USA Banner

Official US Government Icon

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure Site Icon

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

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

General

Measuring Personal Travel and Goods Movement

The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991 established the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) within the U.S. Department of Transportation. This new federal statistical agency was charged with developing transportation data to support strategic planning and policy...

Amtrak Performance Tracking (APT) System

The Volpe Center collaborated with Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to develop a cost accounting system named Amtrak Performance Tracking (APT) used by Amtrak to manage, allocate, and report its costs. APT’s initial development was detailed in a 2009 FRA Report to Congress and...

Monitoring Longitudinal Rail Stress Using Diffuse Ultrasonic Backscatter

In this report, research was conducted at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln pertaining to the use of ultrasound scattering from polycrystalline grains to estimate and monitor stress in rail. The report presents a comprehensive discussion of the theoretical model of the scattering process,...

Passenger Car Crippling End-Load Test and Analyses

The Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) performed a series of full-scale tests and a finite element analysis (FEA) in a case study that may become a model for manufacturers seeking to use the waiver process of Tier I crashworthiness and occupant protection standards to qualify railcars...