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Federal Railroad Administration

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Improving Service and Safety at Penn Station in New York City

Penn Station is one of the busiest passenger transportation facilities in the U.S., serving more than 600,000 commuter rail and Amtrak passengers each day. In late March and early April, Penn Station suffered two train derailments within a week of each other. Following both derailments, U.S...

Analyzing Online Media Reporting of Rail Suicide and Trespass Incidents

Responsible media reporting on rail suicide and trespass incidents can inform the public and help those in need. However, media reporting of such events can also lead to copycat incidents. A new report illuminates common reporting practices that could increase suicide contagion on the rail...

Rail Suicide Prevention Resource Page

Over the past decade, research from rail suicide prevention experts in Europe, Canada, and Australia has illuminated strategies that can reduce rail suicides. Volpe and the Federal Railroad Administration built on this global research to develop a program with six focus areas to identify ways to...

NOVA Documentary on Rail Safety Features Volpe’s David Tyrell

The new NOVA documentary Why Trains Crash features Volpe’s David Tyrell, a principal technical advisor for train crashworthiness and safety. The documentary, which aired February 22 on PBS, explores recent rail tragedies and technological advances that can help prevent train crashes.

U.S. DOT’s SBIR 17.1 Solicitation Is Now Open

Small businesses are invited to submit research proposals for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Small Business Innovation Research program fiscal year 2017 solicitation. The solicitation will be open through December 21, 2016. 

Protecting Endangered Bats, Streamlining Highway Projects

As pollinators and insect consumers, bats generate $3 billion each year in economic value. However, the population of a key species has declined by nearly half since 2005—due, in large part, to human disturbance. A new federal strategy will help facilitate conservation of these bats while...

Volpe’s Innovations from the 2016 Joint Rail Conference

From eliminating broken rails and combating punctured tank cars, to making stronger interfaces between rail ties and ballast, Volpe engineers support the Federal Railroad Administration in making passenger and freight rail travel safer.

Shaping Rail’s Future in the Northeast

The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is one of the most heavily traveled rail corridors in the world. But the NEC operates on outdated infrastructure with capacity constraints. To address this, the Federal Railroad Administration has released the NEC FUTURE Tier 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement,...