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Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) researched and developed concepts for a centralized interlocking (CIXL) system to satisfy the needs of North American railroads. The system leverages the Quasi-Moving Block (QMB) train control method; and provides maintainability and availability...
Open-bay seating is a common configuration in U.S. passenger railcars. The current version of the American Public Transportation Association’s safety standard on passenger seating (APTA PR-CS-S-016-99, Rev. 3) requires open-bay seats to be tested if more than 50 percent of a car’s seating is...
Railroad crossings may cause unexpected blockages and considerable traffic delays, especially in urban areas. However, there is no practical system available to share potential crossing blockage information to the public. An unexpected blockage threatens first responders while they respond to...
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has a long-standing research program to examine the puncture resistance of railroad tank cars used in the transportation of hazardous materials within the U.S. Since 2007. FRA conducted 11 tank car shell impact tests at the Transportation Technology...
With support from FRA, Transportation Technology Center Inc. (TTCI) developed a full-scale rolling contact fatigue simulator (RCFS) to research the root causes of wheel and rail surface damage. This damage comprises surface pitting, cracking, wear, and material flow and is a function of both the...
Electronically Controlled Pneumatic (ECP) brake technology can improve both safety and braking performance of trains. One of the technical barriers is the interchange requirement of a freight car. This barrier can be addressed either by an overlay ECP or an ECP emulator. Under a previous effort...
The ability to accurately predict and analyze passenger evacuations from rail cars is an important component of the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) mission to enable the safe, reliable, and efficient movement of people and goods throughout the United States. Multiple commercial...
Tank cars use pressure relief devices (PRDs) to protect the tank from overpressure situations, such as those resulting from derailment related fire exposure. However, these devices are not tested/certified under such high temperature conditions. The intent of this research program was to...
This research established a protocol for sample preparation and testing between a large suction water characteristic curve (SWCC) device and a large-scale direct shear (LSDS) device using clean ballast and fouling material collected from mainline track. This allowed for comparisons of strength...
This report summarizes the research and development of a variable directivity Acoustic Warning Device (AWD) used as a locomotive horn. A Global Positioning System (GPS) was developed to control an arrangement of directional loudspeakers. Loudspeakers are arranged on the locomotive so...