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The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Association of American Railroads (AAR) jointly supported Transportation Technology Center, Inc., (TTCI) to investigate the influence of shoulder ballast cleaning (SBC) on the performance of fine-filled ballast. Repeated vehicle loadings degrade...
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...
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...
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.
Overview: This program provides funding for capital projects that reduce the state of good repair backlog, improve performance, or expand or establish new intercity passenger rail service, including privately operated intercity passenger rail service, if an eligible applicant is involved. For more information, see the FY 2024 Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) in the Resources section be
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...
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...