In support of the Federal Railroad Administration’s Equipment Safety Research Program, the Volpe Center has been conducting research to improve occupant protection during accidents for rail car passengers. This report describes a project conducted to develop and test a prototype design for a more crashworthy three-person seat that reduces passenger injury levels and compartmentalizes the occupants in a full-scale train-to-train impact test of equipment using crash energy management (CEM). The seat designed in this project will help to protect occupants whether they are seated in forward- facing or rear-facing seats.