RailTEC nets federal study to test high-speed rail components

Many of the proposed and planned high-speed intercity passenger rail lines in the U.S. would require passenger trains to share the same tracks as heavy-axle-load freight trains. A $3.3 million study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will study the performance of certain track components aims at making these joint corridors safer and more efficient.

The research to improve concrete crossties and fastening systems will be undertaken by the university’s Rail Transportation and Engineering Center (RailTEC), part of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Illinois. It is sponsored by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), which contributed approximately $2.4 million to perform the in-depth, applied research.  Industry partners will contribute the remaining $900,000.

"The magnitude of this project reflects the importance of improved concrete crosstie design for both freight and passenger railroads in the U.S," said Christopher Barkan, RailTEC director and CEE professor.

Shared corridors in which both high-speed rail (HSR) and heavy-axle-load (HAL) trains must share tracks present unique challenges in terms of the design, inspection, and maintenance of infrastructure, said CEE faculty member J. Riley Edwards, who is leading the study. 

“High-speed passenger rail operations require the use of concrete crossties or slab track because these track systems allow railways to maintain the tight geometric tolerances, such as track gauge, necessary to accommodate their operation,” Edwards said. “This research project is aimed at improving concrete tie and fastener design in order to increase safety and reliability and lower their life cycle cost.”

During the two-and-a-half-year study, researchers will conduct laboratory and field testing to compile empirically gathered performance data. Improved understanding of the tie and fastening system is expected to facilitate the development of performance requirements and design recommendations for concrete tie and fastening systems in the United States, specifically those used in joint passenger-freight railway infrastructure. They will also develop a centralized knowledge and document depository, to be housed at the University of Illinois, about concrete ties—commonly known as “sleepers” outside of the U.S.—and fastening systems.

“The University of Illinois’ preeminence in railroad engineering education and research makes it a natural choice for HSR and HAL research,” said Barkan. The railroad engineering program at the University of Illinois has the most extensive curriculum of any university in North America, he said, complemented by an active research program in rail engineering and transportation through RailTEC.” 

In addition to Edwards, the research team includes experts in materials and structures: CEE professors Bassem O. Andrawes, Daniel A. Kuchma, and David A. Lange, and Research Engineer Marcus S. Dersch, a CEE alumnus.
“Our approach brings together strong rail ‘domain knowledge,’ materials expertise, and structural engineering capability,” Lange said. “We have a complete team, and we are looking forward to working with our industry and government partners.”

“Illinois houses a full-scale concrete tie and fastening system loading frame, and we are conducting research related to what the railroad industry considers to be one of the most detrimental failure mechanisms of concrete crossties, rail seat deterioration,” Dersch said. “Through the funding provided by the FRA it is our goal to develop the premier concrete crosstie and fastening system research program.”
   
Seven industry partners are providing cost sharing contributions to the study. The industry partners involved in the project are: Amtrak; BNSF Railway; GIC Ingenieria y Construccion S.A. de C.V.; Hanson Professional Services Inc.; LB Foster Company, CXT Concrete Ties; Union Pacific Railway; and Unit Rail Inc. /Amsted Rail Inc.

The research is being funded under the Capital Assistance for High-Speed Rail Corridors and supports the Obama administration’s goal of providing 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail within 25 years.
____________________

Contact: J. Riley Edwards, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 931/624-4623.

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, editor, Engineering Communications Office, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 217/244-7716.