User:Falco sparverius/Road Types USA/Railroads View history

This page is a work in progress - do not use as a reference

Railroad Service road.png

As of October 24, 2014, railroads may be junctioned to drivable road types.
  1. There is no need to make mass railroad changes immediately.
  2. Railroad junctions are expected to be made gradually over time.
  3. There is to be no massive railroad updating project.
RoadPicN11.jpg
RoadPicN11.jpg

The  |-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| Railroad |-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|  road type serves three purposes in Waze.

  1. Help drivers with visual orientation.
  2. Prevent corruption of speed data on nearby roads.
  3. Help routing server determine delays at that crossing.

What and When to Map

  • Like Parking Lots, map railroads and rail yards simply. Do not map every piece of parallel track, such as in sidings or yards, or industrial spurs that don't cross any roads.
  • Do not map underground railroads. In urban areas where underground rail lines are common, their appearance on the map is confusing to drivers.
  • Set the elevation just as you would a drivable segment. When tracks junction a road on the ground, the Elevation should be set to Ground.

Basic, ground-level

  • Name "Railroad" - see Advanced RR Topics
  • Always select "None" for the city name. This avoids city smudging.
  • Lock the segment at L2.
  • Elevation - Ground
  • Create junctions between drivable roads and railroads.[rr]
  • Set railroad to 2-way directionality
  • Restrict turns to and from the railroad segments.
  • When mapping railroad tracks, focus on those near drivable roads.

^rr Note: The routing server will properly account for delays at railroad crossings through a segment without a junction. However, with a junction, the historical data for the rail crossing will be more accurate.

Advanced RR Topics

  • Map industrial spurs only if they cross drivable roads.
  • Multiple parallel lines at crossings:
    • In general, there is no reason to have multiple lines mapped. When not at a crossing, even four parallel lines can be easily mapped as a single railroad segment in Waze.
    • At most crossings, there should be only one railroad segment mapped and no more than two parallel railroads mapped at any crossing.
    • Parallel lines are to be at least 5m apart
  • Keep segment lengths under 10,000 meters – the longer the segment length, the more sluggish the editor is to respond to changes.
  • Do not map railroads using a drivable road type (streets, primary streets, etc.); it could be a hazard to human life if drivers were routed to them.
Naming

Use the following guidelines when naming railroad segments:

  • For commercially-controlled right-of-ways, rather than apply the default "Railroad" name, you may optionally use the owner's full legal name spelled out without acronyms or abbreviations (e.g. "New Orleans Public Belt Railroad"). Some owners' names incorporate what appear to be or once were acronyms but are actually part of the legal name (e.g., "BNSF Railway", "CSX Railroad").
    • In case of uncertain ownership, do not guess. Use the default "Railroad" name.
    • Do not name a railroad segment for a passenger operator that uses it, regardless of how many passengers or how little freight it may carry, unless you are absolutely certain that the passenger operator owns the track. For example, do not name a segment "Amtrak" unless Amtrak actually owns the track (it usually does not, except in the Corridor and in a few other areas).
    • Do not apply "fallen flags" (former owners that no longer exist due to bankruptcy or merger) in the alternate field.
    • Keep in mind that should the name of the owner change, due to bankruptcy, merger, or other business decision, you or another editor will need to come back and fix all now-incorrect segments. Railroads can change names often; for example, BNSF Railway has been known by that name only since 2005, and its previous name was in use for only eight years.
Urban Rapid Transit and Light Rail
  • For urban rapid transit and light rail systems, rather than apply the default "Railroad" name, you may optionally use the name of the transit authority and the name of the line, separated by a hyphen (e.g., "MBTA - Green Line", "RTA - Riverfront Streetcar").
    • If a system has only one line, of course, use its name alone (e.g., "Detroit People Mover").
    • If multiple lines share the same track or run on parallel tracks, include all lines (e.g., "Metro Rail - Red/Purple Lines").
    • However, if a rapid transit system is so complex that including all line names would lead to an absurd result on some railroad segments, use the name of the system alone (e.g., "BART", "MTA") throughout the system.
  • Federal DOT Railroad GIS: http://fragis.fra.dot.gov/Apps/GISFRASafety/

Map Problems

As of July 2015 the automated Map Problem search algorithm will identify suspected errors at railroad crossings. It is common to see the “restricted turn might be allowed” error where a railroad crosses a drivable segment nearby to where another drivable segment also crosses. These kinds of map errors should be marked as “Not Identified” so that they are not shown again at that location. Do not enable turns at railroad crossings.

Waze - Support

Railroads should be labeled as such in the editor. For the time being they won't make it to the client indeed, but in the future we might want to use them for display purposes.

The "railroad" road type in the editor is under "non drivable" so it should not cause any issue to the routing.

For specific recommendations in other countries outside the United States, please see the entry for the country in question here.