Field Testing Plan for Positive Train Control Enforcement in Passenger Terminals

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhipeng Zhang ◽  
Xiang Liu ◽  
Keith Holt
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
Field Testing ◽  
The United States ◽  
Test Sequence ◽  
Benefit Cost Analysis ◽  
Stub End ◽  
Speed Enforcement ◽  
Passenger Terminals ◽  
Operational Impact

Abstract In the United States, a train moving onto a terminating track at a passenger terminal relies on the train engineer’s operation. Currently, there are no mechanisms installed at the U.S. passenger terminals that are able to automatically stop a train before reaching the end of the track if an engineer fails to do so. The engineer’s actions determine whether the train will safely stop before the end of the terminating track. Thus, incapacitated or inattentive engineer operation would result in end-of-track collisions, such as the New Jersey Transit train accident at Hoboken Terminal in 2016. Currently, PTC enforcement is not required in passenger terminals. In an ongoing project tasked by the Federal Railroad Administration, we study the cost-effectiveness and operational impact of possible PTC enforcement to prevent end-of-track collisions. Specifically, a Concept of Operations (ConOps) was developed to outline the proposed plans to implement two of the most widely used PTC types, namely the Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System (ACSES) and Interoperable Electronic Train Management System (I-ETMS). This paper describes in-field testing of the ConOps in ACSES-type terminal. In the planned field test, a train equipped with one locomotive and at least one passenger coach would be tested on platform tracks in a selected passenger terminal. These are three major testing components, which are test equipment, test track, and recorded information for each test sequence. Firstly, in terms of equipment, a traffic cone will be placed on the track to simulate a bumping post. In ACSES system, two sets of transponders are programmed to require a positive stop within a specified distance and mounted to the cross ties at specified positions. Secondly, a yard track will be used to test the feasibility of this exercise at the beginning. Upon successfully completing the test multiple times, a series of tests will also be made on the studied platform track. Thirdly, each test run should record the distance from the head end of the test train and the traffic cone for each test run. In addition, ACSES system should also record the information on the ACSES display as it passes the first and second transponder set, respectively. Overall, the field tests presented in this paper, along with previous work in benefit-cost analysis and operational impact assessment, can contribute to an assessment of the proposed PTC implementation at stub-end terminals in the United States in order to effectively and efficiently prevent end-of-track collisions.

Materials Interface Interactions Test (MIIT); in-Situ Testing of Simulated Hlw Forms in Salt- Performance of Srs Simulated Waste Glass After up to 5 Years of Burial at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)

1991 ◽  
Vol 257 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.G. Wicks ◽  
A.R. Lodding ◽  
P.B. Macedo ◽  
D.E. Clark
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Pilot Plant ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
Field Testing ◽  
The United States ◽  
Waste Glass ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
High Level Waste ◽  
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant ◽  
High Level

ABSTRACTThe first field tests conducted in the United States involving burial of simulated high-level waste [HLW] forms and package components, were started in July of 1986. The program, called the Materials Interface Interactions Test or MIIT, is the largest cooperative field-testing venture in the international waste management community. Included in the study are over 900 waste form samples comprising 15 different systems supplied by 7 countries. Also included are approximately 300 potential canister or overpack metal samples along with more than 500 geologic and backfill specimens. There are almost 2000 relevant interactions that characterize this effort which is being conducted in the bedded salt site at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), near Carlsbad, New Mexico. The MIIT program represents a joint endeavor managed by Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M., and Savannah River Laboratory in Aiken, S.C. and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. Also involved in MIIT are participants from various laboratories and universities in France, Germany, Belgium, Canada, Japan, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In July of 1991, the experimental portion of the 5-yr. MIIT program was completed. Although only about 5% of all MIIT samples have been assessed thus far, there are already interesting findings that have emerged. The present paper will discuss results obtained for SRS 165/TDS waste glass after burial of 6 mo., 1 yr. and 2 yrs., along with initial analyses of 5 yr. samples.

Problematic Status of Corporate Regulation in the United States: Towards a New Moral Order

1992 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 705-725 ◽  
Author(s):  
G L Clark
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
The United States ◽  
Corporate Restructuring ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
Benefit Cost Analysis ◽  
Contractual Agreements ◽  
Benefit Cost

Evidence on the geographical dimensions of corporate restructuring in the United States suggests that, if left to themselves, corporations often break the law or at least the spirit of law in furthering their economic interests. The design and implementation of restructuring involving the spatial relocation of work is in many instances conceived with the goal of circumventing corporations' social obligations. Workers' pension entitlements (and their contractual agreements with corporations on many other matters) are at risk when the economic imperatives of competition and technical innovation are the driving forces behind corporations' actions. These issues are explored with respect to rational choice theory, advancing an argument to the effect that if corporate restructuring is only understood in these terms, the prospects for effective public regulation are bleak indeed. A regulatory framework that explicitly references moral standards could be, however, more effective because the terms of evaluation would be legitimately other than simple benefit-cost analysis. This last argument is briefly illustrated by reference to the moral component inherent in making contracts between agents.

scholarly journals Field Testing Peach Rootstocks for Resistance to Armillaria Root Rot

HortScience ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.G. Beckman ◽  
P.L. Pusey
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Root Rot ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Prunus Persica ◽  
Infected Plant ◽  
Field Testing ◽  
The United States ◽  
Peach Tree ◽  
Armillaria Root Rot ◽  
Peach Rootstocks

Armillaria root rot is the second leading cause of peach tree mortality (after peach tree short life) in the southeastern United States. Currently, there are no commercially available rootstocks for peach with proven resistance to this pathogen in the United States. Since 1983, we have been screening rootstock candidates for resistance to Armillaria utilizing naturally infected field sites. Inoculation of peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch], plum (P. cerasifera J.F. Ehrh., P. munsoniana F.W. Wight & Hedr., P. salicina Lindl. or P. angustifolia Marsh.) × peach and plum × plum hybrid rootstocks with infected plant tissue (such as acorns, Quercus sp.) prior to planting has provided a significantly increased infection and mortality of candidate rootstock lines in comparison with sole reliance on natural inoculum on an infested site.

Performance Summary of Continuous Mining Machine Proximity Detection Systems

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter T. Bissert ◽  
Joseph P. DuCarme ◽  
Jacob L. Carr ◽  
Christopher C. Jobes ◽  
Jeffrey A. Yonkey
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mine Safety ◽  
Detection Systems ◽  
Proximity Detection ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Continuous Mining ◽  
Shuttle Car ◽  
Parasitic Coupling

Since 1984, remote controlled continuous mining machines (CMM) have caused 40 crushing and pinning fatalities in the United States. Due to limited space in the underground environment and visibility needs, CMM operators typically work close to the machine which exposes them to the danger of being struck or pinned by it. Because of these fatalities, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has published a rule requiring proximity detection systems (PDSs) on all CMMs except for full-face machines. To test PDS performance, researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducted a series of field tests in underground coal mines throughout the United States on CMMs equipped with PDSs. The field tests collected data under a variety of conditions to evaluate the warning and shutdown zone performance of these systems. A baseline test condition was measured when the machine was operating in non-mining mode. Three additional conditions discussed in this paper include testing of the PDS while the machine was operating in mining mode, examining the possibility of parasitic coupling to the trailing cable, and examining the effects of the presence of a shuttle car. The results of this study indicate that the average warning and stop zones vary minimally between non-mining mode and trailing cable influence measurements, as well as between the mining mode and shuttle car presence tests. A majority of the measurements for warning and stop zones showed repeatability within +/− 5 inches (12.7 cm). Additionally, parasitic coupling to the trailing cable was not experienced during this field testing. However, these results show that the range of stop zone measurements varied by 4.7 ft on average and as much as 11.7 ft in different field sites. This is most likely due to individual preferences by operators during installation when the warning and stop zone distances are set. While a PDS should effectively stop a CMM when an operator gets too close to the machine, the large variations between field test measurements indicate that there is a wide variation of performance established during system installation.

scholarly journals More anthrax letters and cases in the United States

2001 ◽  
Vol 5 (47) ◽  
Author(s):  
R Harling
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
The United States ◽  
Postal Service ◽  
Federal Bureau ◽  
Forensic Evidence ◽  
Federal Bureau Of Investigation ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Government ◽  
Anthrax Spores

A fourth letter containing anthrax spores was discovered on 16 November in the United States (US) by investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the US Postal Service (1). They had been sifting through unopened US government mail that was quarantined after a previous anthrax laced letter was discovered on 15 October in the office of Senator Tom Daschle. In order to preserve forensic evidence, the letter has not yet been opened, but preliminary field tests have been positive for B. anthracis, and the envelope is believed to contain billions of spores.

scholarly journals Selected Soybean Plant Introductions with Partial Resistance to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

Plant Disease ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 86 (9) ◽  
pp. 971-980 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. D. Hoffman ◽  
B. W. Diers ◽  
G. L. Hartman ◽  
C. D. Nickell ◽  
R. L. Nelson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Disease Severity ◽  
Partial Resistance ◽  
Germ Plasm ◽  
Agronomic Traits ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
The United States ◽  
Stem Rot ◽  
Sclerotinia Stem Rot ◽  
Plant Introductions

Sclerotinia stem rot, caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, is a major soybean (Glycine max) disease in north-central regions of the United States and throughout the world. Current sources of resistance to Sclerotinia stem rot express partial resistance, and are limited in number within soybean germ plasm. A total of 6,520 maturity group (MG) 0 to IV plant introductions (PIs) were evaluated for Sclerotinia stem rot resistance in the United States and Canada in small plots or in the greenhouse from 1995 to 1997. Selected PIs with the most resistance were evaluated for resistance in the United States and Canada in replicated large plots from 1998 to 2000. The PIs in the MG I to III tests in Urbana, IL were evaluated for agronomic traits from 1998 to 2000. The selected PIs also were evaluated with an excised leaf inoculation and petiole inoculation technique. After the 1995 to 1997 evaluations, all but 68 PIs were eliminated because of their susceptibility to Sclerotinia stem rot. In field tests in Urbana, higher disease severity in selected MG I to III PIs was significantly (P< 0.05) associated with taller plant heights and greater canopy closure. All other agronomic traits evaluated were not associated or were inconsistently associated with disease severity. MG I to III PIs 153.282, 189.931, 196.157, 398.637, 417.201, 423.818, and 561.331 had high levels of resistance and had canopies similar to the resistant checks. The resistance ratings from the petiole inoculation technique had a high and significant (P< 0.01) correlation with disease severity in the MG I and II field tests. The partially resistant PIs identified in this study can be valuable in incorporating Sclerotinia stem rot resistance into elite germ plasm.

Field testing of a minimal record of disability in multiple sclerosis: The United States and Canada

2009 ◽  
Vol 70 (S101) ◽  
pp. 126-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas G. LaRocca ◽  
Labe C. Scheinberg ◽  
Robert J. Slater ◽  
Barbara Giesser ◽  
Charles R. Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Field Testing ◽  
The United States

Prevention of End-of-Track Collisions in Passenger Terminals via Positive Train Control: Benefit-Cost Analysis and Operational Impact Assessment

2020 ◽  
Vol 2674 (7) ◽  
pp. 16-28
Author(s):  
Zhipeng Zhang ◽  
Xiang Liu ◽  
Keith Holt
Keyword(s):  
Cost Analysis ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Rolling Stock ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Benefit Cost Analysis ◽  
Train Control ◽  
Positive Train Control ◽  
Benefit Cost ◽  
Passenger Terminals ◽  
Operational Impact

End-of-track collisions at passenger terminals have raised safety concerns because of their potentially severe consequences such as infrastructure and rolling stock damage, service disruption, and even casualties. As introduced in the previous study sponsored by the U.S. Federal Railroad Administration, the implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC) systems at passenger terminal stations could potentially prevent end-of-track collisions. As the second phase of that project, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the proposed concept of operation via quantitatively identifying the safety benefits, incremental costs, and operational impacts associated with PTC enforcement on terminating tracks. The benefit-cost analysis indicates that the safety benefits may exceed the incremental costs over a 20-year period under specified circumstances and assumptions. In addition, the preliminary results disclose that the operational impact in PTC enforcement should be negligible, except for the rare occurrence of wayside interface unit (WIU) failure or radio failure in the Interoperable Electronic Train Management System (I-ETMS)-type PTC system that would result in a stop well short of the targeted point and potentially delay both onboard passengers and inbound/outbound trains. Both benefit-cost analysis and operational impact assessment methodologies are implemented in a decision tool that can be customized for different terminals with heterogeneous infrastructure and operational characteristics and be adapted to other transportation modes.

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