Volpe Center Year in Review 2008
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Physical Infrastructure Systems
In the face of ever-increasing demand and accumulated loads, the Physical Infrastructure Systems COI maintains cognizance and provides technical support in the inspection, maintenance, and rehabilitation of the existing and future transportation infrastructure, including vehicles, guideways, and intermodal facilities. It maintains an internationally recognized knowledge base and provides technical support, including utilization of new materials, engineering concepts, and institutional approaches to ensuring the resilience of existing and future transportation infrastructure in response to natural and man-made disturbances.
Army Rail Modernization Program
The U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) is responsible for the Army rail fleet, which is essential for unit deployments and sustainment equipment, ammunition, and medical deliveries. Army locomotives in the fleet carry equipment and vehicles from Army installations to mainline railroads where they are picked up by the commercial railroad locomotives and transported to the nearest port or training area. The Army rail fleet eliminates dependence on Army trucks to transport equipment and supplies, a cost-prohibitive option that would negatively affect Army logistics and unit operating parameters, as well as increase roadway congestion and clog ports. Additionally, TACOM provides acquisition and contract management to the Rail Transportation Modernization Program of the Department of the Army, Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics Office (DALO).
The Volpe Center provides overall program management support for the U.S. Army railway and technical expertise to assist TACOM with addressing critical transportation issues in the U.S. Army's Rail Modernization Program. The Volpe Center continues a long tradition of railroad technical support expertise to the Department of Defense (DoD). This began in 1989 with the support of the Aviation Troop Command (ATCOM) and continued when railway operations were moved to TACOM in 1994, transferred again to the U.S. Army Program Executive Office, Combat Support & Combat Service Support (PEO CS&CSS) in July 2004, and returned to TACOM in April 2007.
Currently, the Army has requirements to upgrade 103 locomotives in the U.S. Army railway, one of the largest industrial railroad fleets in the world. The Volpe Center is leading the acquisition of new, modern equipment from technical specification through procurement, delivery, and acceptance. The new railway rolling stock consists of higher fuel-efficient models, which contribute to improved emissions as well as increase the efficiency and safety of operators and cargo. The modernization program also helps eliminate transportationrelated deaths and injuries and protects and enhances communities and the environment.
The Volpe Center supports all engineering requirements for the U.S. Army railway. The Center's engineers ensure that contractors properly follow technical specifications and select and oversee contracted installation teams. They determine whether necessary engineering changes are properly designed and executed, maintain program master schedules, conduct engineering, safety compliance, and quality assurance inspections, and ensure proper integration with existing U.S. Army railway equipment, including spare parts. The Center also ensures proper training procedures are developed and prepares operational and maintenance manuals. Staff engineers participate in the annual U.S. Army Inter-Service Locomotive Management Committee Steering Group.
The Volpe Center supports the U.S. DOT Strategic Goal to promote transportation solutions that protect our national security as well as public health and safety in communities in which the railway operates. The Volpe Center strives to provide organizational excellence to TACOM. (Sponsored by DoD/U.S. Army TACOM)
Digital Microwave Radio Communications Network for the Iraqi Republic Railways
Seamless railroad radio communication is essential to maintaining safe and efficient train operations on the Iraqi Republic Railways (IRR) as is the safety of all employees, equipment, and the public.
The Volpe Center supports the Iraq Transition Assistance Office, Transportation Councilor by managing the development, manufacturing, installation, integration, and acceptance of a turnkey digital microwave radio communications network for IRR between the port facilities of Umm Qasr to the Syrian border. This effort is part of the U.S.-led reconstruction relief effort to rebuild Iraq. The network will function as the railway's backbone communications link for both voice and data transmission and is an essential component of a communications-based train control system that is being deployed for IRR.
Over the past year, the Volpe Center has accomplished many major milestones for the project. The design, manufacturing, and shipping phases are complete and all the communications equipment is now in Iraq. As of January 2009, all 33 telecommunications towers have been erected, security walls have been built around all towers, and 32 of 33 telecommunication shelters are installed.
When completed, the microwave system will allow IRR to communicate between the Baghdad dispatching office and all locomotives and stations along their north-south right-of-way. (Sponsored by U.S. State Department, Iraq Transition Assistance Office, U.S. Embassy, Baghdad, Iraq)
Highway Rail Intersection and Rail Right-of-Way Research Program
Highway rail intersections (HRIs), rail rights-of-way (ROWs) and grade crossings present a significant hazard to motor vehicle users, trespassers, and pedestrians, as well as to rail passengers and crew. The Volpe Center supports the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) HRI and ROW Program (formally known as Grade Crossings Program) that seeks to address these issues.
According to 2008 statistics from the FRA Office of Safety Analysis, in 2006 there were a total of 2,927 incidents (public and private) resulting in 369 fatalities and 1,036 injuries. There were also 989 trespass casualties, comprising 518 fatalities and 471 injuries. In addition, with the increase in development of high-speed passenger rail corridors, the risk posed by railroad ROW infrastructure will become even greater.
The Volpe Center provides technical support to the FRA railroad infrastructure research on all aspects of the railroad ROW including HRI research. One major effort underway is the development of a more precise understanding of the risks presented by the railroad ROW in order to decrease or eliminate these various risk elements. This ROW research addresses such areas as visual and audio warnings, motor vehicle and train presence detection, crossing geometry, and crossing gate and flashing light technologies.
This multiyear railroad ROW infrastructure safety program includes research in the areas of system operations analysis, technology development and assessment, evaluation and implementation, and advanced technology opportunities. The primary objective of the program is to identify those technologies, methodologies, and hardware that will increase safety and help continue the downward trend of collisions and fatalities. (Sponsored by DOT/FRA)
Right-of-Way Fatality and Trespass Reduction Workshop
The FRA Office of Railroad Safety and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) sponsored the first Rail Right-of-Way (ROW) Fatality and Trespass Prevention Workshop in April 2008. The workshop was hosted by Caltrain at its headquarters in San Carlos, California. The Volpe Center continued its tradition of providing innovation and thought leadership in the area of ROW and grade crossing safety and security through several technical presentations, as well as supporting the FRA in the planning and organization of the workshop itself.
This event took an in-depth look at the issues surrounding one of the biggest risk areas facing the rail community—that of third party intrusions (i.e., trespass) and the fatalities on the ROW. This workshop was the first event to bring together multiple rail constituents— including transit, freight, and commuter rail—to focus on common problems and solutions surrounding ROW fatality and trespass prevention. The goal of the workshop was to identify and share existing industry leading practices and explore new strategies that the rail industry could pursue to reduce the number of right-of-way and trespasser incidents and fatalities. The results and activities of this workshop were captured in the recent report published by the FRA Office of Railroad Safety entitled "Right-of-Way (ROW) Fatality and Trespass Reduction Workshop 2008: Summary of Results."
The workshop was attended by 121 delegates from 62 organizations from across railroad industry sectors including Federal government and state officials, railroad and transit operators, industry groups, consultants, unions, law enforcement, and four international organizations. The breadth of attendees speaks to the common issues faced by transit, commuter, and freight rail operations.
The workshop presented a varied program presented by rail/transit experts and safety professionals who shared their ideas on key issues, best practices, technical developments, human behavior, suicide prevention, law enforcement, and education methods and techniques related to ROW fatality and trespass reduction. The workshop included 23 presentations from multiple organizations on ROW fatality/trespass issues covering such topic areas including community outreach, police/enforcement, hazard management, technology, and infrastructure.
The workshop allowed attendees to discuss advances, accomplishments, challenges, approaches, and best practices in ROW fatality and trespass prevention and provided an interesting and motivational look at advances in ROW fatality and trespass reduction technologies, education, and operations. The result was a vibrant exchange of ideas and excellent networking as well as a showcase of the newest and best safety-related developments from around the world and an opportunity to set the foundation for future cooperation. Attendees left the workshop with new tools, methods, and solutions that can be implemented or introduced at their respective organizations. (Sponsored by DOT/FRA and FTA)
Engineering, Installation, and Integration Support to the U.S. Air Force – Department of Defense (DoD), National Airspace System (NAS)
In 2008, the Volpe Center continued its ongoing support of the DoD National Airspace System (NAS) Program for the U.S. Air Force (USAF) Electronic Systems Center (ESC), at Hanscom AFB in Lexington, Massachusetts. The NAS program is a long-term project to replace DoD's terminal radars, voice switching systems, and terminal automation systems, as well as to consolidate several existing informational displays. The program goal is to achieve interoperability between DoD and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Traffic Control (ATC) facilities.
The Volpe Center contributes to meeting this goal through engineering and implementation of multiple major systems:
- Digital Airport Surveillance Radar (DASR)
- Enhanced Terminal Voice Switching (ETVS)
- Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS)
- Airfield Automation System (AFAS)
The Volpe Center has completed its task support for the ETVS and continues to support the other three systems. The Center is also engaged in the deployment of these systems at over two-thirds of the 177 USAF and Air National Guard (ANG) Bases worldwide.
The Volpe Center project team consists of 13 highly skilled program mangers and engineers that are expert in areas ranging from electrical engineering to aviation operations. For nearly a decade, they have played a major role in requirements definition, system engineering, site engineering, and analysis of communications, surveillance, and automation systems for the NAS program office. These efforts are spearheaded by the Infrastructure and Facility Engineering Division, but draw technical expertise from several other areas of the Volpe Center.
In addition to primary responsibility for the site-level engineering and integration of NAS systems, staff provided input for system requirements, evaluation of system performance and troubleshooting of faults, and resolution of interface issues. The Volpe Center established each site's capability to support the new equipment, engineer the removal of old equipment, and install the new equipment, all while keeping the site system on-line.
The Volpe Center creates and maintains facility drawings and provides the government's technical oversight by conducting System Acceptance Tests (SAT) for STARS and AFAS, and participating in SAT for STARS at each installation location. By demonstrating their world-class technical knowledge and project management abilities, the Volpe Center staff has become an integral part of the USAF program office team, steadily increasing the level of support and responsibilities. Volpe Center experts now perform flight checks on behalf of the program office.
In 2008, the Volpe Center aided NAS in achieving the full deployment of AFAS systems. Of the 63 systems installed over a three-year period, 44 were completed at a rate of nearly one per week. Volpe Center staff also helped achieve the deployment of 9 STARS and 4 DASR systems, including substantive support for system upgrades and improvements such as the incorporation of Mode S into both the radar and automation systems. Additionally, the Volpe Center team led the continued development of the DASR Advanced Signal Data Processor (ASDP), with a test bed facility established at the FAA's technical center. The ASDP will ultimately provide the DASR with capabilities no other terminal radar in the world will have.
The Volpe Center chairs the joint DoD-FAA DASR-STARS interoperability working group, which has developed and refined the process for optimizing these systems as single entity, rather than individual components, resulting in the best possible air picture for air traffic controllers. (Sponsored by DoD/USAF)
Federal Transit Administration Office of Safety and Security Five-Year Strategic Plan
To support the public transportation industry in fulfilling its critical obligations in safety, security, and emergency preparedness, the FTA Office of Safety and Security is responsible for overseeing the implementation of transit-related safety regulations, providing safety and security training, developing guidelines and best practices manuals, partnering with other Federal agencies and industry associations, and creating programs to encourage voluntary improvements in security, safety, and emergency preparedness.
The Volpe Center leads a team of industry experts to develop a Five-Year Strategic Plan for the FTA Safety, Security and Emergency Management program. The strategic plan's comprehensive, all-hazards scope encompasses safety, security, and emergency management. Its data-driven, continuous-improvement focus is in line with FTA's "Baldrige" customer service approach.
The strategic planning process and vision were developed in partnership with key industry stakeholders. Those stakeholders provide the blueprint for FTA's next-generation safety and security programs. The plan builds on the success of the original Security Emergency Management Technical Assistance Program (SEMTAP), by incorporating an all-hazards approach, as well as a systems approach, into new programs and products targeted to specific needs of the transit industry. Transit agencies need technology tools that are proven to be reliable in the transit environment, justifiable from a cost-benefit evaluation derived from a security risk assessment viewpoint, and balanced between human resources and technology applications. The plan also defines the role of FTA in relation to its Federal partners such as other DOT agencies and the Department of Homeland Security, which are involved in complementary activities. (Sponsored by DOT/FTA Office of Safety and Security)