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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...
Railroad Spike Failure Mitigation: Investigation of Tie Plate Hold-Down Elements
The Rail Transportation and Engineering Center (RailTEC) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) investigated methods to mitigate timber tie spike failures. This research is part of an ongoing investigation sponsored by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) that began in 2018....
Efficacy of Increased Flash Rate of Railroad Gate Flashers
FRA sponsored the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center to evaluate the efficacy of increasing the flash rate of gate-mounted flashers on driver compliance with grade crossing warning devices. This work aimed to increase safety by reducing the violation rate and the average time of...