RailTEC faculty, staff, and students attended the 2025 Wheel Rail Interaction (WRI) Heavy Haul (HH) conference from 10-12 June 2025 in Kansas City, MO. J. Riley Edwards, Assistant Professor, presented on “Track Structures and Components” at the Principles of Wheel/Rail Interaction Course on 10 June ahead of the conference.
This course was an intensive, full-day class providing an in-depth examination of the primary aspects of wheel/rail and vehicle/track interactions and sponsored by the National University Rail Center for Excellence (NURail CoE). NURail CoE is a nine-university consortium led by RailTEC at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). It is dedicated to advancing rail Research, Education and Workforce Development, and Technology Transfer.
The WRI HH conference is specifically tailored for the heavy haul (freight) sector, focusing on the unique challenges and advancements in the railroad industry. It is devoted to examining wheel/rail and vehicle/track interaction on light rail and subway operations. The conference features a comprehensive principles course crafted to meet the distinct needs of each discipline. Since 1994, Wheel Rail Seminars (WRS) has produced WRI and over many years the conference has become synonymous with high quality, practical presentations and the very best in networking.
WRI HH 2026 will be in Dallas, TX on 22-24 April.