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Failures of glazing retention mechanisms on passenger trains have led to multiple injuries and fatalities in rollover-type accidents over the last several decades. This research effort reviewed global standards for glazing system design and performance, as well as modes of retention failures...
The mission of the Smart Track research project is to improve the rail industry’s ability to answer critical safety- and maintenance-related questions on track infrastructure by monitoring and predicting track health. This mission will be accomplished through the development and...
Under the safety mandate for wayside detection technology, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has contributed to the development and deployment of various such technologies under its wayside detection research program. The goal of this project was to assess the state of major wayside...
This report presents an evaluation of high-speed passenger trucks for use in shared freight and passenger corridors. The primary focus of the report is on vehicle dynamic response for a range of low and high speed performance regimes adapted from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA),...
Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) researched and developed concepts for a centralized interlocking (CIXL) system to satisfy the needs of North American railroads. The system leverages the Quasi-Moving Block (QMB) train control method; and provides maintainability and availability...
Open-bay seating is a common configuration in U.S. passenger railcars. The current version of the American Public Transportation Association’s safety standard on passenger seating (APTA PR-CS-S-016-99, Rev. 3) requires open-bay seats to be tested if more than 50 percent of a car’s seating is...
Railroad crossings may cause unexpected blockages and considerable traffic delays, especially in urban areas. However, there is no practical system available to share potential crossing blockage information to the public. An unexpected blockage threatens first responders while they respond to...
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has a long-standing research program to examine the puncture resistance of railroad tank cars used in the transportation of hazardous materials within the U.S. Since 2007. FRA conducted 11 tank car shell impact tests at the Transportation Technology...
With support from FRA, Transportation Technology Center Inc. (TTCI) developed a full-scale rolling contact fatigue simulator (RCFS) to research the root causes of wheel and rail surface damage. This damage comprises surface pitting, cracking, wear, and material flow and is a function of both the...
Electronically Controlled Pneumatic (ECP) brake technology can improve both safety and braking performance of trains. One of the technical barriers is the interchange requirement of a freight car. This barrier can be addressed either by an overlay ECP or an ECP emulator. Under a previous effort...