Serving Emerging Transit Markets: Applications of Diesel Multiple Units

The vicious cycle of roadway congestion-highway construction-increasing congestion has finally directed the national effort from more pavements of roads to public transportation as an alternative. Guideway transit, including light rail transit and commuter rail, with higher capacity, lower land consumption, higher fuel efficiency, and minimal environmental impact is becoming more and more attractive. As an applicable rail transit technology, Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) has gained tremendous popularity in Europe and is getting more and more attention in the US. Considering its unique advantages such as cost efficiency for short trains, flexible operation and fast acceleration, DMU can be a competitive option to serve some emerging transit market. In this paper, the authors give detailed introduction of DMU's technology characteristics in terms of operation character, cost efficiency, manufacturing availability, regulatory compliance and tolerance. A general framework of how to select a rail technology for certain corridor is presented. To demonstrate the decision-making process, a real life case study is provided. New Jersey transit is trying to development one passenger rail service between Tenafly and North Bergen in Bergen County, New Jersey, is provided.