Volpe Center Highlights - July/August 2003
Safety
Director's Notes |
Focus |
Safety |
Mobility and Economic Growth
Human and Natural Environment |
Organizational Excellence |
Homeland Security
Awards |
Papers and Presentations
The interaction of the colliding cab car and locomotive recorded during the passenger rail train-to-train impact tests conducted at the FRA Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colorado in January 2002. |
Volpe Rail Expert Testifies at House Subcommittee Hearing (FRA)
In support of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Mr. David Tyrell of Volpe's Structures and Dynamics Division recently testified before the Railroad Subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The purpose of the hearing, held on June 10, 2003, was to evaluate new technologies being developed to enhance the operational safety of freight and passenger trains. Mr. Tyrell accompanied Ms. Jo Strang, Deputy Associate Director for Railroad Development, FRA, who read a prepared statement.
Mr. Tyrell answered questions on rail equipment crashworthiness, including questions on the application of seatbelts to intercity and commuter rail systems, the influence of federal regulations on equipment weight, and impact testing of rail equipment. He showed videos of the rail equipment tests that have been conducted to date at the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colorado. During the hearing, subcommittee members expressed an interest in observing the next test, planned for October 2003. These tests have been conducted according to specifications developed by Mr. Tyrell and other members of the Structures and Dynamics Division. The results of Volpe research on rail equipment crashworthiness have been used to 1) develop the crashworthiness requirements for Amtrak's high-speed trainset; 2) develop the FRA's Passenger Equipment Safety Standards; and 3) draft revisions and additions to current FRA locomotive crashworthiness regulations.
The Volpe Center hosted the Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety Research Needs Workshop. |
Determining Research Needs for Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety (FRA)
Ms. Anya A. Carroll of the Railroad Systems Division and Principal Investigator of the Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety Research Program, hosted the Research Needs Workshop during June 35, 2003, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The workshop, sponsored by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Office of Research and Development, brought together railroad industry experts from Canada and the United States. Its purpose was to provide the FRA and all the U.S. DOT modes with a current status of research in the area of highway-rail grade crossing safety and to share this information with Canadian colleagues from both Transport Canada and the Direction 2006 Research Program. Based on a review of the FRA's Five-Year Strategic Plan and Transport Canada's Research Program, and through intermodal and stakeholder consensus, workshop participants formulated and prioritized an updated set of research needs related to technology, methodology, and hardware to decrease crossing collisions and fatalities. These research needs will be formally documented for use in revisiting the 1994 U.S. DOT Crossing Safety Action Plan and to aid in the future planning of resources for research funding in the highway-rail grade crossing safety arena.
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