Railroad R&D 1970-2017: Key Events and Lessons Learned

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Kesler ◽  
Alan Bing
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Rolling Stock ◽  
High Speed Rail ◽  
Changing Roles ◽  
Inspection Systems ◽  
Supply Industry ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Key Events

This paper provides a review of me of the main themes in North American R&D and technology innovation from the 1970s through 2017. A chronological description identifies some of the principal developments in safety and performance over the years, including the introduction of new technologies, the changes in government and industry priorities and funding for R&D. This includes investments in tank car/hazmat research, maglev, and high speed rail). Key technology introductions such as automated track and rolling stock inspection systems are discussed. The evolving and changing roles of the Federal government, the AAR, individual railroads, the supply industry are described. The paper offers a timeline of key events in railroad R&D and technology introductions, with brief discussions each came to pass, the conditions in the industry which drove or enabled them and the impacts each introduction have had. The paper closes with some thoughts about current trends in technology and railroad R&D and their likely trajectory into the future.

Improving the Efficiency of High-Speed AC Contact Suspension

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 39-43
Author(s):  
Maksim V. SHEVLYUGIN ◽  
◽  
Daria V. SEMENOVA ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Power Supply ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Single Phase ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Alternating Current ◽  
Rolling Stock ◽  
New Materials ◽  
High Speed Railway ◽  
Electric Rolling Stock ◽  
Electrified Railways

When developing a high-speed contact suspension for railways electrified with alternating current, it is important to ensure that the electric rolling stock passes the neutral insert without turning off the current and without reducing the speed of movement. The article provides an analysis of previously developed devices in the field of power supply of electrified railways of single-phase alternating current, in which an attempt was made to pass an electric rolling stock of a neutral insert without disconnecting the load. The device of isolating coupling of a catenary and a neutral insert for high-speed railway lines electrified on alternating current is described. In this case, the passage of the neutral insert is carried out under current and braking of the electric rolling stock will not occur. Among other things, to improve the efficiency of high-speed contact suspension for railways electrified with alternating current, it is proposed to use new materials and new technologies that can be used in the device of insulating coupling of the catenary

scholarly journals Infrastructure costs and benefits of European high-speed rail

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-53
Author(s):  
Nedžad Branković ◽  
Aida Kalem
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Operational Parameters ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Railway Network ◽  
High Speed Rail ◽  
Rail Network ◽  
High Speed Trains ◽  
Conventional Rail ◽  
Ecologically Sustainable

The development of new technologies has significantly influenced railways modernization and has caused the appearance of high-speed rail which represent a safe, comfortable and ecologically sustainable way of transportation. The high-speed rail present a big step in a relation to conventional railways, where the biggest difference is speed which even entails a change of other organizational and operational parameters, better utilization of trains, higher performance of manpower and better service to users.  That is visible in many cities around the world where high-speed trains are used by billions of users. In the EU there is no unique high-speed railway network, besides that in many EU member countries various operational models are applied. The future of the high-speed railways market depends on political, economical and technical factors and challenges as high infrastructure costs, various rates of return on investment and the negative effects of economic crises. The main objective of the paper is to analyze infrastucture costs of high-speed rail in Europe and benefits such us  time savings, higher reliability, comfort, safety, reducing pollution and the release of capacity in the conventional rail network, roads and airport infrastructure.

Il costo dell'Alta Velocitŕ ferroviaria in Italia

2009 ◽  
pp. 203-251
Author(s):  
Claudio Virno
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Cost Estimation ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
High Speed Rail ◽  
Cost Overruns ◽  
Front End ◽  
Complex Projects

- Cost overruns are common in large and complex projects, especially in high speed rail ones. Budgeting for cost escalation is a major issue in the planning phase of these projects. This paper describes lessons learned on high speed rail in Italy and focuses on problems such as initial poor design, tactical budgeting, inadequate cost estimation and risk assessment, etc. The paper discusses possible means to avoid major flaws in the initial conceptual design of mega-projects. There is a growing understanding of the need to focus on the front-end phase in order to achieve more successful and cost-effective projects.

Emerging Challenges and Opportunities for U.S. High-Speed Rail Development

2016 ◽  
pp. 81-123
Author(s):  
Francis P. Banko ◽  
Jackson H. Xue
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Rail Transportation ◽  
High Speed Rail ◽  
International Experiences ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Tier I

As we witness the advancement of U.S. high-speed rail initiatives, the country can look towards its European and Asian counterparts for best practices and lessons learned from their decades of high-speed rail design and operations. These experiences gained may be applicable towards projects such as the Texas Central Railway and the California High-Speed Rail Project. This chapter will address the events of 2009 that have brought domestic high-speed rail to the forefront of U.S. rail transportation. This includes the new FRA Tier I and proposed Tier III criteria, challenges associated with each FRA tier of operation, overseas interoperability efforts, snapshots of international experiences (from policy and technological perspectives), the holistic system-based approach to safety, ongoing efforts of the FRA Engineering Task Force, and additional challenges and opportunities moving forward.

scholarly journals A Grey-BPNN Model for Evaluating the Competitiveness of Chinese Contractors in the High-Speed Rail Market in Europe

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Yi-Hsin Lin ◽  
Biling Shi ◽  
Po-Han Chen ◽  
Zhao Xu ◽  
Huimin Liu
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Rolling Stock ◽  
High Speed Rail ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Management Ability ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Grey Relational ◽  
Technology Level ◽  
Bpnn Model

With the planning and progress of the construction of the trans-Eurasian high-speed rail (HSR) network, it becomes an important issue for Chinese contractors to enter the European HSR market. Facing the world’s most competitive contractors and their high technology levels, Chinese contractors will need to know their advantages and disadvantages, so as to make necessary improvements. In this study, contractors for HSR are divided into two groups: construction contractors and rail equipment suppliers. In order to evaluate the competitiveness of HSR contractors, a Grey-BPNN model that combines the grey relational analysis and backpropagation neural network (BPNN) is proposed. The Grey-BPNN model is expected to analyze the overall competitiveness of Chinese contractors in the European HSR market and provide informative decision support for them. The study results show the following: (1) in the field of HSR construction, the competitiveness gap between the top-tier Chinese contractors and the most competitive international contractors is small. Chinese contractors’ competitive advantages lie in medium- and low-technology-level projects, with a strong development potential. However, they highly depend on Chinese domestic market and lack in intangible resources, like management ability and market development ability; (2) for rail equipment suppliers, China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) ranks among the top-tier leaders of the international market. CRRC’s greatest competitor in the European HSR market is Siemens, and CRRC is much more competitive than others in the sustainable development capability. However, CRRC needs to increase the quantity of patents and Research and Development (R&D) expenditures in transportation. As a weak transportation patent holder, CRRC has a potential risk of getting intellectual property litigations in the European HSR market.

Laboratory and Field Investigation of the Rail Pad Assembly Mechanistic Behavior

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thiago B. do Carmo ◽  
J. Riley Edwards ◽  
Ryan G. Kernes ◽  
Bassem O. Andrawes ◽  
Chris P. L. Barkan
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Failure Modes ◽  
Lateral Displacement ◽  
Relative Displacement ◽  
Field Investigation ◽  
High Speed Rail ◽  
Component Design ◽  
Scientific Principles ◽  
Heavy Haul ◽  
And Performance

To achieve the performance demands due to growing heavy-haul freight operations and increased high-speed rail service worldwide, advancements in concrete crosstie fastening systems are required. A mechanistic design approach based on scientific principles and derived from extensive laboratory and field investigation has the potential to improve the current best practices in fastening system design. The understanding of failure modes and effects on each component, associated with an improved understanding of load distribution and mechanical behavior, will ultimately increase production and operational efficiency while reducing unscheduled maintenance, track outages, and unplanned additional costs. Improvements on the rail pad assemblies, the components responsible for attenuating loads and protecting the concrete crosstie rail seat, will enhance the safety and efficiency of the track infrastructure. Understanding the mechanistic behavior of rail pad assemblies is critical to improving the performance and life cycle of the infrastructure and its components, which will ultimately reduce the occurrence of potential failure modes. Lateral, longitudinal, and shear forces exerted on the components of the fastening system may result in displacements and deformations of the rail pad with respect to the rail seat and rail base. The high stresses and relative movements are expected to contribute to multiple failure mechanisms and result in an increased need for costly maintenance activities. Therefore, the analysis of the mechanics of pad assemblies is important for the improvement of railroad superstructure component design and performance. In this study, the lateral displacement of this component with respect to the rail base and rail seat is analyzed. The research ultimately aims to investigate the hypothesis that relative displacement between the rail pad and rail seat occurs under realistic loading environments and that the magnitude of the displacement is directly related to the increase in wheel loads.

scholarly journals Technical parameters of high speed lines as the determinant for selection of rolling stock

2018 ◽  
Vol 180 ◽  
pp. 06007
Author(s):  
Jan Raczyński
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Rolling Stock ◽  
High Speed Rail ◽  
Technical Parameters ◽  
Rail Vehicle ◽  
Railway Infrastructure ◽  
The One ◽  
Selection Of

Choosing a high-speed rail vehicle depends on many factors. On the one hand, there are requirements for ensuring the quality of service for passengers, on the other hand, there are constraints resulting from the parameters of available infrastructure. Also a relation of the benefit and financial costs associated with the purchase and the operation of rolling stock is essential. Technical characteristics of vehicles selected for operating a particular system is a compromise between the three groups of requirements. In this article technical parameters of railway infrastructure and rolling stock are classified and then analysed from the TSI requirements point of view.

Probabilistic Analysis of Flying Ballast on High-Speed Rail Lines

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jieyi Deng ◽  
Guoqing Jing ◽  
Xiang Liu
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Safety Concern ◽  
Rolling Stock ◽  
Probabilistic Assessment ◽  
High Speed Train ◽  
Modeling Framework ◽  
High Speed Rail ◽  
Rail Systems ◽  
Ballasted Track

Safety is a top priority for the development of worldwide high-speed rail systems. Ballast flying is a particular safety concern when a high-speed train is traveling above a certain speed on the ballasted track. Displaced ballast particles from the track may cause damages to rolling stock, as well as the track infrastructure and wayside structures close to the sides of way. The objective of this research is to develop a probabilistic modeling framework to estimate the probability of ballast flight on specific segments or routes, accounting for several principal risk factors. Based on the probabilistic assessment, we propose a methodology to quantify the probability of flying ballast under certain scenarios. The methodology can be further developed, ultimately enabling a normative risk assessment for flying ballast risk management.

High Speed Rail: Track Construction Considerations

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blaine O. Peterson
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Optimal Solution ◽  
Rolling Stock ◽  
High Speed Rail ◽  
Track Geometry ◽  
Slab Track ◽  
Passenger Rail ◽  
Construction Methods ◽  
Track System ◽  
Ballasted Track

This paper discusses general High Speed Rail (HSR) track geometry, construction and maintenance practices and tolerances. The discussion will reference several key international projects and highlight different construction methods and the track geometry assessments used to establish and ensure serviceability of a typical HSR system. Historically, established tighter tolerances of “Express” HSR (i.e. operating speeds greater than 240 km/h or 150 mph) systems have favored the use of slab track systems over ballasted track systems. Slab track systems offer greater inherent stability while ballasted track systems generally require more frequent track geometry assessments and anomaly-correcting surfacing operations. The decisions related to which system to use for a given application involve numerous considerations discussed only briefly in this paper. In many cases, the optimal solution may include both track forms. Rolling stock considerations and their influence on track infrastructure design are considered beyond the scope of this paper. This paper will focus predominantly on two slab track systems widely used in international HSR projects: the Japanese J-slab track system; and the German Rheda slab track system. The French track system will be referenced as the typical ballasted track HSR design. The practices discussed in this paper generally apply to systems which are either primarily or exclusively passenger rail systems. In the U.S., these types of systems will necessarily exclude the systems the Federal Railway Administration (FRA) refers to as “Emerging” or “Regional” HSR systems which include passenger train traffic to share trackage on, what are otherwise considered, primarily freight lines.

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