Impact of railway transportation on public transportation in the KMTR 1

To develop a technical framework to understand the impact of railway transportation on

public transportation in the KMTR.

Final Project

Landel Smith - 1607757

Chevaughn Wallace – 1607756

Keith White -1604547

Krishane Smith -1405460

Friday 2 pm

University of Technology, Jamaica

Impact of railway transportation on public transportation in the KMTR 2

Background

Public transportation is a critical part of any society as it is the means by which large portions of

people move about to work, school, religious & social events. Goods are also distributed using

public transportation. Currently, public transportation within KMTR is by means of road. Rail

transportation is the most “effective way to handle increased transportation demands with

relatively low power requirements, a low land requirement, little air pollution, and few accidents

involving fatalities and injuries” (Standard Handbook for Civil Engineers). In the past rail

transportation was an integral part of the Jamaican public transportation system until 1992 when

the system was halted. The only rail services are those conducted by local bauxite companies to

transport bauxite to the ports for export.

In recent years there has been an increase in traffic congestion which has various impacts in the

KMTR. To cope, the relevant stake holders have carried out various works to improve and create

new road infrastructure. Despite these implementations there remains the issue of congestion but

less land spaces to improve road networks.

As a University student studying Construction Engineering, it is hoped that this research will aid

Engineers, Planners and Government officials to carefully look at the possible implications of a

restart of rail transportation in the KMTR.

Problem statement

The KMTR continues to be plagued by serious traffic congestions despite numerous road

improvements and developments, the area is now running out of roads to improve and areas that

can be used to facilitate new infrastructure while existing rail lines remain idle.
Impact of railway transportation on public transportation in the KMTR 3

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to develop a technical framework to understand the possible impact

of rail transportation on public transportation in the KMTR.

Research Objectives

To ascertain state of public transportation in the KMTR

To discuss the importance of public transportation in the KMTR

To examine rail transportation in similar urban areas like the KMTR

Research Questions

1. How reliable is public transportation in the KMTR?

2. How much of the Kingston population use public transportation?

3. How was rail transportation implemented in similar urban areas like the KMTR?

4. How has railway transportation effected the social-and-economic development of similar

urban areas like the KMTR?

Significance
Impact of railway transportation on public transportation in the KMTR 4

This research will be done with the aim of understanding the impact of railway transportation on

public transportation in the KMTR. The study will tell if there is a need for other modes of

transportation as it relates to public transportation in the KMTR.

Limitations

Factors that will prove to limit the execution of this research include time, the scope of this

research serves as a limitation. As in order to gather the necessary information for this research,

data gathering activities will need to be over the span of years, to gather information from the

public and transport authority, and to do population survey. However, the time frame of this

exercise, is much less than what will be necessary to carry out this research.

Cost will serve as a limitation, as the members of the research team carrying out this study lack

the budget to do the research.

The pandemic will also serve as a limitation to the execution of this research. As the country now

turns to the mode of working from home and online schooling, the number of public

transportation users lessen. Also, there is some amount of risk when going out to do the research

at this moment in time, with corona virus still around. Therefore, it will be a huge challenge to

produce the most accurate results in the study.

Delimitation

 KMTR-
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 Public transportation

 Railway system

In this study to completely categorize the area of study, only the Kingston and St. Andrew region

will be examined.

The research will only be looking at The Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC), as it relates

to the type of public transportation currently in the area. This is to ensure that the scale of the

study is not too extensive, and data can be easily retrieved from the JUTC which will aid in

getting credible findings.

Key Definitions

Public transportation – Public transportation systems include a variety of transit options such as

buses, light rail and subways. These systems are available to the general public which may

require a fare and run at scheduled times. The reason of expanding public transportation is to

increase access to and use of public transit while reducing motor vehicle miles driven and  traffic

congestion.

Rail transportation – is the most effective way to handle increased transportation demands with

relatively low power requirement, a low land requirement, little air pollution and few accidents

involving fatalities and injuries.

Infrastructure - This refers to infrastructure facilities, systems and structures that are developed

which are owned and operated by the government however it includes all the infrastructure
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facilities that are open to the general public. Infrastructure includes all essential systems and

facilities that allow the smooth flow of an economy’s day to day activities.

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Congestion, Urban Transport, the Formal Sector and Informal Actors: Kingston, Jamaica, and

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6 (4), 518-528. Congestion relief and public transport: An enhanced method using disaggregate

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directions

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