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Volpe Center Highlights - April 2000

Director's Notes

Director's Notes | Focus | Safety | Mobility | Human and Natural Environment |
Economic Growth and Trade | National Security

Celebrating a Quarter Century Partnership with the FRA

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Volpe Center's successful partnership with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). Through Research and Development (R&D), regulatory, and enforcement activities, the FRA addresses all phases of railroad operations to ensure that the railroads in the United States continue to be among the world's safest and most productive. The Volpe Center has been instrumental in supporting this mission by developing innovative technologies and procedures that are technically and economically sound. By supporting the FRA's safety mission, the Volpe Center works to enhance the railroad system as a national transportation resource.

In 1975, the FRA's R&D emphasis shifted from the technical feasibility of advanced high-speed ground transportation to stimulation of the economic recovery of the nation's then-troubled freight railroads. The Volpe Center's early work for the FRA focused on rail equipment and track safety including projects on tank car puncture resistance and rail- and track-caused derailments. FRA's safety focus coupled with a significant industry reinvestment and Volpe participation resulted in a reduction in the number of derailments or reportable accidents by more than 70 percent.

In 1989, in recognition of the renewed interest in high-speed ground passenger transportation by state and local governments, the FRA's R&D scope expanded to include the safety and economic feasibility of new emerging high-speed systems. This emphasis led to the Volpe Center's involvement in support of the FRA in the Florida Transrapid Maglev project and the Texas TGV (Train Grande Vitesse) project. Our early work focused on the safety implications of these foreign technologies and the development of a systems-based regulatory approach, and was continued with work on the National Maglev Initiative and the subsequent study of high-speed ground transportation alternatives appropriate for U.S. markets.

In 1994, the Swift Rail Development Act established the FRA's Next Generation High-Speed Rail Technology program to carry out technology demonstrations to foster the development of new high-speed passenger corridors. Currently, a number of states-California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin-are planning high-speed rail systems and making improvements necessary for high-speed rail. The technologies that these states are planning to use typically involve upgrades of existing rail lines. The Volpe Center's participation in this program is manifested through R&D efforts such as economic analyses to examine ridership, fare structure, capital cost, operation and maintenance, and methods for improving the system as well as helping to set minimum safety standards for mixing high-speed passenger and freight operations.

For the past 10 years, the Volpe Center has continued to support the FRA in realizing its goal of improved safety by conducting research to evaluate new and innovative systems for grade crossing safety and equipment crashworthiness, as well as advanced track inspection tools. The Volpe Center recently completed a detailed evaluation of the risks associated with high-speed rail grade crossings on Amtrak's Empire Corridor in New York State.

The Volpe Center also has provided support to the FRA in railway operating equipment safety and has addressed vehicle crashworthiness and occupant protection, including issues of accident avoidance/survivability, locomotive cab crashworthiness, crash-energy management, and passenger seat safety. A recent set of tests designed by the Volpe Center and managed with the FRA involved full-scale crash tests of commuter railcars by the FRA. These tests were designed to support FRA's efforts to improve the safety of America's railroad passenger equipment. For a more complete discussion of these tests, see the Focus article in this issue of Highlights.

The Volpe Center is looking forward to its continued partnership with the FRA in R&D efforts supporting safe rail transportation through the 21st century. The key issues for the future will include: advanced train control systems; changes in tank car design; higher speeds and heavier axle loads; crashworthy passenger and crew space designs; safe high-speed corridor designs; onboard and wayside detection systems for track and rolling stock failures; increases in mixed freight and passenger operations; intelligent track/train system diagnostics; and improvements in the safety of hazardous materials transport and grade crossing safety.

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