Rail Transportation and Engineering Center Established at Illinois

Building on its leading academic and research programs in rail engineering and transport, the University of Illinois has established the Rail Transportation and Engineering Center (RailTEC). 

The establishment of RailTEC acknowledges the expanding importance of rail transportation to the economy, to society and to a safe and sustainable environment. The center is committed to further growth and development of its teaching and research activities in support of the nation's need for talented young minds and new technologies in the rail industry. RailTEC will be under the direction of Christopher P.L. Barkan, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of the Railroad Engineering Program at Illinois.

The center was announced at a major international rail conference held on the Illinois campus on April 27-29 that featured high-speed and intercity passenger rail as its primary focus. Nearly 500 railroad engineering professionals, faculty and students attended the 2010 Joint Rail Conference, which was co-sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association, and the Transportation Research Board. 

A highlight of the conference was the keynote address by Professor Tsung-Chung (T.C.) Kao of National Taiwan University, retired Vice President of Engineering for the Taiwanese High-Speed Rail Corporation. His presentation, “A New Track for U.S. High-Speed Rail,” highlighted challenges that the U.S. will likely face in the development of a high-speed rail network and provided encouragement to engineers and planners who are tasked with designing and constructing it. Kao is a visiting scholar in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, where he is teaching the nation’s first university-level, semester-long course in high-speed rail engineering. 

The conference also featured plenary speakers from the U.S. Federal Railroad Administration, the Association of American Railroads, and leaders from Asian and European high-speed rail systems and manufacturers.  Over the three-day conference, industry, government and academic rail researchers from all over the world made nearly 250 presentations on a wide range of rail topics.

For more than a century, the University of Illinois has been a leader in rail education and research. Illinois has the most extensive curriculum in railroad engineering of any university in North America, complemented by an extensive program of rail engineering and transportation research. The U of I has been an Association of American Railroads Affiliated Laboratory for almost three decades and in this role conducts research on new and emerging technologies with the potential to benefit rail transportation. A strong inter-disciplinary faculty and extensive ties with industry make Illinois a natural spot for the new railroad engineering research center.
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Contact: Chris Barkan, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 217/244-6338.

Writer: Celeste Arbogast Bragorgos, director of communications, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 217/333-6955.

If you have any questions about the College of Engineering, or other story ideas, contact Rick Kubetz, Engineering Communications Office, 217/244-7716, editor.