Friday, July 25, 2008 (Washington, D.C)

FRA Grant Supports New Technology to Increase Reliability of Rail Flaw Detection . The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has awarded a grant totaling $231,802 to the University of California at San Diego to refine hardware and software for new technology that uses laser ultrasonic probes to detect certain internal rail defects. The improvements will permit an on-track vehicle carrying the system to operate at speeds up to 40 mph, increasing the efficiency of track inspections as well as providing higher reliability of rail defect detection than is currently available. FRA previously provided funding for development of a prototype system which has been built and tested. Grant funds also will be used to conduct a more comprehensive technology demonstration at the FRA Transportation Technology Center test facility in Pueblo, Colo. Contact: Rob Kulat (202) 493-6024.

Seven States Share $5.6 million in Grant Funding for Grade Crossing Safety in High-Speed Rail Corridors . Five federally-designated high-speed rail corridors in California, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin will share $5,640,174 in federal grant funding to make safety improvements at approximately 25 highway-rail grade crossings. The funds will support the installation of grade crossing warning lights and gates, the closure of crossings, and other engineering solutions to help prevent motor vehicle-train collisions along rail lines where high-speed passenger trains are intended to operate in the future. The grants are jointly managed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and complement the significant investments and ongoing efforts made by these states to improve the safety of intercity passenger and freight rail service along the specific rail corridors. Contact: Doug Hecox, FHWA, (202) 366-0660 or Steve Kulm, FRA, (202) 493-6024.

United States, Russia Agree on New Code-Sharing Rights . The United States and Russia have agreed to expand rights for code-share air services between the two countries. Code sharing is an industry practice whereby one airline sells tickets under its own name for services operated by another airline. U.S. carriers will be able to enter into up to eight third-country code-sharing arrangements with carriers from 16 European countries. No more than six of these arrangements may be for passenger services. Although there are existing limitations on the total number of U.S. carrier flights to Russia, these limitations will not apply to flights where a U.S. carrier is the marketing carrier on a flight operated by the other airline under a code-share arrangement, and there are no restrictions on the number of code-share arrangements among U.S. carriers or between U.S. and Russian carriers. The two countries agreed to meet this fall to discuss the further expansion of aviation rights. Contact: Bill Mosley (202) 366-4570.

-END-