Research Results
An Alternative to Conventional Concrete Crossties for Bridge Approaches
Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) is investigating an alternative crosstie design to conventional concrete crossties for bridge approaches. The project is being co-sponsored by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Association of American Railroads (AAR).Short Line Safety Institute Pilot Safety Culture Assessment Project: Recruitment and Selection of Sites and Assessors
The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA), with the support of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Office of Research, Development and Technology (RD&T), is establishing a Short Line Safety Institute (Institute). The first step in creating the Institute is a...Evaluation of FRA Trespass Preventation Research Study
The United States Department of Transportation’s (US DOT) John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center), under the direction of the US DOT Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Office of Research and Development (R&D), conducted an independent internal evaluation of the...Low Ground Clearance Vehicle Detection and Warning
A Low Ground Clearance Vehicle Detection System (LGCVDS) determines if a commercial motor vehicle can successfully clear a highway-rail grade crossing and notifies the driver when his or her vehicle cannot safely traverse the crossing. That is, differences in elevation between the roadway and...
Continued Improvements at One C3RS Site
Human-factors-based solutions, along with process and technology innovations, can make significant contributions to improving safety in the railroad industry. As part of ongoing efforts to address human-factors, FRA implemented the Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS), which includes...FRA Funded Grade Crossing Safety & Trespass Prevention Research (June 2007 – Present)
FRA’s Office of R&D and Office of Railroad Safety have been actively supporting highway-rail grade crossing safety and trespass prevention research to improve safety. Below is a list of technical reports and research results from FRA-funded projects on these topics since 2007.
High-Speed Passenger Rail Tie-Ballast Interaction
This Research Results Report presents evidence of poor tie support and increased applied loads that were used to determine the “root cause” of transient and permanent vertical displacements at two Amtrak bridge transitions. These results are from a Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) study on...Application of Alternative Criteria and Procedures to Passenger Railcars
Occupied volume integrity (OVI) refers to a passenger railcar’s ability to preserve space for passengers and crew during an accident. The Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Office of Research and Development (R&D) is sponsoring research investigating OVI. The results of a series of...WISESight™: A Multispectral Smart Video-Track Intrusion Monitor
International Electronic Machines Corporation (IEM) developed, tested, and validated a unique smart video-based intrusion monitoring system for use at highway-rail grade crossings. The system used both thermal infrared (IR) and visible/near-infrared (NIR) imaging to detect, identify, and...