Welcome to the University of Illinois Rail Transportation and Engineering Center (RailTEC)

What we do

Education

Inspire and sustain student interest in rail through a curriculum in rail engineering and transportation. Place graduates in rewarding industry positions.

Research

Conduct practical and theoretical research in critically important current topics in rail engineering and transportation.

Service

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

Cold Weather? Warm Rails.

February 2019: During the deep arctic freeze in late January while people took extra measures to keep warm, railroads did the same. In an article written by David Graham of The Atlantic he discusses the effects of cold, wet weather on rails and switches. The title of the piece, “Frozen Train Tracks? Set ‘Em on Fire” was... Read More

RailTEC White Paper Referenced

January 2019: A white paper prepared by the Rail Transportation and Engineering Center (RailTEC) and commissioned by Metra was cited in a newspaper opinion-editorial in the Daily Herald on January 11, 2019. The op-ed was written by three of Chicago Metra’s board of directors addressing their concern for the commuter railroad’s “dire” capital funding crisis... Read More

Barkan Mentioned in WSJ Article

January 2019: Professor Chris Barkan was recently interviewed by Jo Craven McGinty, author of The Numbers column for The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), and referenced in her January 11, 2019 column. Her article was titled “Will New Train Guidelines Improve Speeds? Not So Fast” and she discussed a Federal Railroad Administration rule which goes into... Read More