Technical Reports
Assessing the Safety Benefits of a Real-Time Railroad Crossing Information System for Emergency Responders
This report assesses the safety benefits of a real-time railroad crossing information system for emergency responders. The study focuses on reducing first responder delays at rail crossings, which have become increasingly critical due to the rise in average train lengths in the United States....
Cost and Benefit Risk Framework for Modern Railway Electrification Options
The Federal Railroad Administration contracted a research team from The University of Texas at Austin in 2023 to develop a framework for evaluating the updated costs and benefits of freight railway electrification considering traditional and modern innovative methods. The team reviewed past and...
Evaluating Processes, Outcomes, and Sustainability for FRA’s Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS)
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) tasked the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe) to conduct an evaluation of the Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS) implementation processes, sustainability, and safety outcomes. The research team assessed program...
Modeling the Effects of Top-of-Rail Products on Creep Forces in the Wheel-Rail Interface
The main aim of this project was to develop a wheel-rail creep force model that accounts for the effects of third-body layers resulting from the application of a range of top-of-rail (TOR) materials. Initially, researchers carried out experimental assessments of different types of TOR products...
LiDAR Grade Crossing Data Collection and Storage Services for High Profile Grade Crossings
This report summarizes work performed to improve identification of high-profile grade crossings throughout the nation’s railway network. In May 2019 two rail survey vehicles operated under the FRA Office of Safety’s Automated Track Inspection Program were equipped with LiDAR 3D scanner arrays...
A Systems-Theoretic Computational Model of Human Performance in an Advanced Railroad Dispatch Operation
The Federal Railroad Administration sponsored a research team from Duke University to study railroad dispatcher workload in association with automation under various scenarios and task demands. The team developed a computational model to help examine, understand, and predict the effects of the...
Positive Train Control Communication Failures and Their Impacts: Case Study Using Generalized Train Movement Simulator
Railroads with Positive Train Control (PTC) are experiencing increased delays due to communication failures and outages, during which trains are compelled to move at slower speeds while operating in non-PTC fallback mode. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) sponsored Decisiontek, LLC to...
Railroad Artificial Intelligence Intruder Learning System (RAIILS)
This report summarizes the research conducted as part of Phase 2 of the Railroad Artificial Intelligence Intruder Learning System (RAIILS), led by a team of researchers at Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech) and sponsored by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) from March 2019...