Technical Reports
Tank Car Vent and Burn Process Study: Phase II
The Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI), under the Federal Railroad Administration's Hazmat Transportation Safety Research and Development Strategic Plan, conducted a study of vent and burn as a method of hazardous materials incident mitigation. The purpose of the study was to develop...Demonstration of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf Change Detection on Railway Images
This study, conducted jointly by ENSCO, Inc. and Harris Corporation, assessed the potential benefits of applying commercially available change detection software to railway machine vision images. Change detection involves registering “Before” and “After” images on a pixel-by-pixel basis to...
Analysis for NPRM : Strobe Lights on Locomotives
This regulatory analysis was prepared using the procedures developed in Railroad Safety'Economics: A Guidebook for the Analysis of Regulations (prepared by IOCS Inc., for the Federal Railroad Administration, February 1978). It includes an evaluation of the effectiveness of strobe lights, an...Effectiveness of LED-Enhanced Signs in Reducing Incidents of Vehicles Stopping on Tracks
The U.S. Department of Transportation Volpe National Transportation Systems Center conducted a study of the effectiveness of LED-enhanced R8-8 signs in reducing incidents of vehicles stopping on the tracks. The researchers captured video at the Brighton Street crossing in Belmont, MA before and...
Joint Bar Failure Study—Field Investigation
After the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) accepted a 2011 recommendation by the Rail Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC), the agency directed its Office of Research, Development and Technology (RD&T) to initiate a comprehensive study that would examine the track and operational conditions...
Why do Passenger Trains Pass Stop Signals? A Systems View
This report documents the findings and recommendations from an investigation into stop signal violations at several passenger railroads. The study collected data on accidents related to stop signal overruns (SSO) from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reports and from the Federal...Long-Term Effect of Photo Enforcement-Based Education on Vehicle Driver Behavior at a Highway-Rail Grade Crossing
The Volpe Center evaluated the long-term effectiveness of the use of photo enforcement for driver education at the East Princeton Street grade crossing in Orlando, FL (Crossing ID 622173H). The goal of the photo enforcement-based driver education program is to reduce the number of vehicles that...
Effect of Photo Enforcement-Based Education on Vehicle Driver Behavior at a Highway-Rail Grade Crossing
The Volpe Center was tasked by FRA’s Office of Research, Development and Technology with evaluating the effectiveness of the use of photo enforcement for driver education at the East Princeton Street grade crossing in Orlando, FL (Crossing ID 622173H). The goal of the photo enforcement-based...