RailTEC Awarded FTA Grant

RailTEC was recently awarded a $395,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration (FTA). RailTEC Principal Investigator J. Riley Edwards stated that “this project will address critical rail transit infrastructure safety and operational questions through the development and deployment of smart sensing technologies that will assess both rail transit track and rolling stock condition and performance.”

RailTEC will partner with four transit agencies: Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra (Chicago), Washington DC Metro (WMATA), and St. Louis MetroLink, and will build on previous FTA-funded research conducted by partnering with light, heavy, and commuter rail transit providers throughout the United States.

This award was one of six projects in six states which totaled $1.37 million in research funding through the Real-Time Asset Management Program. The goal of the Real-Time Asset Management Program is to enhance asset management of infrastructure and safety by developing and deploying innovative technologies that can provide real-time condition assessment of rail transit assets. Click here to read about the other recipients and their projects.