Technical Reports
Identity Management for Interoperable PTC Systems in Bandwidth-Limited Environments (Part 2)
Technical Report- REDACTEDIdentity Management for Interoperable PTC Systems in Bandwidth-Limited Environments (Part 1)
Positive Train Control is a wireless based system designed to provide comprehensive safety coverage for passenger and cargo trains operating on US railroads by 2015. Mandated by Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RISA 2008), major railroads have designed a broad architecture consisting of two...Track Profile Approximation Using Railcar Body Acceleration Data
Accelerations are frequently measured from the car body of a rail vehicle, which is mounted above one or more suspension systems. Measuring accelerations in the car body is largely done for convenience, as mounting an accelerometer to a truck or axle of a railcar is more cumbersome than simply...Broken Rims in Railroad Wheels
Broken wheels are one of the most common types of equipment-caused train accidents. The failure of rail car wheel rims, which are usually the result of shattered rims or vertical split rims (VSR), are the leading cause of wheel-related accidents, and they are increasing as a percentage of all...Locomotive Emissions Measurements for Various Blends of Biodiesel Fuel
The objective of this project was to assess the effects of various blends of biodiesel on locomotive engine exhaust emissions. The emission tests were conducted on two locomotive models, a Tier 2 EMD SD70ACe and a Tier 1 Plus GE Dash9-44CW, using two baseline fuels: (1) conventional EPA ASTM No. 2-...Development, Fabrication and Testing of Locomotive Crashworthy Components: Base Effort
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) are continuing to evaluate new technologies for increasing the safety of passengers and operators in rail equipment. In recognition of the importance of override prevention in train...Countermeasures to Mitigate Intentional Deaths on Railroad Rights-of-Way: Lessons Learned and Next Steps
Trespassing is the leading cause of rail-related fatalities in the United States. A large proportion of these trespasser fatalities are from intentional acts (i.e., suicides). With a lack of systematic research and evaluation of the countermeasures that are currently in place as well as those...
Passenger Train Emergency Systems: Development of Prototype railEXODUS Software for U.S. Passenger Rail Car Egress
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT), is sponsoring a research program, which includes investigation of the applicability of time-based egress performance requirements to U.S. passenger rail cars. This report describes the development of a new...Trespass Event Risk Factors
The Volpe Center has used three sources of data—the Federal Railroad Administration’s required accident reports, locomotive video, and U.S. Census data—to investigate common risk factors for railroad trespassing incidents, the leading cause of rail-related deaths in the U.S. Risk factors found...