Abstract:

The nation’s transportation infrastructure is the backbone of a complex network providing access to goods, services, activities, and people. The capabilities of this infrastructure, therefore, play a crucial role in driving economic activity and growth, while supporting quality of life. Expenditures in the design and management of these systems are significant not just due to their scale―tens of billions of dollars per year in the United States―but, importantly, because of their far-reaching economic, social and environmental impacts.

In this talk, I will provide an overview of my recent research, which advances methodologies and analysis tools that capture the effects of resource allocation decisions, made by owners and operators, on the performance of infrastructure systems. My work supports and optimizes strategic investments aimed at improving both direct and indirect impacts. I will also highlight ongoing research on health monitoring and management, as well as on decarbonization of large-scale transportation systems, including freight rail and public transit.

Bio:

Pablo L. Durango-Cohen is an associate professor in the Transportation Systems Analysis and Planning Program at Northwestern University. He completed his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at the University of California, Berkeley. His research activities involve developing and analyzing optimization and econometric models to support monitoring, management and operation of transportation systems. He has also published in transportation economics and policy, as well as in environmental design and life-cycle assessment of transportation systems. Among others, his research has been recognized with a Faculty Early CAREER Development Award from the National Science Foundation, and with a Young Author Prize at the World Congress on Transport Research. Among Prof. Durango-Cohen’s professional activities, he serves as Associate Editor for the ASCE Journal of Infrastructure Systems, and has served as proposal and project reviewer for a number of federal and state agencies, as well as universities from around the world.

Description:

"Railroad Rolling Stock Leasing in North America"

About Paul Titterton

Paul Titterton was elected Executive Vice President and President, Rail North America in April 2022 after being elected Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Rail North America in August 2018 and Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer in June 2013. Since joining GATX in 1997, Mr. Titterton has served in a variety of roles within GATX in the areas of sales, customer experience, marketing, business development, government affairs, strategy, structured finance, investment analysis, and fleet management. Mr. Titterton holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Harvard College and is a CFA charterholder.

“Railroad Rolling Stock Leasing in North America”

About Paul F. Titterton

Mr. Titterton was elected Executive Vice President and President, Rail North America in April 2022 after being elected Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Rail North America in August 2018 and Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer in June 2013. Since joining GATX in 1997, Mr. Titterton has served in a variety of roles within GATX in the areas of sales, customer experience, marketing, business development, government affairs, strategy, structured finance, investment analysis, and fleet management. Mr. Titterton holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Harvard College and is a CFA charterholder.

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"Resource Planning and Dynamic Management of Demand-Responsive Mobility Services".

Yanfeng Ouyang holds a B.Eng. in civil engineering (summa cum laude, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 2000), M.S. in civil engineering (University of Washington, 2001), M.S. in industrial engineering and operations research (University of California at Berkeley, 2005), and Ph.D. in civil engineering (University of California at Berkeley, 2005). He has been on the faculty of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) since August 2005. At UIUC, he serves as the Director of the Chinese-American Railway Transportation Joint Research Center, and also holds courtesy appointments in the Department of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering, the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE), the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), and the Computational Science and Engineering Program. He has also been a Changjiang Chair Professor by the China Ministry of Education via affiliation with Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), China, since 2018, an Affiliated Professor and Adjunct Doctoral Supervisor in the School of Transportation Science and Engineering at HIT since 2011, and the International Director of the Department of Production and Operations Management and Logistics Management, School of Management, at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China, 2015-2017. During the 2014-2015 academic year, he was a Visiting Professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, as well as an Invited Professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.

Abstract:

During peak travel times traffic speeds often drop below the level at which flow is maximized. Transportation economists refer to such conditions as “hypercongested”. Hypercongestion has been studied using Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram models but these models typically rely on strong assumptions and abstract from details of the road network. The goal of this work is to examine the spatial and temporal evolution of hypercongestion during the morning peak on individual road links. Analysis is conducted using the traffic simulator METROPOLIS which was developed in the late 1990s to model travel mode, departure-time, and route-choice decisions on large-scale networks. METROPOLIS was recently upgraded to include individual point-to-point trips, trip chains, improved congestion modeling, and different vehicle types.

METROPOLIS is applied to a set of hypothetical road networks and regions of Ile-de-France to study two manifestations of hypercongestion. One is reduced speeds on upstream links that feed into downstream links with lower flow capacities. If prolonged, horizontal queuing on upstream links can lead to spillback that blocks intersections and access to links further upstream. A second manifestation of hypercongestion occurs when the aggregate outflow of vehicles from a study area drops below aggregate exit capacity due to conflicting movements at entrances, exits, and intersections.


Bio

Robin Lindsey is a professor emeritus at the Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia. From 2010-2024 he held the CN Chair in Transportation and International Logistics. His research interests include traffic congestion, road pricing, urban public transportation, financing transportation infrastructure, and the environmental costs of road transportation. He has also worked on topics related to industrial organization including retail market competition, price discrimination, and predatory pricing.

Lindsey is a founding board member and past president of the International Transportation Economics Association, and an Associate Editor of Transportation Research Part B: Methodological. He is also coauthor with Kenneth Small and Erik Verhoef of the third edition of The Economics of Urban Transportation, published in June 2024 by Routledge.

Fall classes end

The ceremony will take place on Saturday, December 14 in Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 50 Arts Circle Drive.

*No tickets required

The aim of the ITEA Annual School is to provide young researchers with a high-quality introduction to academic research on transportation economics, including many recent advances in the field. The School’s program consists of a series of lectures and tutorials conducted by some of the most prominent researchers in transportation economics. In addition, the students are given the possibility to present their own work at the Conference.

The aim of the ITEA Annual School is to provide young researchers with a high-quality introduction to academic research on transportation economics, including many recent advances in the field. The School’s program consists of a series of lectures and tutorials conducted by some of the most prominent researchers in transportation economics. In addition, the students are given the possibility to present their own work at the Conference.

The aim of the ITEA Annual School is to provide young researchers with a high-quality introduction to academic research on transportation economics, including many recent advances in the field. The School’s program consists of a series of lectures and tutorials conducted by some of the most prominent researchers in transportation economics. In addition, the students are given the possibility to present their own work at the Conference.

The aim of the ITEA Annual Conference is to promote scientific excellence in the field of transportation economics and to provide a forum for scientific exchange. Research presented at the conference covers both theory and empirical work, including all transport modes and a wide range of research methodologies.

The aim of the ITEA Annual Conference is to promote scientific excellence in the field of transportation economics and to provide a forum for scientific exchange. Research presented at the conference covers both theory and empirical work, including all transport modes and a wide range of research methodologies.

The aim of the ITEA Annual Conference is to promote scientific excellence in the field of transportation economics and to provide a forum for scientific exchange. Research presented at the conference covers both theory and empirical work, including all transport modes and a wide range of research methodologies.