As part of the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) Magnetic Levitation Transportation Technology Deployment Program, this technical report has been prepared to characterize the vibration associated with the operation of the Transrapid International (TRI) TR08 Maglev System. The TRI TR08 Maglev System is an advanced transportation technology in which magnetic forces levitate, propel, and guide a vehicle over a specially-designed guideway. The TR08 Maglev System is the technology that is being considered for deployment in the U.S., and potential vibration impacts of the technology were not...

As part of the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) Magnetic Levitation Transportation Technology Deployment Program, this technical report has been prepared to characterize the temporal, spatial, and frequency-dependent variability of electromagnetic fields (EMF) associated with the operation of the Transrapid International (TRI) TR08 Maglev System. The TRI TR08 Maglev System is an advanced transportation technology in which magnetic forces levitate, propel, and guide a vehicle over a specially-designed guideway. The TR08 Maglev System is the technology that is being considered for...

This report presents the results of a material property test program undertaken on a Class B railcar wheel steel. This work was performed to obtain relevant fatigue data that may be used in support of a larger effort exploring the applicability of fatigue-based acceptance criteria for passenger and transit railroad wheels. Classical stress-life (S-N) curves were developed for AAR Class B railcar wheel steel with specimens removed from the tread area of an as-forged railcar wheel.

Under sponsorship from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), the Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) and the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) evaluated five technologies for their ability to detect trains and/or highway vehicles approaching and occupying highway railroad intersections (HRI). TTCI conducted tests on the performance of these technologies during October and November 1999 at the FRA's Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colorado, USA.

This report describes the results of the train-to-train impact test conducted at the Federal Railroad Administration's Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colorado on January 31, 2002.

The Volpe Center has been conducting research into rail equipment crashworthiness in support of the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) Office of Research and Development. As part of this research, full-scale crash tests of passenger cars have been performed. Subsequent detailed post-test examinations develop an improved understanding of the collapse mechanisms of the dominant structural elements as well as overall dynamic crash behavior. This knowledge can be used for interpreting test data, estimating energy dissipation during the test, developing detailed finite element models, and...

Tests have been conducted on the Bombardier back-to-back commuter rail seat in a facing-seat configuration to evaluate its performance under static and dynamic loading conditions. Quasi-static tests have been conducted to establish the load-deflection characteristics and failure mechanisms of the seat. Dynamic tests have also been conducted with 50th and 95th percentile male, and 5th percentile female instrumented Hybrid III anthropometric test devices (ATDs) to evaluate the collision performance of the seatand a table, and to verify analytical simulation models of the seat/occupant....

On April 23 and 24, 2003, the Federal Railroad Administration's Office of Research and Development held a Human Factors Workshop: "Improving Railroad Safety Through Understanding Close Calls in Baltimore, Maryland." The purpose of the workshop was to educate the railroad industry on the benefits of understanding close call events and the challenges to the implementation and success of a close call reporting system. The workshop provided a forum for participants to discuss issues of concern to the railroad industry.

The load history that railroad tank cars experience has a significant variable amplitude characteristic. Although previous efforts have been directed toward understanding baseline fatigue crack growth behavior of TC-128B steel as a function of material lot, orientation, and environment, little is known regarding how load interaction impacts crack growth behavior in a typical tank car steel. Load interaction occurs when the variable amplitude character of the loading results in crack growth that differs as a function of load history effects in the wake of the crack. The focus of this testing...

This study compares the risks in transporting spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste under three rail shipment alternatives: 1) regular train service, operating without restrictions with the exception of current hazardous materials regulations; 2) dedicated train service, operating with consist and operational restrictions; and 3) key train service, similar to regular train service with the additional speed limitation of 50 mph. Dedicated train shipments have a lower overall radioactivity exposure risk during incident-free transport than shipments by regular or key trains; the...