Conferences Attended

“Take advantage of the multiple opportunities available in the program to talk and network with the industry engineers and managers, their knowledge is invaluable and will open many doors for you in the future.” – M.S. candidate

AREMA 2026, Kansas City, MO – September

RailTEC students gave three presentations at AREMA 2026. Here Ph.D. student Kaifeng Hu gives his presentation on “Development and Application of the Illinois Buckle Risk Model Using Multi-source Track Data”.

Master’s student Cayden Schroeder gives his portion of the presentation titled “Comparative Evaluation of Maintenance Effectiveness through Track Geometry Data and Deterioration Rates” while co-presenter and RailTEC post-doc Jaeik Lee waits his turn.

Ph.D. candidates Kamyar Kosarneshan (L) and Jose Gustavo Venancio da Silva Ramos (R) give their presentation on “Rail Creep Monitoring and the Implications of Buckled-Track Derailments for Rail Neutral Temperature”.

TRB 105th Annual Meeting, Washington, DC – January

(L-R) Ted Sussman, Samantha Chadwick, Libby Barkan, Chris Barkan, Riley Edwards, Arthur Lima

(L-R) Joel Jundt (Vice Chair-TRB Executive Committee), Tara Cavalline (Chair TRB-Technical Activities Council), Chris Barkan (UIUC RailTEC), Leslie Richards (Chair TRB-Executive Committee), Victoria Sheehan (TRB Executive Director)

IHHA/WCRR 2025, Colorado – November

RailTEC faculty, staff, students and alumni at the IHHA/WCRR joint conference in Colorado in November 2025.

Jose Gustavo Ramos giving his presentation in the Track Inspection conference track.

Arthur Lima discussing his research on Comparative Evaluation of Under Tie Pads on Railroad Track Maintenance

J. Riley Edwards giving one of his two presentations.

Kamyar Kosarneshan discussing his research on Effects of Fixed Structures: Analytical Modeling and a Pilot Field Study.

Coleman Froehlke presenting his research on Impact of Sub-Freezing Conditions on Ballast Strength: A Laboratory Study.

AREMA 2025, Indianapolis, IN – September

RailTEC attendees at the 2025 AREMA Conference

RailTEC student, Jaeik Lee, presenting his research on “Interaction Modeling with Revenue Service Wheel Profiles”.

Coleman Froehlke discussing “Identifying Frozen Ballast and the Impact it has on Rail Gaps – A Laboratory and Numerical Study”.

RailDresden, Germany – April

L to R: Chen-Yu Lin (NYCU – National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University), Po-Han (Chuck) Chiu (NYCU), Xinhao Liu (UIUC), Chris Barkan (UIUC), Qianqian Tong (UTA – University of Texas at Austin), Dewan (Steven) Shi (UTA), & Yung-Cheng (Rex) Lai (NTU – National Taiwan University).

RailTEC student Xinhao Liu presenting his research on “Empirical Analysis of Longer Train Derailment Rates and Causes”.

TRB 104th Annual Meeting, Washington, DC – January

Illinois graduate student Coleman Froehlke with his presentation on “Effect of Sub-Freezing Temperatures on Ballast Strength: A Laboratory Study”.

Riley Edwards giving his presentation on “Leveraging Emerging Railway Track Health Data for Buckle Risk Hot Spot Identification”.

Big Data Conference, Newark, DE – December

The RailTEC team at the Big Data conference in Delaware

AREMA 2024, Louisville, KY – September

Students from NURail partner universities pose for a photograph along with university faculty and staff, and respected industry leaders.

Jose Augusto Ramos points to his name on the scholarship recipients banner at the AREMA conference.

Alumni Tom Roadcap giving his presentation on “Brightline Florida Project: Design and Construction of Higher-Speed Rail Infrastructure for a Shared Corridor”.

The presentation of the Dr. William W. Hay Award for Excellence. This award honors rail infrastructure projects that best address safety, innovation and service performance reliability.

RailTEC students Derek Campbell (L) and Alex Roskov (R) compare notes at the Meet The Next Generation networking reception. The reception features sponsors who are looking to hire prospective railroaders and those who are new to the industry.

Chris Barkan (L) poses with alumni Po-Yin Liao (R) who was one of several former students to work on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) Main Line Expansion Project which received the Hay Award for Excellence this year.

TRB 103rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC – January

A TRB attendee listens intently as Carol Song describes her research

RailTEC faculty, staff, students and alumni at TRB

Matt Parkes discusses his poster with an interested TRB attendee

Xinhao Liu (left) and Chris Barkan (2nd from right) on a derailment prevention panel

Receiving the Millar Award for one of the best six papers at the conference.

AREMA 2023, Indianapolis, IN – September

(Center) Mary Hay and Mike Franke with RailTEC Students, Faculty and Alumni.

RailTEC student, Manual Ramos, speaking at the 2023 AREMA conference.

RailTEC research staff member Marcus Dersch.

Arthur Bilheri, RailTEC graduate student.

RailTEC alumni, Luv Sehgal (second from left), on the Emerging Technologies Panel Discussion.

Kamyar Kosarneshan, RailTEC Ph.D. student.

IHHA 2023, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – August

Recent RailTEC graduate Michael Copley presenting “Sensitivity of potential battery electric locomotive energy benefits to heavy haul freight rail operating characteristics”.

J. Riley Edwards presenting “Artificial Intelligence-based Systems for Detection of Rail Operating Hazards and Safety Enforcement”. This was one of four Best Paper Awards that RailTEC won.

“Quantitative Analysis of Conventional and Distributed Power Train Accident Characteristics” being discussed by Xinhao Liu.

RailTEC doctoral student Jaeik Lee with his research on”Application of Heavy Haul Innovations for a Sustainable World”.

Graduate student Arthur Bilheri (third from left) receiving his best paper award.

“Drone Images Applied To Turnouts Inspection” by Vítor Alves.

AREMA 2022, Denver – August

Jiaxi Zhao presenting her work on “Case Study Comparison of Hazardous Material Unit and Manifest Trains Considering Mainline and Yard Risk”.

RailTEC group at AREMA 2022 Annual Conference & Expo, on 28-31 August in Denver.

Arthur Lima presenting his research on “Field Evaluation of Under Tie Pad Impact to Track Performance”.

13th WCRR, Birmingham, UK – June

Eight RailTEC faculty, staff, and students traveled to Birmingham, UK for the 13th WCRR.

WCRR was held 6 – 10 June 2022 and is a major gathering for the global railway research and innovation community.

RailTEC Research Engineer, Arthur Lima, presenting his research on “Engineered Interspersed Concrete Sleeper Track Modulus Assessment In Ballasted Track”.

Chen-Yu Lin (L) and Xinhao Liu (R) with their interactive presentation on “Optimal Strategies for Dangerous-Goods Wagon Placement in Freight Trains: A Probabilistic Modeling Approach”.

Geordie Roscoe giving one of his two presentations. RailTEC gave four oral presentations and three interactive presentations.

Chen-Yu Lin and Theodore Gerstein presenting “Benchmarking Safety of Connected Railway Systems: An International Case Study of the United States and Canada”.

TRB 101st Annual Meeting, Washington, DC – January

RailTEC’s Infrastructure Group at the Transportation Research Board (TRB) meeting in Washington, D.C. From left to right are Riley Edwards, Arthur Bilheri, Ian Germoglio and Paula Palma.

The 101st TRB meeting was a hybrid event. Safety Group members involved were Xinhao Liu (top left, on site), Chris Barkan (top right, participating from the U.S.) and Chen-Yu Lin (bottom, participating from Taiwan).

Systems and Safety Group students that attended TRB on January 9 – 13, 2022 pose by the TRB signage. From left to right are Xinhao Liu, Jiaxi Zhao, Geordie Roscoe and Steven Shi.

Jiaxi Zhao (L) discusses her poster on “Quantitative Derailment Rate Comparison of Unit Trains at Transload Terminals and Manifest Trains at Railroad Switching and Hump Classification Yards” with RailTEC alumnus Mark Dingler.

Mark Dingler (R), a RailTEC alumnus, talk with Geordie Roscoe (L) about his research poster titled “Comparing the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Different Train Following Control Algorithms for Fleets of Heavy Haul Freight Trains under Moving Blocks”.

Xinhao Liu (L) presents his poster “A General Model of the Effect of Hazardous Materials Car Placement in Trains and Their Probability of Derailment” with Denver Tolliver and Pan Lu from North Dakota State University.

Using their remote connection in a hybrid poster session Chris Barkan (middle) and Chen-Yu Lin (bottom) discuss their research with Denver Tolliver and Pan Lu from NDSU.

Ian Germoglio (L) and Riley Edwards (R) presenting their work on “Track health monitoring and change detection using 3D laser track scanning” to an audience on Monday, January 10.

Click here for a guide to all RailTEC contributions at TRB. In total there are over 50 separate references, including 31 authors, two session chairs, and four committee meeting chairs.

2021 INFORMS Annual Meeting – October

Jiaxi (L) and Geordie (R) won the 2021 INFORMS Railway Applications Section Problem Solving Competition with their solution “Arrival Time Estimation for Unit Trains Utilizing Train Matching Techniques”.

TRB 100th Annual Meeting, Virtual – January

Even with a virtual 2021 TRB, RailTEC students, faculty, staff and alumni had an impressive showing.

RailTEC was referenced over 60 times in the meeting program, including 36 authors.

Click here for a guide to RailTEC contributions at TRB.

2020 INFORMS Virtual Annual Meeting – November

Three members from the RailTEC Systems Group participated in the 2020 Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) annual meeting on November 7-13. This was the first entirely virtual annual meeting for INFORMS and was a combination of live and on-demand sessions with live Q&A.

Geordie Roscoe, RailTEC M.S. student, spoke on the subject of “Deadlock Avoidance Dispatching Algorithm for Generalized Track and Train Configurations” in the Railway Resource and Management and Optimization session.

In the Yards and Terminals session, Jiaxi Zhao, RailTEC Ph.D. student, presented her work on “Hump Yard Performance Simulation with Anylogic”.

AREMA 2020 Virtual Conference & Expo – September

RailTEC was represented by 11 presentations from faculty, staff, students and alumni at the AREMA 2020 Virtual Conference on September 13 – 17. Two alumni served on the Meet the Next Generation Panel Discussion.

RailTEC master’s student Matheus Trizotto was one of three researchers presenting “Track Technical Presentation: Field Investigation of Load Environment in Revenue Service Track with Railroad Spike Failures Systems”.

Lee Evans, RailTEC M.S. student, presented his work on “Understanding Influences on Student Pursuit of Railway Education and Careers” on Wednesday, September 10.

TRB 99th Annual Meeting, Washington, DC – January 2020

RailTEC students, faculty and alumni had an impressive showing at the 99th Annual TRB. Click here for a guide to RailTEC contributions at TRB.

Current RailTEC students at RailTEC’s TRB alumni dinner reception.

TRB session on Precision Scheduled Railroading. Three of the four speakers were affiliated with RailTEC.

Speaking to a standing room only crowd were (L-R) UI alumni, Michael O’Malley, President of the Railway Supply Institute, and Avery Grimes, Patriot Rail Co. They were on the 2020 TRB panel titled “The Future of North American Freight Rail Transportation”.

RailTEC alumni, Bryan Sooter, giving his presentation on “Effect of Automatic Train Protection Technologies on Railroad Accident Prevention” with Chen-Yu Lin looking on.

Master’s student, Adrian Diaz de Rivera, giving his presentation on “Improving Railway Operational Efficiency with Moving Blocks, Train Fleeting, and Alternative Single-Track Configurations”.

Jaemin Kim, right, presents his poster titled “Machine Learning Analysis of Railroad Freight Train Derailment Severity” to fellow RailTEC student, James Chan.

Fellow RailTEC students Geordie Roscoe, left, explains something during one of TRB’s poster sessions to Jiaxi Zhao, right.

PhD student Josue Cesar Bastos discussing his research on “Deterioration of Concrete Crossties Considering the Role of Moisture and Track Support Conditions”.

WCRR 2019, Tokyo, Japan – October 2019

The 12th World Congress on Railway Research (WCRR) was held October 28 – November 1 in Tokyo, Japan. From left to right attendees were Tyler Dick, Arthur Lima, Chen-Yu Lin, Tom Roadcap and Chris Barkan.

Tyler Dick giving his presentation on “Influence of Traffic Complexity on Railway Gravity Hump Classification Yard Capacity”.

Tom Roadcap discusses research during the poster session.

Postdoctoral researcher, Chen-Yu Lin, using a train simulator during a technical tour.

RailTEC researchers visiting Central Japan Railway Company’s overnight track maintenance on the Tokaido Shinkansen high-speed rail line near Yokohama, Japan.

Railway Interchange 2019, Minneapolis, MN – September 2019

Arthur Lima giving his presentation on Tuesday, September 24.

IAROR 2019, Norrkoping, Sweden – June 2019

Attendees of the International Association of Railway Operations Research (IAROR) conference in Norrkoping, Sweden from 17-20 June 2019 included RailTEC faculty, students and alumni.

Wesley Chen giving his presentation on “Investigating Highway-Rail Intermodal Terminal Capacity Relationships via Simulation”.

Tyler Dick giving his presentation on the “Influence of Mainline Schedule Flexibility and Volume Variability on Railway Classification Yard Performance”.

Adrian Diaz de Rivera giving a presentation on train flow shockwaves. RailTEC faculty, students and alumni gave a total of 9 presentations and chaired two sessions at the conference.

IHHA Conference 2019, Narvik, Norway – June 2019

Chen-Yu Lin presenting his paper at IHHA 2019 in Narvik, Norway

Josue Cesar Bastos presenting his work on the effect of water on concrete cross ties.

Tom Roadcap presenting his poster to a conference delegate

RailTEC group photo at the UiT Norges Arctic University in Narvik, Norway

Joint Rail Conference 2019, Snowbird, UT – April 2019

Marcus Dersch presenting on the “Challenges with Broken Spikes in Premium Elastic Fasteners for Timber Crossties” at the 2019 Joint Rail Conference on April 10-12 in Snowbird, UT.

Matheus Trizotto Silva presenting data for stress on spikes.

Chen-Yu Lin speaking about “Train Presence Probability Modeling in the RIsk Assessment of Adjacent Track Accidents”.

AAR Review 2019, Colorado Springs, CO – March 2019

RailTEC faculty, students and alumni at the 2019 AAR Research Review in Colorado Springs, CO on March 26-27.

TRB 98th Annual Meeting, Washington, DC – January 2019

Master’s student Tom Roadcap presenting his research on “Mechanistic Investigation of Timber Crosstie Spike Failures in Elastic Fastening Systems”.

RailTEC had a strong presence at TRB with 37 presentations, 3 session chairs, 4 committee chairs and 18 committee members. Professor Christopher Barkan was appointed an Emeritus Member of **TRB** Committee AR000 Rail Group. Click here to see our guide to RailTEC at **TRB**.

2018 INFORMS Annual Meeting

RailTEC graduate student, Adrian Diaz de Rivera.

The team of Mohammad Amin Nabian, Negin Alemazkoor and Hadi Meidani won second place (out of 40 teams) in the 2018 INFORMS Railway Applications Section Problem Solving Competition for using bi-level random forests to predict passenger train delay. Here Mohammad and Negin are pictured receiving their award from University of Dayton Professor Mike Gorman who chaired the competition.

The RailTEC System Group at the 2018 INFORMS conference. From L-R are: Stan Chang, James Chan, Tyler Dick, Wesley Chen, Michael Pugh and Adrian Diaz De Rivera.

RailTEC faculty member, Tyler Dick, giving his presentation on “Traffic Complexity and the Performance of Railway Classification Yards”.

RailTEC Graduate student, Stan Chang presenting his work on “Simulating Railcar Transit under different Operating Strategies”.

RailTEC Graduate student, Wesley Chen giving his presentation on “Investigating the Capacity of Different intermodal Terminal Layouts with AnyLogic”.

Joint Rail Conference – Pittsburgh, PA – April 2018

Tom Roadcap, a RailTEC graduate student, delivers his presentation on “Current Industry Challenges with Broken Spikes in Premium Fastening Systems for Timber Crossties” on Wednesday, April 18.

RailTEC Senior Research Engineer Conrad Ruppert, Jr. and Yubing Liang, a RailTEC graduate student, co-chair a session on railroad ballast research on Thursday, April 19.

Illinois Professor Erol Tutumluer giving one of his three presentations at the Joint Rail Conference.

On Thursday, April 19, graduate student Wenting Hou gave her presentation on “Ballast Support Condition Affecting Crosstie Performance Investigated through Discrete Element Method”.

Weixi Li, a RailTEC graduate student, gave her presentation on “Effect of Different Tank Car Designs on TIH Transportation Risk” on Thursday, April 19.

TRB 97th Annual Meeting, Washington, DC – January 2018

Chen-Yu Lin, RailTEC PhD student, gives his presentation on “Major Factors Affecting Passenger Train Accident Occurrence and Severity in the United States: 1996 – 2015.” RailTEC students, faculty and alumni had a strong showing at TRB. Click here for a guide to RailTEC presentations or session chairs.

Overall RailTEC had over 40 separate entries, including 28 presentations, 10 session leaders and 3 committee chairs. Here, Tyler Dick, RailTEC Senior Research Engineer, watches while Yung-Cheng (Rex) Lai, a RailTEC alumni, gives his presentation on “Simulation-based Method of Capacity Utilization Evaluation to Account for Uncertainty in Recovery Time.”

Marcus Dersch, RailTEC Senior Research Engineer, talks to a TRB attendee about his poster titled “Support Condition and Traffic Loading Patterns Influencing Laboratory Determination of Under Ballast Mat Bedding Modulus and Insertion Loss.”

Weixi Li giving her presentation on: “Comparative Risks of Transporting Hazardous Materials by Unit Train and Manifest Train.”

Xiang Liu received an “Outstanding Contribution Award” from TRB in recognition for his contributions in the advancement of hazardous materials in transportation research.

Railway Interchange, Indianapolis, IN – September 2017

Pictured here are the 25 RailTEC students attending the Railway Interchange conference in Indianapolis, IN on September 17 – 19, 2017. In the center of the photo standing with the students are Mike Franke (L) and William W. Hay, Jr. (R).

This is the fourth straight year the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign student chapter has won first place in the AREMA Student Quiz Bowl. Left to right are Stan Chang, Darkhan Mussanov, Jacob Rajlich, Zezhou Wang and Wesley Chen.

Chen-Yu Lin, a RailTEC Ph.D. candidate from UIUC, was the winner of the student poster competition.

Marcus Dersch (L) and Riley Edwards (R) giving their presentation on “Rail Geometrical Behavior Under Revenue Service in Rail Transit Systems”.

2017 IHHA Conference, Cape Town, South Africa – September 2017

Attendees of the 11th International Heavy Haul Association (IHHA) Conference included: (L-R) Tyler Dick, Chen-Yu Lin, RailTEC alumnus Brandon Van Dyk, Josue Cesar Bastos, Brandon Wang, Arthur de Oliveira Lima and Chris Barkan. The theme of the conference was “Advancing Heavy Haul Technologies and Operation in a Changing World.” The conference was held September 2 – 6, 2017 in Cape Town, South Africa.

RailTEC Ph.D. student Brandon Wang presenting his research on “Principal factors contributing to heavy haul freight train safety improvements in North America: a quantitative analysis”. RailTEC had a total of 11 faculty and student papers and presentations at the conference. To see our IHHA conference booklet, click here.

Chen-Yu Lin, a RailTEC Ph.D. student, receiving his IHHA Scholarship certificate from Semih Kalay, Chairman of the IHHA, Senior Vice President, TTCI, and Brian Monakali, Deputy Chairman of the IHHA and Chairman of the South African Heavy Haul Association, General Manager, Capital Planning, Transnet Freight Rail, South Africa.

RailTEC Ph.D. student Josue Cesar Bastos receiving his IHHA Scholarship certificate from Semih Kalay, Chairman of the IHHA, Senior Vice President, TTCI, and Brian Monakali, Deputy Chairman of the IHHA and Chairman of the South African Heavy Haul Association, General Manager, Capital Planning, Transnet Freight Rail, South Africa.

BCRRA, Athens, Greece – June 2017

RailTEC research engineer, Yu Qian, and graduate student, Arthur De Oliveira Lima, attended the 10th International Conference on the Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields (BCRRA) in Athens, Greece on 28 – 30 June 2017. The BCRRA 2017 Conference covered aspects related to materials, laboratory testing, design, construction, maintenance and management systems of transport infrastructure focusing on roads, railways and airfields.

Arthur giving his presentation on “Laboratory Evaluation of Under-Ballast Mat Effectiveness to Mitigate Differential Movement Problems in Railway Transition Zones” on Wednesday 28 June 2017.

Yu and Arthur also toured the facilities of Getzner, a supplier of resilient materials for rail infrastructure.

Papers presented at the 10th International Conference on Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields:

Gao, Z., MS. Dersch, Y. Qian, M.V. Csenge and JR. Edwards. 2017. Use of Ballast Support Condition Back-Calculator for Quantification of Ballast Pressure Distribution Under Concrete Sleepers. 10th International Conference on the Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields, Athens, Greece, June 2017.

Lima, A. de O., MS. Dersch, Y. Qian, E. Tutumluer and J.R. Edwards. 2017. Laboratory Evaluation of Under-ballast Mat Effectiveness to Mitigate Differential Movement Problem in Railway Transition Zones. 10th International Conference on the Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields, Athens, Greece, June 2017.

IAROR, Lille, France – April 2017

RailLille2017 gave researchers the opportunity to meet, present their latest research, and discuss current developments and applications. Above, RailTEC grad student Darkhan Mussanov presents his paper titled “Delay Performance of Different Train Types Under Combinations of Structured and Flexible Operations on Single-Track Railway Lines in North America.”

RailTEC graduate student, Alexander Lovett (right), presenting his paper titled “Predicting the Cost and Operational Impacts of Slow Orders on Rail Lines in North America”. Also in the picture is John Preston (L), session chair.

Yung-Cheng (Rex) Lai, Associate Professor at National Taiwan University and a UIUC RailTEC alumni, also attended the conference and presented a paper.

RailTEC Senior Research Engineer, Tyler Dick, and three RailTEC students attended the 7th International Conference on Railway Operations Modelling and Analysis in Lille, France on 4-7 April 2017. Above is Tyler giving his presentation.

Papers presented at the 7th International Conference on Railway Operations Modelling and Analysis:

Mussanov, D., N. Nishio and C.T. Dick. 2017. Delay Performance of Different Train Types Under Combinations of Structured and Flexible Operations on Single-Track Railway Lines in North America. In: Proceedings of the International Association of Railway Operations Research (IAROR) 7th International Conference on Railway Operations Modelling and Analysis, Lille, France, April 2017.

Kippen III, F.B. and C.T. Dick. 2017. Incremental Capacity in Transitioning from Double to Triple Track on Shared Freight and Commuter Rail Corridors in North America. In: Proceedings of the International Association of Railway Operations Research (IAROR) 7th International Conference on Railway Operations Modelling and Analysis, Lille, France, April 2017.

Shih, M-C., C.T. Dick, D. Mussanov and C.P.L. Barkan. 2017 A Parametric Model of the Train Delay Distribution Based On Traffic Conflicts. In: Proceedings of the International Association of Railway Operations Research (IAROR) 7th International Conference on Railway Operations Modelling and Analysis, Lille, France, April 2017.

Shih, M-C., C.T. Dick and C.P.L. Barkan. 2017. A Decision Support Screening Approach for Railway Infrastructure Capacity Planning on Single-track Lines. In: Proceedings of the International Association of Railway Operations Research (IAROR) 7th International Conference on Railway Operations Modelling and Analysis, Lille, France, April 2017.

Lovett, A.H., C.T. Dick and C.P.L. Barkan. 2017. Predicting the Cost and Operational Impacts of Slow Orders on Rail Lines in North America. In: Proceedings of the International Association of Railway Operations Research (IAROR) 7th International Conference on Railway Operations Modelling and Analysis, Lille, France, April 2017.

2017 JRC Conference, Philadelphia, PA – April 2017

UIUC RailTEC alumni Zhipeng Zhang (L) and current RailTEC graduate student Zhengboyang Gao (R) attended the Joint Rail Conference (JRC) which was held April 4-7 in Philadelphia, PA.

From left to right Michigan Technological University students Soumith Oduru and Aaron Dean with UIUC graduate student Arthur de Oliveira Lima. Arthur’s presentation at JRC was titled Quantification of Ballast Deterioration Performance With and Without Ballast Mats – A Laboratory Study.

AAR Research Review, Colorado Springs, CO – March 2017

RailTEC staff, alumni and students attended the AAR Research Review in Colorado Springs, CO on 21 – 22 March 2017.

A dozen RailTEC students traveled by train from Illinois to Colorado to attend the conference.

The trip started with a short leg from Galesburg, IL to Chicago’s Union Station. From there students boarded Amtrak’s California Zephyr line and headed west.

RailTEC students enjoying the scenery on their travel.

Students spending time together on the train.

A group of RailTEC students and research engineers toured the EVRAZ Pueblo Facility on Monday, 20 March. They visited both the Steelmaking and Rail Mills parts of the facility.

A group of RailTEC staff and students listening to Cam Stuart provide an overview of the FRA’s new Autonomous Track Geometry Measurement System (ATGMS) during the poster section of the AAR Research Review’s track walk.

TRB 96th Annual Meeting, Washington DC – January 2017

RailTEC faculty, students and alumni gather at the 96th Annual Transportation Research Board meeting in Washington, DC on January 8 – 12, 2017. Click here for a guide to RailTEC presentations or session chairs. Overall RailTEC had 41 separate entries, including 30 presentations, 18 session leaders and 3 committee chairs. In addition Samantha Chadwick, a graduate research assistant, received the NURail Center 2016 Student of the Year award for Grant DTRT12-G-UTC18 at the CUTC Awards Banquet.

(L-R) Chris Barkan (RailTEC and NURail Center Director) with Steven Landry (Michigan Technological University), Joanna Moody (MIT) and Samantha Chadwick (UIUC) who received awards at the CUTC banquet on Saturday, January 7, 2017.

Alexander Lovett, a PhD student, giving his presentation: “Predicting the occurrence and cost of temporary speed restrictions on North American Freight line”.

PhD student Brandon Wang presented his paper titled: “Trends in U.S. Freight Train Accidents Causes and Rates – A Quantitative Approach”.

UIUC and RailTEC alumni Dr. Xiang Liu, currently an Assistant Professor in Transportation Engineering at Rutgers University, received an Outstanding Paper Award from the TRB Hazardous Materials Transportation Committee (AT040).

Papers presented at the 2017 TRB 96th Annual Meeting:

Cook, A.A., J.R. Edwards, M.V. Csenge and Y. Qian. 2017. Quantification of the Concrete Crosstie Load Environment for Light Rail Transit Infrastructure. In: Proceedings of Transportation Research Board 96th Annual Conference, Washington, D.C, January 2017.

Lautala, P. and C.T. Dick. 2017. Railway Engineering Education Symposium: Evolving to Rebuild a Growing Rail Academic Community.In: Proceedings of Transportation Research Board 96th Annual Conference, Washington, D.C, January 2017.

Pengelly, S. and C.T. Dick. 2017. Economics and Planning of Short Haul and Short Line Railway Intermodal Rail Service: Lessons from Past and Current Operations. In: Proceedings of Transportation Research Board 96th Annual Conference, Washington, D.C, January 2017.

Zhu, K., Y. Qian, J.R. Edwards and B.O. Andrawes. 2017. Finite Element Analysis of Rail End Bolt-Hole and Fillet Stress on Bolted Rail Joints. In: Proceedings of Transportation Research Board 96th Annual Conference, Washington, D.C, January 2017, January 2017.

AREMA Annual Conference, Orlando, FL – August 2016

Over 50 students from NURail partner universities pose with Mike Franke, Amtrak; Mary Hay, daughter of William W. Hay; and Chris Barkan, Professor and Executive Director of RailTEC, on August 29, 2016 in Orlando, FL.

Students UIUC’s Team 1 and winners of the AREMA Committee 24 Collegiate Quiz Bowl competition are: (L-R) Chen-Yu Lin, Sam Chadwick, Fredrick Bradford Kippen, Darkhan Mussanov and Aaron Cook.

Zhengboyang Gao (left) and Marcus Dersch (right) presenting their paper “Field Measurements and Proposed Analysis of Concrete Crosstie ending Moments” on Tuesday, August 30.

Dan Peltier, RailTEC alumnus currently with BNSF, presented “Relieving a Bottleneck in the Twin Cities” on Tuesday of the conference.

The paper, “Quantification and Comparison of lateral Forces in Concrete Crosstie Fastening Systems Under Heavy Haul Loading Conditions”, was presented by Donovan Holder.

Papers presented at the 2016 AREMA Conference:

Gao, Z., H.E. Wolf, M.S. Dersch, Y. Qian and J.R. Edwards. 2016. Field Measurements and Proposed Analysis of Concrete Crosstie Bending Moments. In: Proceedings of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, August 2016.

Dick, C.T., L. Sehgal, C.J. Ruppert, Jr. and S. Gujaran. 2016. Superelevation Optimization for Mixed Freight and Higher-Speed Passenger Trains. In: Proceedings of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, August 2016.

Holder, D., Y. Qian, M.V. Csenge, J.R. Edwards, M.S. Dersch and B.J. Van Dyk. 2016. Comparison of Lateral Load Performance of Concrete Crosstie Heavy Haul Fastening Systems. In: Proceedings of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, August 2016.

RailTEC Alumni and NURail papers presented at the 2016 AREMA conference:

David Nelson, P.E., Michigan Technological University, Rail Transportation System. 2016. Communications & Signals Presentation : Driver Behavior at Highway – Rail Grade Crossings Using Naturalistic Driving Study. In: Proceedings of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, August 2016.

Joseph LoPresti and Mike McHenry (NURail alumnus),Transportation Technology Center, Inc. 2016. Detection of Concrete Tie Rail Seat Deterioration. In: Proceedings of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, August 2016.

David Nelson, PE and Aaron Dean, Michigan Technological University. 2016. Harnessing Undergraduate Students as Rail Industry : Technology Developers/Problem Solvers. In: Proceedings of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, August 2016.

Zach Hartjes, PE and Nick K. Stadem, PE, HDR and Dan Peltier (Alumnus), BNSF Railway. 2016. Relieving the Bottleneck in the Twin Cities. In: Proceedings of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, August 2016.

Shushu Liu, Hai Huang (Alumnus), PhD, PE and Tong Qiu, PhD, PE, The Pennsylvania State University. 2016. Laboratory Investigation of Geogrid Reinforced Railroad Ballast Performance on Particle Movement. In: Proceedings of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, August 2016.

Joseph E. Riley (Alumnus), Federal Railroad Administration. 2016. Snapshot Proposed Revision to RWP Rule. In: Proceedings of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, August 2016.

Erol Tutumluer, PhD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 2016. Field Imaging Based Assessment of In-Service Ballast Condition. In: Proceedings of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, August 2016.

Chris Moale, PE and Damon Smith, CSX Transportation and Timothy Stark, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 2016. Design and Performance of Three Remediated Bridge Approaches. In: Proceedings of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, August 2016.

2016 WCRR Conference, Milan, Italy – May 2016

Three UIUC faculty and staff and two alumni attended the 11th World Congress on Railway Research in Milan, Italy to present papers, posters and chair sessions. From left to right: Ken Laine (alumnus) – Transportation Technology Center, Inc., Chris Barkan – UIUC, Matt Csenge – UIUC, Marcus Dersch – UIUC, Yung-Cheng (Rex) Lai (alumnus) – National Taiwan University

RailTEC Manager of Experimentation, Matt Csenge, giving his research presentation on Resilient Concrete Crosstie and Fastening System Designs for Light Rail, Heavy Rail and Commuter Rail Transit Infrastructure.

Yung-Cheng (Rex) Lai, a RailTEC alumnus currently an Associate Professor at National Taiwan University, giving one of his presentations at WCRR.

Papers presented at the 2016 WCRR Conference:

Bastos, J.C., M.S. Dersch, J.R. Edwards and B.O. Andrawes. 2016. Determination of the Influences of Deteriorated Track Conditions on Gauge Widening in Concrete Sleeper Track. In: 2016 World Congress on Railway Research, Milan, Italy, June 2016.

Csenge, M.V., Y. Qian, M.S. Dersch and J.R. Edwards. 2016. Resilient Concrete Crosstie and Fastening System Designs for Light Rail, Heavy Rail, and Commuter Rail Transit Infrastructure. In: 2016 World Congress on Railway Research, Milan, Italy, June 2016.

Ghosh, A., M.J. Greve, M.S. Dersch, J.R. Edwards and C.P.L. Barkan. 2016. Analyzing Rail Seat Load Distributions on Concrete Sleepers using Matrix Based Tactile Surface Sensors. In: 2016 World Congress on Railway Research, Milan, Italy, June 2016.

Lin, X., J.R. Edwards, M.S. Dersch and C.J. Ruppert, Jr. 2016. Load Quantification for Light Rail, Heavy Rail, and Commuter Rail Transit Infrastructure. In: 2016 World Congress on Railway Research, Milan, Italy, June 2016.

Wolf, H.E., J.R. Edwards, M.S. Dersch, Y. Qian and D.A. Lange. 2016. Field Measurement of Bending Moments in Prestressed Concrete Monoblock Sleepers. In: 2016 World Congress on Railway Research, Milan, Italy, June 2016.

2016 JRC Conference, Columbia SC – April 2016

NURail faculty and students pose for a photo at the 2016 Joint Rail Conference in Columbia, South Carolina in April.

Conference attendees listen attentively as Bradford Kippen III gives his presentation.

C. Tyler Dick, Senior Research Engineer and Director of Education for RailTEC, gave a lecture on “Blocking Capacity, Throughput Volume and Level of Service in Hump Classification Yards”.

TRB 95th Annual Meeting, Washington DC – January 2016

RailTEC’s Executive Director Chris Barkan and RailTEC PhD student Alexander Lovett at the CUTC Award Banquet where Alexander was awarded the NURail Student of the Year Award.

Donovan Holder giving his presentation at TRB.

Samantha Chadwick presenting “Quantifying Train Derailment Risk at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings” on Tuesday, January 12.

Josue Cesar Bastos giving his presentation on “Laboratory Quantification of Flexural Demand on Concrete Crossties under Different Support Conditions” on Sunday, January 10.

Dr. Chris Barkan, Dr. Rapik Saat and Dr. Xiang Liu (Rutgers) after receiving their 2016 TRB Committee on Transportation of Hazardous Materials (AT040) Outstanding Contribution Award for the article: Probability analysis of multiple-tank-car release in railway hazardous materials transportation”. The purpose of this award is to formally recognize outstanding achievement in hazardous materials transportation research, innovation, regulation, or management.

2015 Railway Interchange, Minneapolis, MN – October 2015

Railway Interchange, sponsored by AREMA, RSI, REMSA and RSSI, is the largest combined railway exhibition and technical conference in North America. The event was held in Minneapolis, MN on October 4 – 7, 2015. Pictured here are approximately 75 RailTEC faculty, students, staff and alumni who were present at the RailTEC Alumni Dinner at Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery on Sunday, October 4.

Papers presented at the 2015 AREMA Annual Conference:

Lautala, P.T., C.T. Dick, D. Rizos and D.B. Clarke. 2015. Toward the Next Generation of Railroad Professionals Collaboration by NURail and Rail Industry. In: Proceedings of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association Annual Conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 2015.

2015 IHHA Conference, Perth, Australia – June 2015

Alexander Lovett, Donovan Holder, Henry Wolf and Garrett Fullerton presented at the International Heavy Haul Association (IHHA) meeting in Perth, Australia in June 2015.

Papers presented at 2015 IHHA Conference:

Atanassov, I. and C.T. Dick. 2015. Delay and Required Infrastructure Investment to Operate Long Freight Trains on Single-track Railways with Short Sidings. In: Proceedings of the 11th International Heavy Haul Association Conference, Perth, Australia, June 2015.

Greve, M.J., M.S. Dersch, J.R. Edwards, C.P.L. Barkan, J. Mediavilla and B. Wilson. 2015. The Effect of Particle Intrusion on Rail Seat Load Distributions on Heavy Haul Freight Railroads. In: Proceedings of the 11th International Heavy Haul Association Conference, Perth, Australia, June 2015.

Fullerton, G.A. and C.T. Dick. 2015. Operational Considerations of Transitioning to Emerging Ultra-low Emission Locomotive Technologies for Heavy-haul Freight Rail Applications. In: Proceedings of the 11th International Heavy Haul Association Conference, Perth, Australia, June 2015.

Wolf, H.E., J.R. Edwards, M.S. Dersch and C.P.L. Barkan. 2015. Flexural Analysis of Prestressed Concrete Monoblock Sleepers for Heavy-haul Applications: Methodologies and Sensitivity to Support Conditions. In: Proceedings of the 11th International Heavy Haul Association Conference, Perth, Australia, June 2015.

Scheppe, A.J., J.R. Edwards, M.S. Dersch and C.P.L. Barkan. 2015. Quantifying Lateral Wheel Loading Variation Using Truck Performance Detectors. In: Proceedings of the 11th International Heavy Haul Association Conference, Perth, Australia, June 2015.

Holder, D.E., B.A. Williams, M.D. Dersch, J.R. Edwards and C.P.L. Barkan. 2015. Quantification of Lateral Forces in Concrete Sleeper Fastening Systems Under Heavy Haul Freight Loads. In: Proceedings of the 11th International Heavy Haul Association Conference, Perth, Australia, June 2015.

Shih, M.-C., C.T. Dick and Y.-C. Lai. 2015. Optimizing Location and Length of Passing Sidings on Single-track Lines for Long Heavy-haul Freight Trains. In: Proceedings of the 11th International Heavy Haul Association Conference, Perth, Australia, June 2015.

RailTokyo 2015 – March 2015

Gio DiDomenico and Mei-Cheng Shih pose in front of a high speed train in Tokyo.

Gio DiDomenico, Mei-Cheng Shih and Ivan Atanassov presented at RailTokyo 2015 which was held March 23-26.

C. Tyler Dick, RailTEC Senior Research Engineer, giving his presentation on “A Project Selection Model for Improving Running Time and Operating Cost Efficiency on a Passenger Rail Corridor”.

Ivan Atanossov inspects the track as he rides the rail in Tokyo.

Papers presented at RailTokyo 2015:

DiDomenico, G.C. and C.T. Dick. 2015. Influence of System Characteristics and Scheduling Patterns on Commuter Rail Energy Efficiency In: Proceedings of the International Association of Railway Operations Research (IAROR) 6th International Conference on Railway Operations Modelling and Analysis, Tokyo, Japan, March 2015.

Tang, H., C.T. Dick, B.M. Caughron, X. Feng and C.P.L. Barkan. 2015. A Project Selection Model for Improving Running Time and Operating Cost Efficiency on a Passenger Rail Corridor. In: Proceedings of the International Association of Railway Operations Research (IAROR) 6th International Conference on Railway Operations Modelling and Analysis, Tokyo, Japan, March 2015.

Fullerton, G., C.T. Dick, T. Hwang and Y. Ouyang. 2015. Exchange Point Delay and Mode Shift Associated with Regional Deployment of Alternative Locomotive Technology on the North American Line-Haul Freight Network. In: Proceedings of the International Association of Railway Operations Research (IAROR) 6th International Conference on Railway Operations Modelling and Analysis, Tokyo, Japan, March 2015.

Shih, M.-C., C.T. Dick and Y.-C. Lai. 2015. Optimization of Siding Location for Single-track Lines with Non-Uniform Track Speed. In: Proceedings of the International Association of Railway Operations Research (IAROR) 6th International Conference on Railway Operations Modelling and Analysis, Tokyo, Japan, March 2015.

Tang, H., C.T. Dick and X. Feng. 2015. Optimization of Train Speed Profiles for a Metro Transit System by Genetic Algorithms. In: Proceedings of the International Association of Railway Operations Research (IAROR) 6th International Conference on Railway Operations Modelling and Analysis, Tokyo, Japan, March 2015.

Lovett, A.H., C.T. Dick and C.P.L. Barkan. 2015. Determining Freight Train Delay Costs on Railroad Lines in North America. In: Proceedings of the International Association of Railway Operations Research (IAROR) 6th International Conference on Railway Operations Modelling and Analysis, Tokyo, Japan, March 2015.

Atanasov, I. and C.T. Dick. 2015. Incremental Capacity in Transitioning from Double to Triple Track on Shared Rail Corridors. In: Proceedings of the International Association of Railway Operations Research (IAROR) 6th International Conference on Railway Operations Modelling and Analysis, Tokyo, Japan, March 2015.

TRB 94th Annual Meeting, Washington DC – January 2015

Ivan Atanassov giving his presentation entitled “Capacity of Single-Track Railway Lines with Short Sidings to Support Operation of Long Freight Trains” during TRB which was held January 11-15, 2015.

Haichuan Tang presenting “A Coordinated Train Control Algorithm to Improve Regenerative Energy Receptivity in Metro Transit Systems”during the Rail Transit Efficiency and Congestion Management session.

(L-R) Ivan Atanossov and Mei-Cheng Shih from Illinois and Hamed Pouryousef from Michigan Technological University after their individual presentations during the Railway Capacity Research-Advancing the State of Knowledge session.

AREMA Annual Conference, Chicago, IL – September 2014

Approximately 90 RailTEC faculty, students, staff and alumni were present at the RailTEC Alumni Dinner at Gino’s East on Sunday, September 28.

RailTEC faculty, staff and students manning the NURail booth in the AREMA Exposition hall.

At the Meet the Next Generation networking reception RailTEC student, Hsiao-Hsuan Liu, talks with industry personnel.

RailTEC student, Matt Greve, describing his work at the poster presentation session.

Papers presented at the 2014 AREMA Annual Conference

Williams, B.A., J.R. Edwards, M.S. Dersch, C.P.L. Barkan and R.G. Kernes. 2014.
Experimental Field Investigation of the Effects of Lateral Load Distribution on Concrete Crosstie Track.
In: Proceedings of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, September 2014.

2014 JRC Conference/AAR Research Review – April 2014

Both the 2014 Joint Rail Conference (JRC) and the 19th AAR Annual Research Review were held in Colorado Springs, CO in early April. JRC was held April 24, 2014 while the AAR Review was held April 12, 2014. Shown above are RailTEC faculty, staff and students on the TTCI track walk.

Matt Greve, an M.S. student, holds part of an MBTSS assembly that was left in the test track section in May 2013.

Papers presented at 2014 JRC Conference:

Fullerton, G., G.C. DiDomenico, M-C. Shih and C.T. Dick. 2014.
Congestion as a Source of Variation in Passenger and Freight Railway Fuel Efficiency.
In: Proceedings of the 2014 Joint Rail Conference, Colorado Springs, USA, April 2014.

DiDomenico, G.C. and C.T. Dick. 2014.
Analysis of Trends in Commuter Rail Energy Efficiency.
In: Proceedings of the 2014 Joint Rail Conference, Colorado Springs, USA, April 2014.

Dick, C.T. and J.R. Dirnberger. 2014.
Advancing the Science of Yard Design and Operations with the CSX Hump Yard Simulation System.
In: Proceedings of the 2014 Joint Rail Conference, Colorado Springs, USA, April 2014.

Greve, M., M.S. Dersch, J.R. Edwards, C.P.L. Barkan, J. Mediavilla and B.M. Wilson. 2014.
Analysis of the Relationship Between Rail Seat Load Distribution and Rail Seat Deterioration in Concrete Crossties.
In: Proceedings of the 2014 Joint Rail Conference, Colorado Springs, USA, April 2014.

Serrano, J.A. and M.R. Saat. 2014.
Flammable Liquid Fire Consequence Modeling.
In: Proceedings of the 2014 Joint Rail Conference, Colorado Springs, USA, April 2014.

Do Carmo, T.B., J.R. Edwards, R.G. Kernes, B.O. Andrawes and C.P.L. Barkan. 2014.
Laboratory and Field Investigation of the Rail Pad Assembly Mechanistic Behavior.
In: Proceedings of the 2014 Joint Rail Conference, Colorado Springs, USA, April 2014.

Lin, C-Y. and M.R. Saat. 2014.
Semi-Quantitative Risk Assessment of Adjacent Track Accidents on Shared-Use Rail Corridor.
In: Proceedings of the 2014 Joint Rail Conference, Colorado Springs, USA, April 2014.

Atanassov, I., C.T. Dick and C.P.L. Barkan. 2014.
Siding Spacing and the Incremental Capacity of the Transition From Single to Double Track.
In: Proceedings of the 2014 Joint Rail Conference, Colorado Springs, USA, April 2014.

Williams, B., J.R. Edwards, R.G. Kernes and C.P.L. Barkan. 2014.
Analysis of the Lateral Load Path in Concrete Crosstie Fastening Systems.
In: Proceedings of the 2014 Joint Rail Conference, Colorado Springs, USA, April 2014.

Manda, K.R., M. Dersch, R. Kernes, J.R. Edwards and D. Lange. 2014.
Vertical Load Path under Static and Dynamic Loads in Concrete Crosstie and Fastening Systems.
In: Proceedings of the 2014 Joint Rail Conference, Colorado Springs, USA, April 2014.

Wei, S., D.A. Kuchma, J.R. Edwards, M.S. Dersch and R.G. Kernes. 2014.
Gauging of Concrete Crossties to Investigate Load Path in Laboratory and Field Testing.
In: Proceedings of the 2014 Joint Rail Conference, Colorado Springs, USA, April 2014.

Hamper, M.B., C. Ruppert, C. Wei and A.A. Shabana. 2014.
A Spatial Geometry Approach to Variable Cross-Section Rail Modeling: Application to Switches and Turnouts.
In: Proceedings of the 2014 Joint Rail Conference, Colorado Springs, USA, April 2014.

Tang, H., Q. Wang and C.T. Dick. 2014.
Optimizing Train Speed Profiles to Improve Regeneration Efficiency of Transit Operations.
In: Proceedings of the 2014 Joint Rail Conference, Colorado Springs, USA, 2014.

TRB 93rd Annual Meeting, Washington DC – January 2014

RailTEC faculty, staff, students and alumni gather at the 93rd Annual Transportation Research Board Meeting in Washington, D.C. on January 12 16, 2014.

Papers presented at 2014 TRB Conference:

Do Carmo, T.B., J.R. Edwards, R.G. Kernes, C.P.L. Barkan and B.O. Andrawes. 2014.
Mechanistic Behavior of Concrete Crosstie Fastening System Rail Pad Assemblies.
In: Proceedings of Transportation Research Board 93rd Annual Conference, Washington, D.C, January 2014.

Liu, X., C.T. Dick, M.R. Saat and C.P.L. Barkan. 2014.
Optimization of Rail Defect Inspection Frequency to Reduce Railroad Hazardous Materials Transportation Risk.
In: Proceedings of Transportation Research Board 93rd Annual Conference, Washington, D.C, January 2014.

Van Dyk, B.J., M.S. Dersch, J.R. Edwards, C.J. Ruppert, Jr. and C.P.L. Barkan. 2014.
Evaluation of Dynamic and Impact Wheel Load Factors and their Application for Design.
In: Proceedings of Transportation Research Board 93rd Annual Conference, Washington, D.C, January 2014.

Lin, C.-Y., M.R. Saat and C.P.L. Barkan. 2014.
Causal Analysis of Passenger Train Accident on Shared-Use Rail Corridors.
In: Proceedings of Transportation Research Board 93rd Annual Conference, Washington, D.C, January 2014.

Williams, B.A., R.G. Kernes, J.R. Edwards and C.P.L. Barkan. 2014.
Lateral Force Measurement in Concrete Crosstie Fastening Systems.
In: Proceedings of Transportation Research Board 93rd Annual Conference, Washington, D.C, January 2014.

Serrano, J.A., X. Liu and M.R. Saat. 2014.
Methodology to Evaluate the Consequence of Hazardous Material Releases from Multiple Tank Cards Involved in Train Accidents.
In: Proceedings of Transportation Research Board 93rd Annual Conference, Washington, D.C, January 2014.

Van Dyk, B.J., M.S. Dersch, J.R. Edwards, C.J. Ruppert, Jr. and C.P.L. Barkan. 2014.
Load characterization techniques and overview of loading environment in North America.
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 2448: 80-86.

Shih, M.C., Y-C Lai, C.T. Dick and M-H Wu. 2014.
Optimization of siding location for single-track lines.
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 2448: 71-79.

Shih, M-C., C.T. Dick, S.L. Sogin and C.P.L. Barkan. 2014.
Comparison of capacity expansion strategies for single-track railway lines with sparse sidings.
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 2448: 53-61.

2013 RTD Conference, Altoona, PA August 2013

NURail students and a double-stack train on Horseshoe Curve at the 2013 RTD Conference in Altoona.

Gio DiDomenico and Xiang Liu watching an NS train in Cresson, PA.

Papers presented at the 2013 RTD Conference:

Liu, X., C.T. Dick, A.H. Lovett, M.R. Saat, and C.P.L. Barkan. 2013. Seasonal Effect on the Optimization of Rail Defect Inspection Frequency. Accepted, In: Proceedings of the ASME 2013 Rail Transportation Division Fall Technical Conference, Altoona, PA, October 2013.

2013 TRB Barge and Rail Symposium August 2013

RailTEC students, visiting scholars, faculty and alumni at the 2013 TRB Barge and Rail Symposium in Louisville, Kentucky, August 14-15, 2013.

10th IHHA Conference, New Delhi, India – February 2013

University of Illinois Rail Transportation and Engineering Center students, faculty and alumni gathered at the 10th annual International Heavy Haul Association (IHHA) meeting in New Delhi, India on 5 February 2013. From L to R: Brennan Caughron, Brandon Van Dyk, Marcus Dersch, Riley Edwards, Amogh Shurpali, and Ryan Kernes.

Papers presented at 10th IHHA conference:

Shurpali, A.A., R. G. Kernes, J.R. Edwards, M.S. Dersch, D.A. Lange, C.P.L. Barkan, 2013. Investigation of the Mechanics of Rail Seat Deterioration (RSD) and Methods to Improve the Abrasion Resistance of Concrete Sleeper Rail Seats. Proceedings of the International Heavy Haul Association Conference. New Delhi, India (February 2013).

Liu, X., M.R. Saat, C.P.L. Barkan, 2013. Analysis of Major Derailment Causes on Heavy Haul Railways in the United States. Proceedings of the International Heavy Haul Association Conference. New Delhi, India (February 2013).

Van Dyk, B.J., J.R. Edwards, C.J. Ruppert Jr., C.P.L. Barkan, 2013. Considerations for Mechanistic Design of Concrete Sleepers and Elastic Fastening Systems in North America. Proceedings of the International Heavy Haul Association Conference. New Delhi, India (February 2013).

TRB 92nd Annual Meeting, Washington DC – January 2013

University of Illinois Rail Transportation and Engineering Center students, faculty and alumni gathered at the annual Rail Caucus at the TRB 92nd Annual Meeting in Washington, DC on 13 January 2013.

Alexander Lovett, a graduate student at UIUC, discusses his poster on optimizing HSR network design with Professor Joseph Sussman of MIT.

Joel Carlson, a graduate student at MIT discussing his poster on HSR implementation alternatives on the Northeast Corridor to TRB 2013 attendees.

Hamed Pouryousef, a PhD Candidate of Michigan Tech. University, giving his presentation “Review of Capacity Measurement Methodologies: Similarities and Differences in U.S. and European Railroads”

Papers presented at 2013 TRB Conference:

Rapp, C.T., M.S. Dersch, J.R. Edwards, C.P.L. Barkan, B. Wilson and J. Mediavilla. 2013. Measuring rail seat pressure distribution in concrete crossties; experiments with matrix-based tactile surface sensors.Transportation Research Record In:Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 2374: 190-200.

Shurpali, A.A., J.R. Edwards, R.G. Kernes, X. Liu, D.A. Lange and C.P.L. Barkan. 2013. Investigation of Material Improvements to Mitigate the Effects of Abrasion Mechanism of Concrete Crosstie Rail Seat Deterioration (RSD) In: Proceedings of Transportation Research Board 92nd Annual Conference, Washington D.C, January 2013.

Liu, X., M.R. Saat and C.P.L. Barkan. 2013. Safety effectiveness of integrated risk reduction strategies for rail transport of hazardous materials. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 2374: 102-110.

Lovett, A.H., G. Munden, M.R. Saat and C.P.L. Barkan. 2013. High-speed rail network design and station location; model and sensitivity analysis. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 2374: 1-8.

Sogin, S., Y-C. Lai, C.T. Dick and C.P.L. Barkan. 2013. Comparison of capacity of single- and double-track rail lines. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 2374: 111-118.

Barkan, C.P.L., M.R. Saat, F. Gonzalez III and T.T. Treichel. 2013. Cooperative Research in Tank Car Safety Design. TR News. 286: May – June, pp.12-19.

Liu, X., M.R. Saat and C.P.L. Barkan. 2013. A Framework for Evaluating Cost-Effectiveness of Accident Prevention Strategies under Uncertainty. In: Proceedings of Transportation Research Board 92nd Annual Conference, Washington D.C, January 2013.

AREMA Annual Conference, Chicago IL – September 2012

RailTEC faculty, staff and students at the AREMA 2012 annual conference in Chicago, IL in September.

Papers presented at 2012 AREMA Annual Conference:

Gehringer, E., D. Read, and E. Tutumluer. 2012. Characterization of Ballast Performance in heavy Axle Loading (HAL). Proceedings of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association Annual Conference. Chicago, IL (September 2012).

Moreu, F., H. Jo, J. Li, S. Cho, R. Kim, B.F. Spencer Jr, J.M. LaFave. 2012. Reference-free Displacement Estimation for Structural Health Monitoring of Railroad Bridges. Proceedings of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association Annual Conference. Chicago, IL (September 2012).

Rapp, C.T., J.R. Edwards, M.S. Dersch, C.P.L. Barkan, B. Wilson, J. Mediavilla. 2012. Measuring Concrete Crosstie Rail Seat Pressure Distribution with Matrix Based Tactile Surface Sensors. Proceedings of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association Annual Conference. Chicago, IL (September 2012).

Caughron, S., M.R. Saat, C.P.L. Barkan, 2012. Identifying and Prioritizing Shared Rail Corridor Technical Challenges. Proceedings of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association Annual Conference. Chicago, IL (September 2012).

Hajibabai, L., M.R. Saat, Y. Ouyang, C.P.L. Barkan, Z. Yang, K. Bowling, K. Somani, D. Lauro, X. Li. 2012. Wayside Defect Detector Data Mining to Predict Potential WILD Train Stops. Proceedings of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association Annual Conference. Chicago, IL (September 2012).

TRB 91st Annual Meeting, Washington DC – January 2012

Papers presented at 2012 TRB 91st Annual Meeting:

Kernes, R.G., J.R. Edwards, M.S. Dersch, D.A, Lange and C.P.L. Barkan. 2012. Investigation of the Dynamic Frictional Properties of a Concrete Crosstie Rail Seat and Pad and Its Effect on Rail Seat Deterioration (RSD). In: Proceedings of the Transportation Research Board 91st Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C, January 2012.

Chadwick, S.G., M.R. Saat and C.P.L. Barkan. 2012. Analysis of Factors Affecting Train Derailments at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings.In: Proceedings of the Transportation Research Board 91th Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C, January 2012.

Liu, X., M.R. Saat and C.P.L. Barkan. 2012. Analysis of causes of major train derailment and their effect on accident rates. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 2289: 154-163.

AREMA Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN September 2011

University of Illinois Rail Transportation and Engineering Center students, faculty and alumni gathered at the Railway Interchange 2011 in Minneapolis on September 19, 2011.

Scott Schmidt, UIUC Civil Engineering student, stops in front of a UP locomotive.

Mike Wnek, UIUC M.S. student, pauses in the seat of a piece of Harsco railway track maintenance equipment.

Item on display at the Railway Interchange conference.

Papers presented at 2011 AREMA Conference:

Kernes, R.G., J.R. Edwards, M.S. Dersch, D.A, Lange, C.P.L. Barkan. 2011. Investigation of the Impact of Abrasion as a Concrete Crosstie Rail Seat Deterioration (RSD) Mechanism. Proceedings of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association Annual Conference. Minneapolis, MN (September 2011).

Tutumluer, E., Y. Qian, Y.M.A. Hashash, J. Ghaboussi. 2011. Field Validated Discrete Element Model for Railroad Ballast. Proceedings of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association Annual Conference. Minneapolis, MN (September 2011).

IHHA Conference, Calgary, Canada June 2011

Greg Munden, Brennan Caughron, Sam Sogin and Chris Barkan at the 2011 IHHA conference in Calgary, Canada.

A train passes through the scenic countryside in Calgary, Canada.

Papers presented at 2011 IHHA Conference:

Liu, X., M.R. Saat, C.P.L. Barkan. 2011. Benefit-Cost Analysis of Heavy Haul Railway Track Upgrade for Safety and Efficiency. Proceedings of the International Heavy Haul Association Conference. Calgary, Canada (June 2011).

Schlake, B., C.P.L. Barkan, and J.R. Edwards. 2011. Reducing Heavy-Haul Railcar Maintenance Costs and Improving Terminal Performance Using Technology: A Lean Production Approach. Proceedings of the International Heavy Haul Association Conference. Calgary, Canada (June 2011).

Dersch, M.S., M.J. Gutierrez Romero, J.R. Edwards, C.P.L. Barkan, B. Wilson, J. Mediavilla. 2011. Design and Performance of Elastic Fastening System Assemblies and Concrete Sleepers for Heavy-Haul Service. Proceedings of the International Heavy Haul Association Conference. Calgary, Canada (June 2011).

Zeman, J., R.G. Kernes, J.R. Edwards, D.A. Lange, C.P.L. Barkan. 2011.Hydraulic Mechanisms of the Deterioration of Concrete Sleeper Rail Seats. Proceedings of the International Heavy Haul Association Conference. Calgary, Canada (June 2011).

Gutierrez Romero, M.J., M.S. Dersch, J.R. Edwards, C.P.L. Barkan, B. Wilson, J. Mediavilla. 2011. Investigation of Concrete Sleeper Rail Seat Pressure Distributions for Varying Fastening Systems and Loading Conditions. Proceedings of the International Heavy Haul Association Conference. Calgary, Canada (June 2011).

Hart, J.M., L.F. Camargo Molina, E. Resendiz, J.R. Edwards, N. Ahuja, and C.P.L. Barkan. 2011. Development of a Machine Vision System for the Inspection of Heavy-Haul Railway Turnout and Track Components. Proceedings of the International Heavy Haul Association Conference. Calgary, Canada (June 2011).

World Congress on Railway Research, Lille, France – May 2011

RailTEC faculty, staff and students at the 9th World Congress Railway Research (WCRR) conference in Lille, France in May, 2011.

Papers presented at 2011 WCRR:

Kumar, A., T.G. Rickett, A. Vemula, J.M. Hart, J.R. Edwards, N. Ahuja, and C.P.L. Barkan. 2011. Aerodynamic Analysis of Intermodal Freight Trains Using Machine Vision. In: Proceedings of the 9th World Congress on Railway Research, 22-26 May 2011, Lille, France.

Schlake, B., C.P.L. Barkan, and J.R. Edwards. 2011. Reducing Network Costs Through Improved Vehicle Maintenance: A Lean Production Approach. Accepted: Proceedings of the 9th World Congress on Railway Research Conference. Lille, France (May 2011).

Zeman, J., R.G. Kernes, J.R. Edwards, D.A. Lange, C.P.L. Barkan. 2011. Moisture-Driven Deterioration and Abrasion of Concrete Sleeper Rail Seats. Proceedings of 9th World Congress on Railway Research. Lille, France (February 2011).

TRB 90th Annual Meeting, Washington DC – January 2011

Papers presented at 2011 TRB 90th Annual Meeting:

Sameni, M.K., M. Dingler, J.M. Preston, C.P.L. Barkan. 2011. Profit-generating Capacity for a Freight Railroad. Proceedings of Transportation Research Board Annual Conference. Washington D.C. (January 2011)

Rickett, T.G., J.M. Hart, J.R. Edwards, A.Kumar, C.P.L. Barkan and N. Ahuja. 2011. Monitoring the Aerodynamic Efficiency of Intermodal Train Loading Using Machine Vision. Proceedings of Transportation Research Board Annual Conference. Washington D.C. (January 2011)

Molina Camargo, L.F., E. Resendiz, J.R. Edwards, J.M. Hart, C.P.L. Barkan and N. Ahuja. 2011. Condition Monitoring of Railway Turnouts and Other Track Components Using Machine Vision. Proceedings of Transportation Research Board Annual Conference. Washington D.C. (January 2011).

Zeman, J.C., J.R. Edwards, D.A. Lange, C.P.L. Barkan. 2011. Laboratory Testing to Address the Potential for Damaging Hydraulic Pressure in the Concrete Tie Rail Seat. Proceedings of Transportation Research Board Annual Conference. Washington D.C. (January 2011).

AREMA Annual Conference, Orlando, FL – August 2010

University of Illinois Rail Transportation and Engineering Center students and faculty gathered at the annual AREMA Conference in Orlando, Florida in August 2010. A number of students in the RAILTEC program attended the conference and had the opportunity to meet some of their predecessors who are now working in engineering positions in the railroad industry.

Papers presented at 2010 AREMA Annual Conference:

Gutierrez Romero, M.J., J.R. Edwards, C.P.L. Barkan, B. Wilson, J. Mediavilla. 2010. Advancements in Fastening System Design for North American Concrete Crossties in Heavy-Haul Service. Proceedings of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association Annual Conference. Orlando, FL (September 2010).

INFORMS Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA – October 2009

Bryan Schlake giving his presentation “Impact of Automated Inspection Technology on Railroad Capacity and Operational Efficiency”

Rapik Saat giving his presentation “Risk-Based Railroad Tank Car Safety Design Optimization”

Athaphon Kawprasert giving his presentation “Managing Railroad Hazardous Materials Transportation Risk: The Trade-off Between Track Quality and Speed”

Mark Dingler giving his presentation “Investigating the Impact of Train Type Heterogeneity on Railroad Capacity using Simulation Modeling”

Fan Peng giving his presentation “Multi-Period Multi-Scenario Facility Location for Railroad Wayside Defect Detection Installations”

Yung-Cheng Lai giving his presentation “Optimizing the Routing of Trains with Heterogeneous Traffic”

Xiang Liu, Rapik Saat, and Athaphon Kawprasert

Some of the University of Illinois faculty, students, and alumni who participated in the INFORMS Rail Applications Section program gathered for a group photo: (L to R) Bryan Schlake (UIUC), Xiang Liu (UIUC), Rapik Saat (UIUC), Roger Baugher (BNSF), Mark Dingler (UIUC), Satish Ukkusuri (Purdue), Fan Peng (UIUC), Yung-Cheng Lai (National Taiwan University), Chris Barkan (UIUC), and Xiaopeng Li (UIUC). (Not shown, UIUC Assistant Professor, Yanfeng Ouyang, and UIUC graduate students, Yun Bai, Tae Sung Hwang, Hang Li, and Seyed Mohammad Nourbakhsh)

AREMA Annual Conference, Chicago, IL

The 2009 AREMA Annual Conference was in Chicago, IL. Railroad Engineering Program graduate students, Mark Dingler, John Zeman, and Steven Sawadisavi all presented papers. The title and links to their papers are below. A number of students in the UIUC Railroad Engineering Program attended the conference and had the opportunity to meet some of their predecessors who are now working in engineering positions in the railroad industry.

Railroad Engineering students and employers attended the Meet the Next Generation event at AREMA 2009.

Prof. Edwards served as organizer and moderator for the Meet the Next Generation panel discussion

Current UIUC rail engineering faculty, postdocs and students met recent UIUC graduates now working in the rail industry at the AREMA conference. L to R: Ben Freid (Amtrak), Chris Barkan (UIUC), Darwin Schafer (TranSystems), Riley Edwards (UIUC), John Zeman (UIUC), Dan Peltier (BNSF), and Rapik Saat (UIUC)

Five UIUC students were awarded scholarships at the conference, click here for the list of full student scholarships.

Papers presented at AREMA:

Dingler, M.H., Y-C Lai, C.P.L. Barkan, Impact of CBTC and ECP Brakes on Capacity. Proceedings of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association Annual Conference. (September 2009).

Dingler, M.H., Y-C Lai, C.P.L. Barkan, Impact of Operational Practices on Rail Line Capacity: A Simulation Analysis. Proceedings of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association Annual Conference. Chicago, IL (September 2009).

Sawadisavi, S.V., J.R. Edwards, E. Resendiz, J.M. Hart, C.P.L. Barkan and N. Ahuja. 2009. Development of a machine vision system for inspection of railroad track. Accepted: Proceedings of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association Annual Conference. Chicago, IL (September 2009).

Zeman, J.C., J.R. Edwards, D.A. Lange, and C.P.L. Barkan, Investigating the Role of Moisture in Concrete Tie Rail Seat Deterioration. Proceedings of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association Annual Conference. Chicago, IL (September 2009)

IHHA Conference, Shanghai, China – June 2009

Boat traffic on the river separating Pudong from Shanghai.

Al Reinschmidt, an alum of the UIUC rail program, is shown here with David Briginshaw, Editor-In-Chief of International Railway Journal

From L to R: Pasi Lautala and Shane Ferrell of the Michigan Tech University railroad engineering program, and John Zeman, Chris Barkan, Riley Edwards, Xiang Liu, Athaphon Kawprasert, and Bryan Schlake of the UIUC railroad engineering program.

Xiang Liu on the Shanghai Maglev at 430 KPH

Railroad Program alumni, Yung-Cheng Lai, giving a presentation.

Papers presented at the 2009 IHHA:

Schlake, B.W., J.R. Edwards, J.M. Hart, C.P.L. Barkan, S. Todorovic, and N. Ahuja, Machine Vision Condition Monitoring of Heavy-Haul Railcar Structural Underframe Components. In Proceedings: International Heavy Haul Conference, Shanghai, China, June 2009.

Zeman, J.C., J. Edwards, C.P.L Barkan, and D. Lange. Failure Mode and Effect Analysis of Concrete Ties in North America. In Proceedings: International Heavy Haul Conference, Shanghai, China, June 2009.

AREMA Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, UT – September 2008

The 2008 AREMA Annual Conference was in Salt Lake City, Utah. Railroad Engineering Program graduate students, Steven Sawadisavi and Darwin Schafer both presented papers. The title and links to their papers are below. A number of students in the UIUC Railroad Engineering Program attended the conference and had the opportunity to meet some of their predecessors who are now working in engineering positions in the railroad industry (photo below).

Steven Sawadisavi giving his presentation “Machine Vision Inspection of Railroad Track

L to R: Erol Tutulmluer, Hai Hung, Steven Sawadisavi, Chris Barkan, J.Riley Edwards, and Mark Dingler

Four UIUC students were awarded scholarships at the conference. Please click here to view the full list of all student scholarships.

Papers presented at AREMA:

Sawadisavi, S.V., Edwards, J.R, Resindiz, E., Hart, J.M., Barkan, C.P.L., and Ahuja, N. (2008). Machine Vision Inspection of Railroad Track. In: Proceedings of AREMA Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, UT (September 2008).

Schafer, D. and Barkan, C.P.L., and Ahuja, N. (2008). A Prediction Method for Broken Rails and Analysis of Their Economic Impact. In: Proceedings of AREMA Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, UT (September 2008).

World Congress on Railway Research, Seoul, Korea – May 2008

Three University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign graduate students and Prof. Christopher Barkan attended the 8th World Congress on Railway Research in Seoul, Korea. Chris Barkan, Darwin Schafer, and Yung-Cheng Lai presented papers. Darwin Schafer won the “Prize for Young Researcher” for his paper.

University of Illinois railroad engineering faculty, students and alumni attended WCRR (L to R):Athaphon Kawprasert, Yung-Cheng Lai, Darwin Schafer, Chris Barkan, David Davis and Al Reinschmidt, are shown here with their TTCI colleague, Britto Rajkumar.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign attendees at WCRR: (from L to R) Athaphon Kawprasert, Chris Barkan,Darwin Schafer, and Yung-Cheng Lai

Chris Barkan and Darwin Schafer with the “Prize for Young Researcher

Papers presented at World Congress 2008:

Saat, M.R. and C.P.L. Barkan. 2008.
Optimizing Railroad Tank Car Safety Design to Reduce Dangerous Goods Transportation Risk..
In: Proceedings of the 8th World Congress on Railway Research, Seoul, Korea, May 2008.

Hart, J.M., E. Resendiz, B. Freid, S. Sawadisavi, C.P.L. Barkan and N. Ahuja. 2008.
Machine Vision Using Multi-Spectral Imaging for Undercarriage Inspection of Railroad Equipment.
In: Proceedings of the 8th World Congress on Railway Research, Seoul, Korea, May 2008.

Lai, Y-C. and C.P.L. Barkan. 2008.
A Quantitative Decision Support Framework for Optimal Railway Capacity Planning.
In: Proceedings of the 8th World Congress on Railway Research, Seoul, Korea, May 2008.

Schafer, D.H. and C.P.L. Barkan. 2008.
A Hybrid Logistic Regression Neural Network Model for the Prediction of Broken Rails
In: Proceedings of the 8th World Congress on Railway Research, Seoul, Korea, May 2008.

TRB 87th Annual Meeting, Washington DC – January 2008

Daniel Peltier giving his presentation “Modeling the Effects of Epoxy Debonding on Bonded Insulated Rail Joints Subjected to Longitudinal Loads” which was presented at the meeting of Committee AR-050, Railroad Track Structure System Design.

Athaphon Kawprasert giving his presentation

Tim Wells, of LTK Engineering Services and a former student of W.W. Hay and an alumnus of the UIUC CEE Department railroad program, talking with current railroad-engineering graduate students, Mark Dingler and William (Zach) Dombrow (standing).

Yungcheng (Rex) Lai giving his presentation “A Decision Support Framework for Railway Capacity Planning” at the “Railroad Operating Technology (AR030) Committee Meeting”.

John M. Hart,University of Illinois Computer Vision and Robotics Laboratory, explaining his poster “Machine Vision for Railroad Equipment Undercarriage Inspection Using Multi-Spectral Imaging”

Papers presented at the 2008 TRB Annual Meeting:

Kawprasert, A., Barkan, C.P.L. Reducing the Risk of Rail Transport of Hazardous Materials by Route Rationalization.Proceedings of the TRB 87th Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (January 2008).

Peltier, D., Barkan, C.P.L. Modeling the Effects of Epoxy Debonding on Bonded Insulated Rail Joints Subjected to Longitudinal Loads. Proceedings of the TRB 87th Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (January 2008).

Schafer, D., Barkan, C.P.L. The Relationship Between Train Length and Accident Causes and Rates. Proceedings of the TRB 87th Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (January 2008).

INFORMS Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA – November 2007

Chris Barkan chaired the Risk Analysis session and gave the presentation that he and Rapik Saat prepared on “Risk Analysis of Railroad Tank Car Transportation of Toxic Inhalation Hazard (TIH) Materials”

Darwin Schafer giving his presentation “A Hybrid Logistic Regression/Neural Network Model for the Prediction of Broken Rails”

Darwin Schafer and Yungcheng (Rex) Lairode the monorail to the INFORMS General Reception held at the Experience Music Project near the Seattle Space Needle

Athaphon Kawprasert, Chris Barkan, Yungcheng (Rex) Lai, and Darwin Schafer all attended and presented papers on railroad engineering topics at the INFORMS Annual Meeting in Seattle.

Athaphon Kawprasert giving his presentation “Reducing Railroad Hazardous Materials Transportation Risk Through Route Rationalization”

Yungcheng (Rex) Lai giving his presentation “A Decision Support Framework for Railway Capacity Expansion”

AREMA Annual Conference, Chicago, IL – September 2007

The 2007 AREMA Annual Conference was held at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, IL. UIUC faculty member, Erol Tutumluer, and Railroad Engineering Program graduate student, Daniel Peltier, both presented papers, as did UIUC alumnus, Kevin Day of CN. A number of students in the UIUC Railroad Engineering Program attended the conference and had the opportunity to meet some of their predecessors who are now working in engineering positions in the railroad industry (photo below).

Past and present Railroad Engineering students attended the 2007 AREMA conference. From left to right: Yung-Cheng Lai, Matt Keller – BNSF, Jeremiah Dirnberger – CP, Jeff Herbeck – CN, Athaphon Kawprasert, Travis Painter, Dan Peltier, John Zeman, Rapik Saat, Riley Edwards, Mike Wnek, and Bryan Schlake.

Bill Wimmer, UP Vice President of Engineering, meets UIUC Railroad Engineering students

Four UIUC students were awarded scholarships at the conference. Please click here for the full list of student scholarships.

Papers presented at AREMA:

Peltier, D., Barkan, C.P.L. , Downing, S., Socie, D. Measuring Degradation of Bonded Insulated Rail Joints. Proceedings of the AREMA 2007 Annual Conference, Chicago, IL (September 2007).

Tutumluer, E., Huang, H., Hashash, Y., Ghaboussi, J. Discrete Element Modeling of Railroad Ballast Settlement. Proceedings of the AREMA 2007 Annual Conference, Chicago, IL (September 2007).

TRB AR040 Mid-year Meeting – August 2007

Click to view the Wisconsin Southern Railroad Newsletter with an article about the trip.