The Federal Railroad Administration tasked a team from the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center to research the technical background and use of water mist fire suppression systems in handling on-board fires in locomotives and passenger cars. The team researched the feasibility and safety benefits of installing new and retrofitted water mist suppression systems in locomotives and passenger railcars to gain an understanding of the feasibility and applicability of water mist systems to the U.S. rail environment and how they can be best used in a variety of passenger railcars and their associated locomotives.