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The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) contracted Transportation Technology Corporation, Inc. (TTCI) to continue work performed from February 2013 through December 2014 to upgrade the infrastructure and testing capabilities of the Positive Train Control (PTC) Test Bed by converting the existing...
The paper describes a new human factors research capability for the US Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)—The Cab Technology Integration Laboratory (CTIL). The FRA sponsored the development of the CTIL in order to assess locomotive crew performance with the integration of new market controls,...
Accidents in commuter rail operations point to the need for better understanding of the contributory role of operator distraction in rail safety. This presentation discusses need for further study and was part of early work leading to two simulator studies done in this area (documented in FRA/...
A human factors evaluation of an experimental engineer control system was conducted by the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) using a locomotive research simulator—the FRA’s Cab Technology Integration Laboratory (CTIL). The primary objective of the evaluation was to...
Distraction is a growing problem in the cabs of modern locomotives. The 2008 commuter train collision at Chatsworth, CA resulting in 28 fatalities, points to the dangers of distractions inside the cab. The NTSB investigation determined the operator was texting while in control of the train, and...
This report describes the development and evaluation of a prototype real-time moving map display to support engineer situation awareness and safety performance for future U.S. high-speed rail applications. The development started with a hybrid Cognitive Task Analysis to develop Information and...
Introduction of automated systems in locomotive cabs changes the scope and complexity of the human crew’s work. This research seeks to provide a methodology to design and evaluate new roles for humans and automation systems. A hierarchical task model was built and used to inform the design of an...
Conventional control stands for trains have evolved from models of locomotives dating back to the 1950s, before extensive automation and computerized displays existed. The introduction of such features increases the scope of the user interface and indicates a need for a more involved design...
This presentation discusses the use of the Cab Technology Interface Laboratory (CTIL) for investigating human error opportunities associated with automation in the locomotive cab. In our study, we observed operator interactions with simulated Trip Optimizer (TO) and Positive Train Control (PTC)...
Distraction is a growing problem in the cabs of modern locomotives. The 2008 commuter train collision at Chatsworth, CA resulting in 28 fatalities, points to the dangers of distractions inside the cab. The NTSB investigation determined the operator was texting while in control of the train, and...