TRB Launches Review of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Test and Analysis Plan of Electronically Controlled Pneumatic Brakes

TRB, part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, has formed a new Committee on the Review of Department of Transportation Testing of Electronically Controlled Pneumatic Brakes. The committee has been formed in response to a request from Congress and with the sponsorship of U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT’s) Federal Railroad Administration.

DOT’s final rule, “Enhanced Tank Car Standards and Operational Controls for High-Hazard Flammable Trains,” requires unit trains of 70 or more tank cars transporting flammable liquids at speeds in excess of 30 mph to use electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes by January 1, 2021. In the Fixing America’s Transportation (FAST) Act, Congress called for a reanalysis of the effects of that requirement and called for the Secretary of Transportation to determine whether the ECP brakes requirement is justified, within 24 months of enactment of the FAST Act.

As part of that effort, the committee will review a test and analysis plan prepared by DOT to evaluate the assumptions that the department has identified in its comparison of the emergency braking performance of railroad tank car ECP brakes to conventional brakes or braking systems, such as distributed power and two-way end of train devices. The key question is whether ECP brakes would reduce the incidence and severity of spills of crude oil or ethanol from derailments compared with the alternative braking systems examined. The committee will also review the conduct of DOT's tests and its reports of test results.

The formal statement of task and provisional membership of the committee is available online.