RIVIT Conference

Over 100 people attended the Rail Infrastructure and Vehicle Inspection Technology conference on the Illinois campus on June 20 – 21, 2017.

2017 Engineering Open House

Visitors young and old enjoyed the AREMA Student Chapter rail exhibit at the 2017 Engineering Open House held on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus on March 10 – 11.

Spring 2017 Research

UIUC cast prototype concrete crossties as a part of a Federal Transit Authority supported project. Researchers are developing more resilient, yet efficiently designed crossties for light, heavy, and commuter rail operations.

Spring 2017 Hay Seminar Series

Thank you to our guest speakers for a successful Spring 2017 William W. Hay Seminar series. This semester alone we were able to reach over 540 in-house and online participants.

Best Wishes Graduates

Congratulations to the thirteen undergraduate and graduate RailTEC students who walked in the May 16, 2017 commencement ceremony. Good luck in all your future endeavors!

Welcome to RailTEC

Upcoming Events

Short Course Registration Open

Registration is open and space is limited in RailTEC’s short course this summer. This one week course focusing on Track Systems and Infrastructure Components; Locomotives, Rolling Stock and Mechanical Components; Rail Project Design and Construction will be held on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s campus on August 7 – 11, 2017. Click here to register.

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19th Railroad Environmental Conference

The dates for RREC 2017 are October 24 - 25, 2017. Please mark your calendars now and stay tuned for more information.

In the News

Over 100 Attend RIVIT Conference

June 2017: One hundred and nineteen attendees participated in the first Rail Infrastructure and Vehicle Inspection Technology (RIVIT) Conference held on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus on June 20 – 21, 2017. Twenty nine states, 7 countries and 29 rail companies were represented at the conference. The program is available here. Conference objectives include improving the effectiveness of existing technologies, development and implementation of new technologies, and presenting research on emerging technologies with the potential to be applied to rail transportation.

Rail Insights Conference

C. Tyler Dick, RailTEC Senior Research Engineer, (right) and Dr. Allan Zarembski, Research Professor and Director - Railroad Engineering and Safety Program, University of Delaware, (center) were part of the Leveraging Big Data for Maintenance-of-Way and Safety panel at the 2017 Rail Insights Conference at the Union League Club in Chicago on Wednesday 7 June 2017. The panel was hosted by Mischa Wanek-Libman, RT&S Editor and Railway Age Editor-Engineering, (left). Railway Age also live tweeted several key points and hot topics raised during their discussion.

RailTEC Award Winners

Tom Roadcap with his parents, Janet and George Roadcap.

Brendan Schmit with his family.

Jasmine Munoz with her family.

April 2017: Congratulations go out to three RailTEC students who have been awarded University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Civil and Environmental Engineering honors this year at the CEE Awards Convocation on Saturday, April 1, 2017 at the I-Hotel & conference Center. The winners are:

    Thomas Roadcap – both the Ira O. Baker Prize and the Carroll C. Wiley Traveling Award
    Brendan Schmit – Norman Carlson Scholarship
    Jasmine Munoz - Road Builders Charities Scholarship

AAR Research Review

March 2017: RailTEC staff, alumni and students attended the AAR Research Review in Colorado Springs, CO on 21 – 22 March 2017. Shown above are a group of RailTEC students and research engineers touring the EVRAZ Pueblo Facility on Monday, 20 March. They visited both the Steelmaking and Rail Mills parts of the facility.

Engineering Open House Visitors

March 2017: The NURail Center and RailTEC welcomed Hanson Professional Services Inc. and a group of middle and high school students from Springfield, IL to Engineering Open House (EOH) on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus on Saturday, March 11. EOH is an annual student-led event featuring two days of exhibits and competitions that showcase the engineering students and is open to the public at no cost. Hanson’s group of 50 students and adults spent the day examining a portion of the over 250 interactive exhibits on display. For more photos of the Hanson visit, click here.

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About Us

  • Who we are:University Of Illinois Rail Transportation and Engineering Center

  • For over a century the University of Illinois has been a leader in railway engineering research and education. Beginning with Talbot's fundamental work on railroad track design, and Schmidt & Tuthill's work on train energy and power requirements, through Hay's textbook on railroad engineering, The U of I has a distinguished record of accomplishment and remains highly respected by today's railroad engineering community.

  • What we do:
    Education

    Inspire and sustain students and faculty interest in rail engineering and transport. Teach courses and offer a curriculum in rail engineering and transportation. Place Graduates in rewarding positions in rail engineering, transportation planning, and operations. Understand the critical educational issues in rail transportation, and develop practical, effective solutions.


    Research

    Understand the critical research issues in rail transportation, and develop practical, effective solutions. Conduct practical and theoretical research in critically important current topics in rail engineering and transportation. Communicate the results of this research to the rail transportation community.


    Service

    Provide knowledge and expertise to university, industry, government, and public on rail transportation and engineering topics.