For regions experiencing high rot and decay, engineered-polymer composite (EPC) ties offer a potential alternative to solid-sawn timber ties. However, these ties have a history of inconsistent performance and existing AREMA laboratory qualification testing have not proven effective in identifying the chief failure modes before in-track installation. The Federal Railroad Administration and the Association of American Railroads’ Strategic Research Initiatives program collaborated to investigate improvements to the design and testing recommendations for EPC ties. AREMA publishes these recommendations in Chapter 30 – Ties of the AREMA Manual for Railway Engineering. Field testing at FRA’s Transportation Technology Center and in revenue service showed the two key failure modes for EPC ties are center cracking and spike-hole cracking. Further, these field observations also showed the ambient temperature may significantly affect the loading environment and track gage of EPC ties at any given time of the day. This report presents a new fatigue test setup to address the center cracking issue and proposes a modified AREMA Test 6 to address the spike-hole cracking issue.