Highway-Rail Grade Crossings Overview

Highway-railroad grade crossings are intersections where a highway crosses a railroad at-grade. They are also called level crossings in other countries such as Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom.   To avoid collisions, warning/control devices are required at grade crossings just...

Track/Train Interaction Overview

The Track/Train Interaction Program addresses the safety implications arising from the dynamic interaction between track and train. Among other things, this program will

Design and Performance

This project has two focus areas. The first provides support for operation of the jointly funded FAST at Transportation Technology Center (TTC). It includes the operation of the heavy axle load train by which performance of sub-grade, ballast...

Materials and Components

FRA will continue to support the development of rail steels that are more resistant to defect formation under repeated loading from train traffic. Studies in this area will focus on factors which control rail life and performance, including growth of...

Inspection Techniques

This effort is aimed at producing better and faster methods for detecting internal rail and joint bar defects and developing automated methods for better and more consistent interpretation of rail defect measurement data. Plans include expansion of a Rail Defect Test...

Track Research Overview

Track and infrastructure failure is the second leading cause of train derailments in the U.S. Incorrect interaction between moving vehicles and the track is a common cause of derailments. Strategic priorities for this program are:

Usability Assessment

Learn how a new solution affects operator performance.

Usability evaluation may include a variety of methods to examine the extent to which a system is effective, efficient, engaging, and efficient - basically, it is an evaluation of how use-able...

Experimentation

Learn about specific topics under controlled (lab) conditions

Experiments are scientific procedures that can test a prediction (hypothesis) by manipulating a factor(s) of interest and holding everything else constant (under control).

For...

Rapid Prototyping

Rapid prototyping (RP) is a research and development process used quickly builds rough, then more refined, versions of a solution following the “spiral design” process described on the Human Systems Integration page. To build a display, for example, development team members first create a simple...

Verbal Protocol Analysis

Learn from operators they they are thinking about while performing tasks

Verbal Protocol Analysis can be used to understand how the operator perceives, operates, or uses a system, product, or space. Also known as the “think aloud” method, the researcher asks an individual to say all...