An official website of the United States government
Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
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.
Portions of the Department of Transportation are currently in shutdown/furlough status due to a lapse in appropriations. Please continue to monitor this page for updates on DOT’s operating status.
This report summarizes the findings of a study to evaluate the fuel efficiency of rail freight operations relative to competing truckload service. The objective of the study was to identify the circumstances in which rail freight service offers a fuel efficiency advantage over alternative truckload...
Vehicle Characterization tests were performed on two of three commercial span bolsters cars (Triplet Cars) to gather data in support of the Train Dynamics Model (TDM) prediction of coupled span bolster car performance. The three vehicle characterization tests were: (1) static suspension...
Tests were performed on the Peacekeeper Rail Garrison (PKRG) Train which included track worthiness, train handling, and train mobility. The track worthiness tests were conducted according to specifications in Chapter XI of the Association of American Railroads (AAR), Manual of Standards and...
Tests were performed on the Peacekeeper Rail Garrison Fuel Car, according to specifications in Chapter XI of the Association of American Railroads (AAR), Manual of Standards and Recommended Practices. The car was tested in three discrete configurations: loaded, half-loaded, and unloaded. The...
This National Maglev Initiative (NMI) Annual Report summarizes activities carried out since the NMI's inception in the spring of 1990 through October 1991. The NMI is a cooperative effort of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the U.S. Army...
Transportation specialists have pointed to the inherent advantages of magnetic levitation (maglev) system architectures that include dedicated guideway which precludes many potential collision hazards. Use of a synchronous motor has been cited as contributing to reduced risk of two trains colliding...
As part of the United States National Maglev Initiative, the Departments of Transportation and Energy and the Army Corps of Engineers are working together to evaluate and clarify the role of Magnetically Levitated Ground Transportation Systems in the nation's transportation future. Among the...
An alternative weld repair process (gas-spray) was devised by the Japanese National Railways (JNR) which incorporates a oxyacetylene flame and a powdered filler metal. The gas-spray process was designed to operate either semi-automatic or fully automatic and was intended to reduce operator errors...
Between 1985-87 a number of different rail steels were tested at the Facility for Accelerated Service Testing (FAST) in the High Tonnage Loop using 100-ton capacity cars. Fatigue data on the formation of shells and detail fractures and growth rates of detail fractures were obtained. The tendency of...