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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

Railroads

Technologies and Testing to Prevent Water Ingress in Railroad Bearings

Bearing degradation and defects can result in a bearing being removed from service before the end of its normal service life or possible bearing failure, causing service disruption or even derailment. Water damage is the leading cause of premature bearing failure; therefore, preventing this...

Evaluation of Longitudinal Wing Slopes for No. 20 Frogs

In a collaboration between the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Association of American Railroads (AAR), Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) investigated the benefits of modified No. 20 frogs on mitigating damage to the frog point, heel, and wing rails under heavy-haul...

Part 225 Submittal Methods

What’s happening and why? 

FRA is in the process of working through the changes to Part 225 that will update the accident/incident data submission options available to railroads. These updates are needed to bring the reporting requirements up to date and aligned to industry standards.

Utilization of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Accident Reconstruction

The Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe), under the direction of the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Office of Research, Development and Technology (RD&T), conducted a research study to evaluate the effectiveness of using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) (also known as...

Expansion of Rail Flaw Library at the Transportation Technology Center

Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) began adding naturally occurring rail flaws to the Rail Flaw Library of Associated Defects (RF-LOAD) by acquiring defective rails from the field with funding by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). Rail samples containing service induced flaws...

Comparison of International Fire Safety Standards with U.S. Requirements

The Volpe National Transportation Systems Center compared and contrasted U.S. fire safety regulations and standards on rolling stock with the European Union, Japan, and China. The major areas of study were fire safety analysis, materials performance standards, toxicity performance standards,...