Railroads
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...
Exploring Future Energy Scenarios with the Freight/Fuel Transportation Optimization Tool
What’s the best way for raw fuel material to get to a refinery? Road, rail, water, pipeline? What emissions are associated with moving raw material and fuel? Environmental biologist Kristin Lewis recently talked about how a Volpe-developed tool can help optimize fuel logistics strategies.
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...
Railroad Trespassing and Suicide Prevention Program
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...Awardees Announced for U.S. DOT’s SBIR FY17.1 Solicitation
On March 21, the U.S. DOT SBIR program announced 15 recommendations for awards for SBIR’s fiscal year 17.1 solicitation. The awarded small businesses competed in a field that included 106 proposals for 9 research topics. The selected small businesses are conducting important research, leading to...
A Look Back on 2016 with Volpe’s Annual Accomplishments
Each year, Volpe collaborates with the U.S. Department of Transportation, other federal agencies, and the broader transportation community on hundreds of projects that shape how people and goods move throughout the U.S. and abroad. Our Annual Accomplishments report highlights some of Volpe’s...
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.
Secretary Foxx Looks Toward the Future of Transportation
Transportation connects people—and connections provide economic opportunity. That’s the message that U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx brought during his June 27 keynote address kicking off Volpe’s new speaker series, The Future of Transportation: Safety, Opportunity, and...
From Farm to Flight: Evaluating Canola-Based Jet Fuels
A Volpe-developed tool is helping researchers perform full chain life-cycle assessments of alternative fuels, including canola-based jet fuels, and examine a range of energy scenarios across the transportation network.