above top of floor, shall not exceed 78 dBA
— 1/31/2011 10:05:57 PM
Section	TS2-18 / 2.4.11.4. - 15
Original text	4. The Master Controller handle and its position during operation shall minimize strain and fatigue on the operator. 5. The Master Controller handle shall be sufficiently long and the handle throw sufficiently great that all detents are easily reached. 6. Rotation of the Master Controller handle is permitted in the longitudinal-vertical plane. 7. Sufficient cushioning and arm/elbow support shall be provided for operator comfort. 8. Five master controller detent positions shall be provided and clearly labeled: 9. Full Power (maximum extent of handle travel in the power sector) 10. Minimum Power (near Coast position) 11. Coast (near center of handle travel) 12. Minimum Brake 13. Full Service Brake 14. Maximum Service Brake 15. Emergency Brake (maximum extent of handle travel in the brake sector).
Proposed text	Let the driving positions "open" in the spec. A common design consists in having : EB (notched), FSB (notched when required), Service brake (linear), Coast (notched), power (linear). DCH is locked or inoperative when a driving mode has not been selected.
— 1/31/2011 10:03:53 PM
Section	TS2-16 / 2.4.9 - 12
Original text	12. Automatic wheel size adjustment shall be provided.
Proposed text	Keep "open" the means of entering the new wheel dia after reprofiling. Manually with a laptop or any other means.
— 1/31/2011 10:02:03 PM
Section	TS2-13 / 2.4.8 - 4. & 5.
Original text	4. Emergency brake (EB) shall be non-slide controlled disk brake plus track brakes. 5. Application of Emergency Braking (EB) shall be available by actuating the console EB push button switch.
Proposed text	Consider §3.2.2 and 3.2.3 of standard EN 13452-1 : Emergency brake uses electrodynamic brake, friction brake, load weighing correction, wheel slide protection, track brakes, jerk limitation and automatic sanding. EB is initiated from the Driving Control Handle (DCH) (retrievable until tram stop), deadman triggering or tram roll-back (not retrievable until tram stop). APTA definition for EB is closer from european SAFETY BRAKE (SB) using friction brake, track brakes and automatic sanding, no load weighing correction, no wheel slide protection, no jerk limitation. SB is initiated from the mushroom push-button and is not retrievable until tram stop.
— 1/31/2011 10:00:36 PM
Section	TS2-13 / 2.4.8 - 1. & 2.
Original text	1. Maximum Service brake (MSB) shall be a slide controlled dynamic and disk brake application with track brake and sanding. 2. Maximum Service brake shall be initiated by moving the Master Controller Handle beyond the normal service brake range into the MSB position.
Proposed text	Consider §3.2.2 and 3.2.3 of standard EN 13452-1 : Full Service Brake uses electrodynamic brake, friction brake, load weighing correction, wheel slide protection, jerk limitation. Sanding is used when necessary. Track brakes not used.FSB is initiated from the Driving Control Handle (DCH)
— 1/31/2011 9:51:25 PM
Section	TS1-16 / 1.5
Original text	The car design shall take into consideration the human factors engineering of the U.S. adult population anthropomorphic data and be based on human factors engineering, with the range of people from the 2.5 percentile female to the 97.5 percentile male as defined by “The Measure of Man & Woman”, revised edition
Proposed text	Use 5% and 95% percentiles.
— 1/31/2011 9:45:27 PM
Section	TS1-6 / 1.2.2
Original text	Average Deceleration Rate – The ratio of the light rail vehicle speed at which braking effort achieves the commanded value and the elapsed time from that occurrence to zero vehicle speed. The elapsed time does not include braking effort build up time during jerk limiting and does not include operator reaction time or allowable dead time.
Proposed text	Consider §3.7 of standard EN 13452-1
— 1/31/2011 9:44:18 PM
Section	TS1-6 / 1.2.2
Original text	Average Brake Rate (V/t) – The speed (V) at which brake force, as measured by motor current or brake cylinder pressure, has ramped up to its full service level, divided by the elapsed time (T) required to go from that speed to a lower speed.
Proposed text	Consider §3.7 of standard EN 13452-1