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Rail Research at TRB
The mission of the Transportation Research Board is to provide leadership in transportation innovation and progress through research and information exchange, conducted within a setting that is objective, interdisciplinary, and multimodal. This page highlights recently released TRB reports, meeting announcements, requests for proposals, and other announcements related to railroads. In addition, it includes links to selected railroad research-related activities taking place at the federal and state levels, and within the academic and international transportation communities. Finally, this page also highlights and provides links to TRB railroads-related programs and activities, which are the source of most of TRB’s railroad-related research products. |
What's New
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TRB Railroad-Related Programs and Activities
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2024 TRB Annual Meeting: Susan Handy Awarded the Thomas B. Deen Distinguished LectureshipSeptember 5, 2023 Dr. Susan Handy, Distinguished Professor of Environmental Science and Policy and Director of the National Center for Sustainable Transportation at University of California, Davis (UC Davis) is the 2024 recipient of the Thomas B. Deen Distinguished Lectureship. Dr. Handy, also chair of UC Davis’s graduate program in Transportation Technology and Policy, is recognized for her contributions to the... |
International Conference on Ecology and Transportation (ICOET)February 23, 2023 Organized by the Road Ecology Center (UC Davis), the International Conference on Ecology and Transportation will be held on June 4-8, 2023 in Burlington, VT and online. TRB is pleased to cosponsor this event. ICOET is the foremost interdisciplinary, inter-agency supported conference addressing the broad range of ecological issues related to transportation systems in all modes. It provides a ve... |
Development of a Small Aircraft Runway Length Analysis ToolSeptember 16, 2022 An important operational characteristic of an airport is the length of its longest runway. The longest runway determines the types of aircraft that can use the airport and dictates the operational limitations at the airport. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Web-Only Document 54: Development of a Small Aircraft Runway Length Analysis Tool provides a user-friendly computer tool... |
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Climate Change Challenges International Transportation WebinarsJune 25, 2022 China Highway & Transportation Society is hosting a series of Climate Change Challenges International Transportation Webinars . TRB is pleased to cosponsor these events. Register for Webinar 2: Resilience of Urban Transportation Systems – Strength in Diversification. The urban transportation network is an integrated network in which multiple transportation modes are intertwined. Presenters ... |
SummerrailApril 11, 2022 The University of Tennessee, Knoxville is hosting Summerrail 2022 on August 16-18, 2022 in Michigan City, IN. TRB is pleased to cosponsor this event. This conference brings together rail researcher and practitioners to discuss the latest issues in railroad engineering, equipment, operations and marketing with a particular emphasis on attracting students. Contact forrestvs@charter.net for regist... |
TR News 336 November-December 2021March 31, 2022 The November-December 2021 issue of TR News —with a cover feature on collaboration and innovation at the MnROAD Research Facility—is available in full online. Other feature articles in the issue include Airport Cooperative Research Program guidance on best design practices for service animal relief areas, worship spaces, lactation areas, and more; developing the transportation workforce; and in... |
Methods for State DOTs to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Transportation SectorMarch 14, 2022 Many technical and institutional issues related to estimating and reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) lie across a wide spectrum of the activities undertaken by state departments of transportation (DOTs). The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Web-Only Document 308: Methods for State DOTs to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Transportation Sector documents the... |
Implementation of the AASHTO Guide for Enterprise Risk ManagementMarch 8, 2022 The AASHTO Guide for Enterprise Risk Management , published in 2016, defines enterprise risk management as “the formal and systematic effort to control uncertainty and variability on an organization’s strategic objectives by managing risks at all levels of the organization.” The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Research Report 986: Implementation of the AASHTO Guide for... |
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Technical Activities Standing Committees
TRB's Technical Activities Division provides a forum for transportation professionals in all modes and functions to identify research needs and to share information on research and issues of interest. The Division's staff of specialists in each mode and discipline work with a network of volunteers to carry out activities on behalf of TRB sponsors and the transportation community, including the TRB Annual Meeting, conferences and workshops, publications, visits to each state, and responses to inquiries. This network includes members and friends of over 200 standing committees, supplemented by designated TRB representatives in each state, over 150 universities, and 35 transit agencies. |
Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2)
Congress established the SHRP 2 in 2006 to find strategic solutions to three national transportation challenges: improving highway safety, reducing congestion, and improving methods for renewing roads and bridges. Research was focused in four areas, which are described below. The program carried out 145 research projects and produced 130 products as well as 132 research reports. |
Safety Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program
TRB's Safety Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program is designed to provide an opportunity to investigate new and unproven concepts or to evaluate novel applications of technologies that have been tried, tested or used for safety systems practice.
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Research in Progress in this Subject Area
TRB's Research in Progress (RiP) Database now contains more than 11,900 current or recently completed transportation research projects. Most of the RiP records are projects funded by federal and state departments of transportation. University transportation research is also included. The RiP Database also serves as a clearinghouse of University Transportation Centers ongoing research. |
Research Needs in this Subject Area
An important function of TRB is to stimulate research that addresses concerns, issues, or problems facing the transportation community. In support of this function, TRB Technical Activities standing committees identify, develop, and disseminate research need statements (RNS) for use by practitioners, researchers, and others.
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Research Completed in this Subject Area
TRB's TRID is integrated database that combines the records from TRB's Transportation Research Information Services ( TRIS) Database and the OECD's Joint Transport Research Centre’s International Transport Research Documentation ( ITRD) Database. TRID provides access to over 900,000 records of transportation research worldwide. |
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