Clearance Inventory and Planning for Double-Deck Passenger Equipment

On behalf of a major passenger transport agency, we convened and progressed a clearance inventory project that aimed to provide a clear path for bi-level passenger coaching stock to enter a major downtown terminal through legacy tunnel infrastructure.  This project involved multiple engineering areas and outside consultants, as it was necessary to examine the issue in an interdisciplinary way.  The project team explored various approaches to make the car fit, including chamfering existing rolling stock designs, making minor and structural modifications to tunnel infrastructure, introducing speed restrictions as to reduce vehicle dynamic envelope, and upgrading track class to reduce maintenance tolerance.  We also procured new clearance modelling software that enabled in-house engineering staff to manipulate LiDAR data and develop their own simulations of various clearance scenarios.  Various operational and infrastructure changes required to support daily operation of higher rolling stock were identified by the project.  This project is currently in full-scale physical testing based on a proposed car outline.