Chapter 1

Introduction to transportation Engineering

Overview
What is transportation?
Transportation is all about moving goods and people from one place to another
It is also Safe, efficient, reliable, and sustainable movement of persons and goods over
time and space
What is Transportation engineering?
Transportation engineering is a type of civil engineering which focuses on the
infrastructure of transportation: all the elements which support the movement of goods
and people. Transportation engineers design runways, build bridges, layout roads and
plan docking facilities. They look at traffic patterns, determine when new transport
facilities are needed and come up with better ways to get from point A to point B.
Also Application of technology and scientific principles to the planning, functional
design, operation, and management of facilities for any mode of transportation in order to
provide for the safe, rapid, comfortable, convenient, economical, and environmentally
compatible movement of people and goods
obility is a basic human need. !rom the times immemorial, everyone travels either for food or
leisure. A closely associated need is the transport of raw materials to a manufacturing unit or
finished goods for consumption. Transportation fulfils these basic needs of humanity.
Transportation plays a ma"or role in the development of the human civili#ation. !or instance, one
could easily observe the strong correlation between the evolution of human settlement and the
pro$imity of transport facilities. Also, there is a strong correlation between the %uality of
transport facilities and standard of living, because of which society places a great e$pectation
from transportation facilities. In other words, the solution to transportation problems must be
analytically based, economically sound, socially credible, environmentally sensitive, and
practically acceptable and sustainable. Alternatively, the transportation solution should be safe,
rapid, comfortable, convenient, economical, and eco friendly for both men and material.
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The characteristics of transportation system
The characteristics of transportation system that makes it diverse and comple$ are listed below:
&. Multi-modal: 'overing all modes of transport( air, land, and sea for both passenger and
freight.
). Multi-sector: *ncompassing the problems and viewpoints of government, private industry,
and public.
+. Multi-problem: ,anging across a spectrum of issues that includes national and international
policy, planning of regional system, the location and design of specific facilities, carrier
management issues, regulatory, institutional and financial policies
-. Multi-objective: Aiming at national and regional economic development, urban development,
environment %uality, and social %uality, as well as service to users and financial and
economic feasibility.
.. Multi-disciplinary: /rawing on the theories and methods of engineering, economics,
operations research, political science, psychology, other natural, and social sciences,
management and law.
The conte$t in which transportation system is studied is also very diverse and are mentioned
below:
&. Planning range: 0rban transportation planning, producing long range plans for .1). years for
multimodal transportation systems in urban areas as well as short range programs of action
for less than five years.
). Passenger transport: ,egional passenger transportation, dealing with inter1city passenger
transport by air, rail, and highway and possible with new modes.
+. Freight transport: ,outing and management, choice of different modes of rail and truck.
-. International transport: Issues such as containeri#ation, inter1modal co1ordination
Therefore as we understand from above Transportation engineering is a very diverse and
multidisciplinary field, which deals with the planning, design, operation and maintenance of
transportation systems. 2ood transportation is that which provides safe, rapid, comfortable,
convenient, economical, and environmentally compatible movement of both goods and people.
This profession carries a distinct societal responsibility. Transportation planners and engineers
recogni#e the fact that transportation systems constitute a potent force in shaping the course of
regional development. 3lanning and development of transportation facilities generally raises
living standards and enhances the aggregate of community values.
)
2enerally a transportation system has three elements this are
Infrastructure: which includes ,oad, canal, rail, air Transfer points Supporting elements
4signs, signals, safety5
Vehicles: which includes 3lanes, trains, autos, buses, ships, trucks
Operators/Content : which includes /rivers, pilots, freight, passengers
History of transportation engineering
6ong before cars, snowmobiles and airplanes, humans had migrated to all over the *arth
powered almost e$clusively by their feet. *ventually, people got tired of walking around and
carrying everything they needed on their backs. They started to use domesticated animals to
carry goods. They also built machines and devices, like sleds and travois, to help them carry
more. In some parts of the world, they began using the wheel and a$le to build carts and
carriages. As people travelled back and forth, establishing trading routes, well1used paths became
more and more permanent. These paths became the first roads. As time went on, people started to
maintain the roads and look at ways in which they could be made easier to travel, these people
were the first transportation engineers.
The strong interrelationship and the interaction between transportation and the rest of the society
especially in a rapidly changing world is significant to a transportation planner. Among them
four critical dimensions of change in transportation system can be identified( which form the
background to develop a right perspective.
&. Change in the demand: 7hen the population, income, and land1use pattern changes, the
pattern of demand changes( both in the amount and spatial distribution of that demand.
). Changes in the technology: As an e$ample, earlier, only two alternatives 4bus transit and rail
transit5 were considered for urban transportation. But, now new systems like ITS ,6,T,
,TS, etc over a variety of alternatives.
+. Change in operational policy: 8ariety of policy options designed to improve the efficiency,
such as incentive for car1pooling, bus fare, road tolls etc.
+
-. Change in values of the public: *arlier all beneficiaries of a system was monolithically
considered as users. 9ow, not one system can be beneficial to all, instead one must identify
the target groups like rich, poor, young, work trip, leisure etc.
a!or disciplines of transportation
Transportation engineering can be broadly consisting of the four ma"or parts:
&. Transportation 3lanning
). 2eometric /esign
+. 3avement /esign
-. Traffic *ngineering
Transportation planning
Transportation planning essentially involves the development of a transport model which will
accurately represent both the current as well as future transportation system.
eometric design
2eometric design deals with physical proportioning of other transportation facilities, in
contrast with the structural design of the facilities. The topics include the cross1sectional
features, hori#ontal alignment, vertical alignment and intersections. Although there are several
modes of travel like road, rail, air, etc.. the underlying principles are common to a great
e$tent. Therefore emphasis will be normally given for the geometric design of roads.
!avement analysis and design
3avement design deals with the structural design of roads, both 4bituminous and concrete5,
commonly known as 4fle$ible pavements and rigid pavements5 respectively. It deals with the
design of paving materials, determination of the layer thickness, and construction and
maintenance procedures. The design mainly covers structural aspects, functional aspects,
drainage. Structural design ensures the pavement has enough strength to withstand the impact
of loads, functional design emphasi#es on the riding %uality, and the drainage design protects
the pavement from damage due to water infiltration.
Traffic engineering
Traffic engineering covers a broad range of engineering applications with a focus on the safety
of the public, the efficient use of transportation resources, and the mobility of people and
goods. Traffic engineering involves a variety of engineering and management skills, including
design, operation, and system optimi#ation. In order to address the above re%uirement, the
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traffic engineer must first understand the traffic flow behavior and characteristics by e$tensive
collection of traffic flow data and analysis. Based on this analysis, traffic flow is controlled so
that the transport infrastructure is used optimally as well as with good service %uality. In short,
the role of traffic engineer is to protect the environment while providing mobility, to preserve
scarce resources while assuring economic activity, and to assure safety and security to people
and vehicles, through both acceptable practices and high1tech communications.
Other important disciplines
In addition to the four ma"or disciplines of transportation, there are several other important
disciplines that are being evolved in the past few decades. Although it is difficult to categori#e
them into separate well defined disciplines because of the significant overlap, it may be worth
the effort to highlight the importance given by the transportation community. They can be
enumerated as below:
&. Public transportation: 3ublic transportation or mass transportation deals with study of the
transportation system that meets the travel need of several people by sharing a vehicle.
2enerally this focuses on the urban travel by bus and rail transit. The ma"or topics
include characteristics of various modes( planning, management and operations( and
policies for promoting public transportation.
). Financial and economic analysis: Transportation facilities re%uire large capital
investments. Therefore it is imperative that whoever invests money should get the
returns. 7hen government invests in transportation, its ob"ective is not often monetary
returns( but social benefits. The economic analysis of transportation pro"ect tries to
%uantify the economic benefit which includes saving in travel time, fuel consumption,
etc. This will help the planner in evaluating various pro"ects and to optimally allocate
funds. :n the contrary, private sector investments re%uire monetary profits from the
pro"ects. !inancial evaluation tries to %uantify the return from a pro"ect.
+. Environmental impact assessment : The depletion of fossil fuels and the degradation of
the environment has been a severe concern of the planners in the past few decades.
Transportation( in spite of its benefits to the society is a ma"or contributor to the above
concern. The environmental impact assessment attempts in %uantifying the environmental
impacts and tries to evolve strategies for the mitigation and reduction of the impact due to
both construction and operation. The primary impacts are fuel consumption, air pollution,
and noise pollution.
.
-. Accident analysis and reduction: :ne of the silent killers of humanity is transportation.
Several statistics evaluates that more people are killed due to transportation than great
wars and natural disasters. This discipline of transportation looks at the causes of
accidents, from the perspective of human, road, and vehicle and formulate plans for the
reduction.
.. Intelligent transport system: 7ith advent to computers, communication, and vehicle
technology, it is possible in these days to operate transportation system much effectively
with significant reduction in the adverse impacts of transportation. Intelligent
transportation system offers better mobility, efficiency, and safety with the help of the
state1of1the1art1technology.
In addition disciplines specific to various modes are also common. This includes railway
engineering, port and harbor engineering, and airport engineering.
"actors in Transportation #evelopment
Transportation develops because of several and fre%uently overlapping factors. !rom the many,
the following are important:
$conomic "actors
Almost all transport development is economic in origin. The chief preoccupation of the first
human was the procurement of food, shelter and sometimes clothing. As they become more
highly developed their needs increased, often beyond what their local economy could supply.
eans of transporting goods from distant places had to be devised, adding to the costs of the
goods thereby secured. The need for transporting individuals over wider areas also arose.
Increasing transportation productivity and lower unit costs have occurred over the years as the
system of transportation becomes more highly developed and comple$.
eographical "actor
2eography is closely related to economics. The geographical location of natural resources
determines the transport routes that gives access to those resources and create economic utility,
that is, time and place utility, by taking them from a location where they have little values to
processing and consuming areas where their values is vastly increased.
!olitical !olices
;
3olitical polices fre%uently play a deciding role in transport development. Basically is in a way to
form integrated political system and control.
Military
The military might of a nation is primarily intended to support its political polices and to provide
for national defense. 'onse%uently, often it has direct influence on transport development.
Technological "actor
3rogress in direct and supporting technologies has played an obvious role in transportation, for
instance introduction of new economical transportation mode to the e$ist system calls for the
development of transportation
Competition
The competitive urges have given a powerful impetus to transport development. ,ailroads
compete with railroad also with trucks, barges, pipelines and airlines. Airlines have counted
heavily on speed but have also been forced to greater safety and dependability to meet ground
transport competition. 9o less real is the competition between products and industries tributary
to transport. Bituminous material competes with concrete as the road surface. /iesel won steam
but may face competition with electricity.
%rbani&ation
The rapid growth of urban areas by an even more rapidly e$panding population is a phenomenon
that cannot be overlooked among transport development factors. Accessibility to land and the
intensity of land use are closely related to transport availability.
'ole of transportation in society
Transportation is a non separable part of any society. It e$hibits a very close relation to the style
of life, the range and location of activities and the goods and services which will be available for
consumption. Advances in transportation has made possible changes in the way of living and the
way in which societies are organi#ed and therefore have a great influence in the development of
civili#ations. This topic conveys an understanding of the importance of transportation in the
modern society by presenting selected characteristics of e$isting transportation systems, their use
and relationships to other human activities.
Transportation is responsible for the development of civili#ations from very old times by meeting
travel re%uirement of people and transport re%uirement of goods. Such movement has changed
the way people live and travel. In developed and developing nations, a large fraction of people
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travel daily for work, shopping and social reasons. But transport also consumes a lot of resources
like time, fuel, materials and land.
$conomic role of transportation
*conomics involves production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. 3eople
depend upon the natural resources to satisfy the needs of life but due to non uniform surface of
earth and due to difference in local resources, there is a lot of difference in standard of living in
different societies. So there is an immense re%uirement of transport of resources from one
particular society to other. These resources can range from material things to knowledge and
skills like movement of doctors and technicians to the places where there is need of them.
7ithout the ability to transport manufactured goods, raw materials, and technical know1how, a
country is simply unable to ma$imi#e the comparative advantage it may have in the form of
natural or human resources.
2oods have little values unless given utility, that is, the capacity for being useful and satisfying
wants. Transportation contributes two kinds of utilities: place and time utility, economic terms
that simply mean having goods where they are wanted when they are needed, essential functions
that can also be applied to the movement of people. An e$ample is given to evaluate the
relationship between place, time and cost of a particular commodity. If a commodity is produced
at point A and wanted by people of another community at any point B distant $ from A, then the
price of the commodity is dependent on the distance between two centers and the system of
transportation between two points. 7ith improved system the commodity will be made less
costly at B.
In urban areas especially, transportation provides the connecting link between dwelling1units to
their corresponding activities.
(ocial role of transportation
Transportation has always played an important role in influencing the formation of urban
societies. Although other facilities like availability of food and water, played a ma"or role, the
contribution of transportation can be seen clearly from the formation, si#e and pattern, and the
development of societies, especially urban centers.
Formation of settlements: !rom the beginning of civili#ation, the man is living in settlements
which e$isted near banks of ma"or river "unctions, a port, or an intersection of trade routes.
Size and Pattern of Settlement: the initial settlements were relatively small developments but
with due course of time, they grew in population and developed into big cities and ma"or trade
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centers. The si#e of settlements is not only limited by the si#e of the area by which the settlement
can obtain food and other necessities, but also by considerations of personal travels especially
the "ourney to and from work. The increased speed of transport and reduction in the cost of
transport has resulted in variety of spatial patterns.
Groth of !rban "enters: 7hen the cities grow beyond normal walking distance, then
transportation technology plays a role in the formation of the city. !or e$ample, many cities in
the plains developed as a circular city with radial routes, where as the cities beside a river
developed linearly. The development of automobiles and other factors like increase in personal
income, and construction of paved road network, the settlements were transformed into urban
centers of intense travel activity.
$nvironmental role of transportation
The negative effects of transportation are more dominating than its useful aspects as far as
transportation is concerned. There are numerous categories into which the environmental effects
have been categori#ed. They are e$plained in the following sections.
"afety
2rowth of transportation has a very unfortunate impact on the society in terms of accidents.
7orldwide death and in"uries from road accidents have reached epidemic proportions. 3resent
indications are that about half a million killed and about &. million in"ured on the road accidents
annually. Increased variation in the speeds and vehicle density resulted in a high e$posure to
accidents. Accidents result in loss of life and permanent disability, in"ury, and damage to
property. Accidents also causes numerous non1%uantifiable impacts like loss of time, grief to the
near ones of the victim, and inconvenience to the public. The loss of life and damage from
natural disasters, industrial accidents, or epidemic often receive significant attention from both
government and public. This is because their occurrence is concentrated but sparse. :n the other
hand, accidents from transport sector are widespread and occurs with high fre%uency.
#ir $ollution
All transport modes consume energy and the most common source of energy is from the burning
of fossil fuels like coal, petrol, diesel, etc. The relation between air pollution and respiratory
disease has been demonstrated by various studies and the detrimental effects on the planet earth
are widely recogni#ed recently. The combustion of the fuels releases several contaminants into
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the atmosphere, including carbon mono$ide, hydrocarbons, o$ides of nitrogen, and other
particulate matter. ?ydrocarbons are the result of incomplete combustion of fuels. 3articulate
matters are minute solid or li%uid particles that are suspended in the atmosphere. They include
aerosols, smoke, and dust particles. These air pollutants once emitted into the atmosphere,
undergo mi$ing and disperse into the surroundings.
%oise pollution
Sound is acoustical energy released into atmosphere by vibrating or moving bodies where as
noise is unwanted sound produced. Transportation is a ma"or contributor of noise pollution,
especially in urban areas. 9oise is generated during both construction and operation. /uring
construction, operation of large e%uipments causes considerable noise to the neighborhood.
/uring the operation, noise is generated by the engine and e$haust systems of vehicle,
aerodynamic friction, and the interaction between the vehicle and the support system 4road1tire,
rail1wheel5. *$tended e$posure to e$cessive sound has been shown to produce physical and
psychological damage. !urther, because of its annoyance and disturbance, noise adds to mental
stress and fatigue.
Energy consumption
The spectacular growths in industrial and economic growth during the past century have been
closely related to an abundant supply of ine$pensive energy from fossil fuels. Transportation
sector is unbelieved to consume more than half of the petroleum products. The compact of the
shortage of fuel was e$perienced during ma"or wars when strict rationing was imposed in many
countries. The impact of this had cascading effects on many factors of society, especially in the
price escalation of essential commodities. ?owever, this has few positive impacts( a shift to
public transport system, a search for energy efficient engines, and alternate fuels. /uring the time
of fuel shortage, people shifted to cheaper public transport system. 3olicy makers and planners
thereafter gave much emphasis to the public transit which consumes less energy per person. The
second impact was in the development of fuel1efficient engines and devices and operational and
maintenance practices. A fast depleting fossil fuel has accelerated the search for energy efficient
and environment friendly alternate energy source. The research is active in the development of
bio1fuels, hydrogen fuels and solar energy.
Other impacts
&@
Transportation directly or indirectly affects many other areas of society and few of then are listed
below: Increased travel re%uirement also re%uire additional land for transport facilities. A good
transportation system takes considerable amount of land from the society.
Aesthetics of a region is also affected by transportation. ,oad networks in %uite country side are
visual intrusion. Similarly, the transportation facilities like fly1overs are again visual intrusion in
urban conte$t.
The social life and social pattern of a community is severely affected after the introduction of
some transportation facilities. 'onstruction of new transportation facilities often re%uires
substantial relocation of residents and employment opportunities.
odes of Transportation
Transport modes are the means by which people and freight achieve mobility. They fall into one
of three basic types, depending on over what surface they travel A land 4road, rail and pipelines5,
water 4shipping5, and air. *ach mode is characteri#ed by a set of technical, operational and
commercial characteristics.
'oad transportation
,oad infrastructures are large consumers of space with the lowest level of physical constraints
among transportation modes. ?owever, physiographical constraints are significant in road
construction with substantial additional costs to overcome features such as rivers or rugged
terrain. ,oad transportation has an average operational fle$ibility as vehicles can serve several
purposes but are rarely able to move outside roads. ,oad transport systems have high
maintenance costs, both for the vehicles and infrastructures. They are mainly linked to light
industries where rapid movements of freight in small batches are the norm. Bet, with
containeri#ation, road transportation has become a crucial link in freight distribution.
'ail transportation
,ailways are composed of traced paths on which are bound vehicles. They have an average level
of physical constrains linked to the types of locomotives and a low gradient is re%uired,
particularly for freight. ?eavy industries are traditionally linked with rail transport systems,
although containeri#ation has improved the fle$ibility of rail transportation by linking it with
road and maritime modes. ,ail is by far the land transportation mode offering the highest
capacity with a )+,@@@ tons fully loaded coal unit train being the heaviest load ever carried.
!ipelines
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3ipeline routes are practically unlimited as they can be laid on land or under water. The longest
gas pipeline links Alberta to Sarnia 4'anada5, which is ),>&& km in length. The longest oil
pipeline is the Transiberian, e$tending over >,+-- km from the ,ussian arctic oilfields in eastern
Siberia to 7estern *urope. 3hysical constraints are low and include the landscape and pergelisol
in arctic or subarctic environments. 3ipeline construction costs vary according to the diameter
and increase proportionally with the distance and with the viscosity of fluids 4from gas, low
viscosity, to oil, high viscosity5.
Maritime transportation
Because of the physical properties of water conferring buoyancy and limited friction, maritime
transportation is the most effective mode to move large %uantities of cargo over long distances.
ain maritime routes are composed of oceans, coasts, seas, lakes, rivers and channels. ?owever,
due to the location of economic activities maritime circulation takes place on specific parts of the
maritime space, particularly over the 9orth Atlantic and the 9orth 3acific. The construction of
channels, locks and dredging are attempts to facilitate maritime circulation by reducing
discontinuity. 'omprehensive inland waterway systems include 7estern *urope, the 8olga C /on
system, St. 6awrence C 2reat 6akes system, the ississippi and its tributaries, the Ama#on, the
3anama C 3araguay and the interior of 'hina. aritime transportation has high terminal costs,
since port infrastructures are among the most e$pensive to build, maintain and improve. ?igh
inventory costs also characteri#e maritime transportation. ore than any other mode, maritime
transportation is linked to heavy industries, such as steel and petrochemical facilities ad"acent to
port sites.
)ir transportation
Air routes are practically unlimited, but they are denser over the 9orth Atlantic, inside 9orth
America and *urope and over the 9orth 3acific. Air transport constraints are multidimensional
and include the site 4a commercial plane needs about +,+@@ meters of runway for landing and
take off5, the climate, fog and aerial currents. Air activities are linked to the tertiary and
%uaternary sectors, notably finance and tourism, which lean on the long distance mobility of
people. ore recently, air transportation has been accommodating growing %uantities of high
value freight and is playing a growing role in global logistics.
Intermodal transportation
'oncerns a variety of modes used in combination so that the respective advantages of each mode
are better e$ploited. Although intermodal transportation applies for passenger movements, such
&)
as the usage of the different, but interconnected modes of a public transit system, it is over
freight transportation that the most significant impacts have been observed. 'ontaineri#ation has
been a powerful vector of intermodal integration, enabling maritime and land transportation
modes to more effectively interconnect.
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