Project Management Report: Gold Coast Light Rail Conceptual Design

This report provides a comprehensive overview of the Gold Coast Light Rail project, focusing on its conceptual design and the associated project management aspects. It begins by outlining the stakeholders' needs, emphasizing the project's role in addressing traffic congestion and improv...Read More

Running head: PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Project management
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................2
2. Stakeholders need........................................................................................................................2
3. Conceptual design process...........................................................................................................3
3.1 Preliminary system design.....................................................................................................3
3.2 Functional analysis and allocation.........................................................................................3
3.3 Detail design and development..............................................................................................5
3.4 System test, evaluation as well as validation.........................................................................6
4. System requirements....................................................................................................................7
5. Conclusion...................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9

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1. Introduction
The paper mainly reflects on the conceptual design of Gold Coast Light rail project. The
main aim of the project is to successfully integrate the new as well as present transport system of
the entire city in order to overcome the problem of traffic congestion. It is considered as one of
the important parts of Gold Coast Rapid transit that aims to properly build the light rail system
for successfully improving the traffic system within the city. In this entire paper, proper needs of
the stakeholders are elaborated which helps in reflecting the need of the project. In addition to
this, a detailed research on the conceptual design of the light rail is mainly done for ensuring
proper safety passage of the passengers as well as vehicles. Moreover, the paper also proper very
detailed information about the system required for the construction of the light rail.
2. Stakeholders need
The Gold Cost light rail project was mainly proposed in the year 1996 by the
government of Queensland as well as with the help of the Gold coast city council. It is identified
as one of the fastest growing area in Australia with the population growth of around 2%-3%
annually. It is found that both the stakeholders want to develop the light rail project in Gold coast
for resolving the issues that occur due to the rising population growth and traffic congestion in
that area. A number of issues occur in that area due to high traffic congestion and the issues
mainly include delays, fuel consumption, pollution, road rage and more (Hensher, 2016). The
scheme of Gold coast light rail generally attracts high interest as the streets of the Surfers
Paradise generally gets torn up and the stations as well as tracks of that region is needed to be
constructed again. In addition to this, it is found that that due to the high growth in population,
the chances of traffic congestion will get increase in the future without proper investment within

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public transport and the stakeholders of that area created a plan as per which instead of going out
they will resolve the issues and challenges that occur due to traffic congestion (Dizdaroglu &
Yigitcanlar, 2016). After successful identification, it is analyzed that the light rail is one of the
most appropriate option not only for managing the traffic congestion but also for providing better
comfort, safety as well as reliability to the customers.
3. Conceptual design process
3.1 Preliminary system design
The preliminary system design generally includes proper requirement of the system,
process as well as material. It is found that proper comprehensive research has generally done
before the proper construction of the project. It is stated by Currie and De Gruyter (2016) that a
rail as well as trackway specification are considered as the outcome that is found to be very
much unique for the project and this include proper transition between various track and assists
in supporting a number of structures. Sone of the features or procedures are generally defined at
this particular stage including the use of electricity for the light rails which is generally drawn
from the various overhead lines (Brown et al., 2015). It is found that the drivers must be capable
of controlling the speed and the entire braking of the tram such that the light rail will generally
stop at different stations in order to pick up as well as for providing the facility of drop-off to the
passengers along the route. The destinations boards will generally need to be made very much
available to the trams for informing the passengers of the next destinations. In addition to this, it
is necessary to install the CCTV inside the tram and moreover other facilities including
passenger space allowance, vehicle requirements as well as other assumptions must be provided.

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3.2 Functional analysis and allocation
It is found that normally functions are generally broken into a number of sub-functions
that helps in describing the major subsystems. According to Herrera et al. (2016), the various
types of components for the entire subsystem generally include concrete slab, rail boot as well as
rail that are designed as well as constructed as per the profile of the vehicles that are mainly
utilized within the system. After proper analysis of 51R1 the grooved rail profile that was mainly
selected is mainly matched with the preferred wheel profile for providing Flexity of light rail
(Hong, Boarnet & Houston, 2016). In order to allow for the rail wear for the future, it is
necessary to weld the rail continuously over the entire length of the project that further protrudes
with the help of nominal 6mm such that it is adjacent for tracking the slab that is present at the
top surface of procurement as well as commissioning of the light rail for travel. The entire rail
system is given with proper boot system that is made up of rubber.
On the other hand, it is stated by Ferbrache and Knowles (2017) that four bridges are
mainly constructed that is mainly based on the plinth track construction, watercourse as well as
spanning roadways. The Smith viaduct generally spans over the entire smith street as well as the
green fields however the second bridge generally carries the corridor of the Nerang River based
bridge that is further connected with the main beach (Dziauddin, Power & Alvanides, 2015). In
addition to this, the third bridge generally carries proper alignment over the Nerang river that is
mainly situated at two different locations that mainly spans approximately 32m as well as 43m
effectively along the highway of the Gold Coast.
It is stated by Boarnet, Wang and Houston (2017) that the conceptual design of the entire
project helps inn highlighting the various types of characteristics including the number of
travellers as well as the speed of the travel. The entire system is helpful in fulfilling the

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interoperability criteria which is mainly linked with the entire Bus transit system. It is found that
the entire project is very much sustainable in content to saving of the various materials as well as
emission of CO2. In addition to this, it is found that the entire project that is undertaken is quite
sustainable in terms of material saving as well as CO2 emission (Furlan & AlMohannadi, 2016).
Moreover, the track form that is mainly designed is generally helpful in satisfying within the
lifetime of 40 years without appropriate replacement or other types of proper and significant
maintenance.
3.3 Detail design and development
It is stated by Furlan and Sipe (2017) that the entire detailed design as well as
development project phase mainly needs proper approach of the team for successfully handling
each of the step-in different project phases. It is found that in this particular step for successful
development of system as per the engineering expertise helps in providing proper support along
with various types of non-technical support which is mainly required. The engineers mainly
undertook proper design for the entire project by clearly establishing the various construction
activities that are mainly related with the business or various types of residential properties
(Lovett et al., 2018). In addition to this, major construction related activities mainly includes
proper laying of the track, overhead, control system installation as well as station construction.
On of the major need is to properly reduce the construction time as well as the different types of
material cost that is mainly used for this specific purpose such that the light rail generally gets
supported with the help of the concrete track slab as well as proper design of the track slab that is
mainly dependent on a number of elements including the pavement as well as reinforced slab
design based theories. It is stated by Herrera et al. (2015) that proper studies are mainly
undertaken for making sure the safe passage for the vehicles that outreach the stage of the entire

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project lifecycle in order to reduce the rail wear as well as rail of derailment. Furthermore, the
documentation for the light rail project is mainly reviewing as well as finalized with the help of
the superintended and the entire documentation is provided electronically.
According to Antkowiak (2018), various types of engineering-based design tools as well
as analytical models are mainly needed for the proper documentation as well as elaborates of the
design or other types of procedures within the project. AutoCAD is defined as one of the tools
that is mainly utilized is various drawing that are related with engineering such that the t
documentation mainly comprises of various types of maps and drawings that helps in reflecting
the routes of the light rail as well as successful design of the trackway by using proper tools of
engineering. It is found that 12D modeller which is one of the engineering tools that is mainly
utilized for designing the various components of the project successfully (Yen et al., 2018). As
the system generally occupies the present road corridor and makes changes within the
functionality as well as road corridor was found to be very much necessary. It further includes
rail, road as well as storm-based water drainage.
Design review that is conducted formally mainly comprises of review of the conceptual
design which is mainly done at the end of the conceptual designing such that various types of
equipment and software-based design gets completed. It is identified that various types of
feedback from the different stakeholders as well as public are mainly taken for the construction
of the project that works a number of hours and generally creates disruption within the traffic. In
addition to this, the system design review was mainly done successfully such that the
development as well as the construction of the entire project is mainly done as per the study that
is mainly undertaken.

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3.4 System test, evaluation as well as validation
During the system testing phase for the entire case the project of light rail system that is
selected is found that everything must be tested properly such that the supply of electrical power
as well as traffic light and ticketing machines. The first step that is associated with testing
generally helps in powering of the overhead of the wires as well as traction power related
substations. The next stage within the testing phase of the traffic signals as well as initial running
of the trams (Currie & De Gruyter, 2016). On the other hand, it is found that tin the testing as
well as commissioning phase of the project, the safety control measures as well as different types
of regulator-based standards are defined effectively. Moreover, the detailed safety procedures
generally help in permitting Out Tag Out as well as permit to work. In addition to this,
optimization is considered as one of the important aspects of engineering within the design
process as t is one of the best solutions for a specific design related issue.
4. System requirements
The different requirements that are mainly required for constructing the light rail project
in Gold coast area are mainly listed below:
Minimum requirements
 OS: Win 7 64
 VRAM: 2GB
 System Memory: 8 GB RAM
 Storage: 50 GB Hard drive space
 DirectX 11 Compatible Graphics Card
 Processor: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz / AMD FX-8370E

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 Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 7870 or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050
Recommended requirements
 OS: Win 10 64
 VRAM: 8GB
 System Memory: 8 GB RAM
 Processor: Intel Core i7-4770K 4-Core 3.5GHz / AMD Ryzen R5 1500X
 Graphics: AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 8GB or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
 Storage: 50 GB Hard drive space
5. Conclusion
It can be concluded that the critical analysis that is mainly conducted helps in reflecting
the entire conceptual design that is selected in the light rail of the Gold Coast. The paper helps in
reflecting preliminary design review as well as detail design and development of the light rail.
Moreover, proper engineering design tools as well as technologies that used are helpful in
developing the project successfully. In addition to this, the paper elaborates both the stakeholder
needs and the requirements of the system such that the light rail construction can be done quite
effectively.

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References
Antkowiak, B. (2018). Collision risk mitigating system for light rail vehicles (LRV). Archives of
Mechanical Technology and Materials, 38.
Boarnet, M. G., Wang, X., & Houston, D. (2017). Can new light rail reduce personal vehicle
carbon emissions? A before‐after, experimental‐control evaluation in Los
Angeles. Journal of Regional Science, 57(3), 523-539.
Brown, B. B., Werner, C. M., Tribby, C. P., Miller, H. J., & Smith, K. R. (2015). Transit use,
physical activity, and body mass index changes: objective measures associated with
complete street light-rail construction. American journal of public health, 105(7), 1468-
1474.
Currie, G., & De Gruyter, C. (2016). Exploring performance outcomes and regulatory contexts
of Light Rail in Australia and the US. Research in Transportation Economics, 59, 297-
303.
Dizdaroglu, D., & Yigitcanlar, T. (2016). Integrating urban ecosystem sustainability assessment
into policy-making: Insights from the Gold Coast City. Journal of environmental
planning and management, 59(11), 1982-2006.
Dziauddin, M. F., Powe, N., & Alvanides, S. (2015). Estimating the effects of light rail transit
(LRT) system on residential property values using geographically weighted regression
(GWR). Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy, 8(1), 1-25.
Ferbrache, F., & Knowles, R. D. (2017). City boosterism and place-making with light rail transit:
A critical review of light rail impacts on city image and quality. Geoforum, 80, 103-113.

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Furlan, R., & AlMohannadi, M. (2016). Light rail transit and land use in Qatar: An integrated
planning strategy for Al-Qassar's TOD.
Furlan, R.& Sipe, N., (2017). Light rail transit (LRT) and transit villages in Qatar: a planning-
strategy to revitalize the built environment of Doha. Journal of Urban Regeneration and
Renewal, 10(4), pp.1-20.
Hensher, D. A. (2016). Why is light rail starting to dominate bus rapid transit yet again?.
Herrera, V. I., Gaztañaga, H., Milo, A., Saez-de-Ibarra, A., Etxeberria-Otadui, I., & Nieva, T.
(2016). Optimal Energy Management and Sizing of a Battery--Supercapacitor-Based
Light Rail Vehicle With a Multiobjective Approach. IEEE Transactions on Industry
Applications, 52(4), 3367-3377.
Herrera, V.I., Gaztañaga, H., Milo, A., Saez-de-Ibarra, A., Etxeberria-Otadui, I. & Nieva, T.
(2015), September. Optimal energy management of a battery-supercapacitor based light
rail vehicle using genetic algorithms. In 2015 IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and
Exposition (ECCE) (pp. 1359-1366). IEEE.
Hong, A., Boarnet, M. G., & Houston, D. (2016). New light rail transit and active travel: A
longitudinal study. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 92, 131-144.
Lovett, C., Shirmohammadi, F., Sowlat, M.H. & Sioutas, C. (2018). Commuting in Los
Angeles: lung cancer health risks of roadway, light-rail and subway transit routes.
Yen, B. T., Mulley, C., Shearer, H., & Burke, M. (2018). Announcement, construction or
delivery: When does value uplift occur for residential properties? Evidence from the Gold
Coast Light Rail system in Australia. Land use policy, 73, 412-422.