The preliminary program is now available for the 26th annual Railroad Environmental Conference (RREC) which will be held on 29-30 October 2024 at the iHotel Illinois Conference Center on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus. Registration is also open for attendees as well as exhibitors and sponsors. Exhibitor registrations will be accepted on a first come, first served basis until the Exhibit Hall reaches capacity so act soon.
RREC enables rail industry employees to meet with peers throughout the railroad environmental community to exchange views, learn about new techniques and technologies, and generally stay in touch with the direction of the railroad industry’s environmental programs. Over 50 presentations are expected by railroad managers, environmental engineers and researchers from all over North America.
Who should attend? Representatives from Class 1, Regional & Short Line Freight Railroads, Passenger Railroads & Rail Transit Operators, Railcar Manufacturers & Lessors, Operators & Maintenance Personnel, Environmental Consultants, Suppliers of Environmental Control & Treatment Equipment, State & Federal Regulators, and Environmental Engineering Faculty & Students.
Current RailTEC students and faculty attended the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) 2024 Annual Conference & Expo on 15-18 September at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville. In addition, many RailTEC alumni were also in attendance and played a key role in the schedule.
Three of the five panelist participating in the Meet The Next Generation Panel were Illinois RailTEC graduates. During the session Marcelo Suarez (Civil Engineer, Hanson), Dan Mueller (Associate Engineer, Metro North Railroad New York) and Manuel Ramos (Senior Rail Engineer, Arup) discussed the types of projects they have worked on, the career paths they’ve taken, and answered questions from the audience. On Tuesday, 17 September, Tom Roadcap, PE, a Senior Engineer in Design and Construction with Brightline West, presented “Brightline Florida Project: Design and Construction of Higher-Speed Rail Infrastructure for a Shared Corridor” during the Passenger & Transit Technical Session and Nao Nishio, Manager of Engineering Technology with Brightline, gave a maintenance-of-way presentation on “Benefits and Challenges of Autonomous Track Inspection Technologies for a Higher-Speed Railroad Network” on Wednesday, 18 September.
This year the Dr. William W. Hay Award for Excellence was given to the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) Main Line Expansion Project which was led by Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and Arup-Jacobs Engineering. Several RailTEC alumni were involved in this project.
The presentation of the Dr. William W. Hay Award for Excellence. This award honors rail infrastructure projects that best address safety, innovation and service performance reliability.
Chris Barkan (L) poses with alumni Po-Yin Liao (R) who was one of several former students to work on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) Main Line Expansion Project which received the Hay Award for Excellence this year.
RailTEC students Derek Campbell (L) and Alex Roskov (R) compare notes at the Meet The Next Generation networking reception. The reception features sponsors who are looking to hire prospective railroaders and those who are new to the industry.
Students from NURail partner universities pose for a photograph along with university faculty and staff, and respected industry leaders.
Three RailTEC alumni participated in the Meet The Next Generation Panel. Marcelo Suarez (far left), Dan Mueller (third from left) and Manuel Ramos (second from right).
Alumni Tom Roadcap giving his presentation on “Brightline Florida Project: Design and Construction of Higher-Speed Rail Infrastructure for a Shared Corridor”.
RailTEC is excited to announce the first William W. Hay Seminar of the 2024-2025 school year. Dr. Chen-Yu Lin, Assistant Professor in the Department of Transportation and Logistics Management at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan, has the honor of being the initial speaker for the fall semester. The title of Lin’s seminar is “Adapting to Future Climate for Railway Systems” and will be given on Friday, 30 August at 12:15 p.m. (Central time). It will be available in-person at 2311 Newmark Civil Engineering Lab as well as online. Click here to register.
Lin’s research interests include railway safety and risk analysis, rail hazardous material transportation, shared-use rail corridors, and railway resilience and climatic risk. He obtained his bachelor’s degree from National Taiwan University and a Masters and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, all in civil and environmental engineering.
The abstract for his seminar is as follows: Railway systems have significant and complex networks of assets which need to be managed. As part of asset management, it is important to consider the increasing risks from climate change. Climatic risks to infrastructure can be immediate short term risks (e.g. extreme weather forecast for tomorrow) or over a longer term (e.g. future adverse climates). A climate change risk assessment assesses the severity and likelihood of climate related risks over the near and long term. We can understand these risks and their impact by investigating hazards, vulnerability and exposure alongside impacts. Many railway assets have not been maintained and managed for the weather we are experiencing today, let alone in the future,and consequently they are not resilient to extreme weather or future climates. In order to become more resilient, we must adapt. By adapting we are managing the present and future risks associated with extreme weather and climate change. This can be done incrementally; this process is typically referred to as adaptation pathways and ties in with the idea of resilience over the lifecycle of railway assets. As the concept of adaptation is relatively recent and development of it is still in its infancy in many railway systems, it is crucial to properly define a comprehensive railway climate change adaptation framework. It is also important to develop a maturity assessment to properly evaluate whether or not a railway system is on an effective pathway towards adaptation and to what level of progress they have made.
Approximately 120 high school students from around the globe had the opportunity to learn about railroad operations and engineering during the Summer 2024 program, “Tracks to the Future: Railroad Transportation and Engineering,” which took place at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and nine other university campuses.
The week of 24-29 June, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign hosted 25 teens from Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Brazil who participated in hands-on activities guided by RailTEC graduate students who are AREMA student chapter members. Among the numerous activities, the teens had the chance to operate a train simulator, build a small-scale version of a ballasted track, and learn why railcars are different shapes and sizes.
The highlight of the Illinois visit was the 28 June trip to the Monticello Railway Museum where the high school students were able to experience rail operations from museum volunteers, rode the rails in a caboose and open railcar, and learned about rail sensors and monitoring equipment from RailTEC’s research engineers.
The Tracks to the Future program, which began with Michigan Technological University’s Rail Transportation Program, has grown to include weeklong sessions at 10 universities around the U.S. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) funds the program and all participant costs.
The 2024 program included two sessions. The first session took place 10-14 June at Penn State-Altoona and the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. The second session took place 24-28 June at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Michigan Technological University; University of District of Columbia; University of South Carolina, Columbia; California State University, Fresno; University of New Mexico, Albuquerque; Oregon State University, Corvallis; and North Dakota State University, Fargo. The hybrid program featured a two-day at-home learning portion before traveling to one of the partner campuses for a two-day visit.
Launch of the National University Rail Center of Excellence on 29 May 2024.
Distinguished guests, university leaders, NURail CoE partners and students came together to celebrate the launch of the National University Rail Center of Excellence on Wednesday 29 May 2024. NURail CoE is the first academic rail research and education center of excellence to be supported by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Railroad Administration.
A $5 million grant will support this consortium of nine universities and their mission is to develop solutions that will lead to a safer, more efficient, sustainable, equitable, and reliable rail transportation system in the United States and advance U.S. DOT goals. NURail CoE will attract and educate a new and diverse generation of students in railway transportation engineering, provide them with the knowledge to implement these solutions, and inspire them to pursue rail careers. One of the main efforts across all consortium members will be the development of structured programs that introduce minority and women scholars to the different facets of rail transportation.
NURail CoE is led by RailTEC at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and includes the University of Illinois Chicago, University of Delaware, Kansas State University, Michigan Technological University, Morgan State University, Rutgers University, University of Texas at Austin, and Tuskegee University.
Senator Dick Durbin
All participants were welcome to sign a section of rail in honor of the event.
Representative Nikki Budzinski
IDOT Secretary Omer Osman
The kickoff event included an optional tour of the Research and Innovation Lab (RAIL)
Chris Barkan, Professor & NURail CoE Director
To read more about the consortium and their kickoff event, see the media coverage below.
(L-R), J. Riley Edwards, assistant professor, Arthur de Oliveira Lima, research engineer, and Marcus Dersch, principal research engineer. Photo Credit by Heather Coit
RailTEC was recently featured by the UI’s Grainger College of Engineering in the Engineering News. The article discusses both the upcoming launch of the new National University Rail Center of Excellence (NURail CoE) as well as the twenty-five year history of RailTEC itself. Click here to read the story.
Also included is a Q&A piece on three Civil & Environmental Engineering alums (Tom Roadcap, Nao Nishio, and Jacob Rajlick) on their experiences in the Illinois railroad engineering program, their work on high-speed rail at Brightline and why it’s important to develop new passenger rail in the U.S. Click here to read their discussion.
Come join us for one or both weeks of RailTEC’s virtual short course this summer. Each course will run virtually on Monday – Thursday from noon – 4:00pm (Central) and participants earn 14 professional development hours. Past attendees include rail professionals, engineers, planners, consultants and more from employees throughout the rail industry. Participants enrolled in both weeks will receive a $100 discount. For more information and to enroll, click here.
Since the course focuses on three general topic areas (track structure design, track geometry/project design and train resistance/motive power/rolling stock), attendees who have a stronger background in one area can still learn about other aspects of railway engineering and the interrelationships between them. In gaining a greater appreciation for the holistic view of rail transport as a system, attendees can make better engineering decisions in the future. The short course is an excellent networking opportunity to meet others engaged in various facets of the rail industry.
RailTEC is proud to announce that four RailTEC alumni have recently been honored for their contributions to the rail industry.
Darwin Schafer II
Darwin Schafer II made the 2024 “10 Under 40” list published by Railway Track & Structures (RT&S). This list is released annually in April and first began in 2021 to honor young engineers that best exemplify the engineering industry. Schafer is the Vice President Rail Civil Group Manager at Benesch and was recognized for his work as a leader and technical expert for track and terminal design which has been critical to the success of numerous fast-tracked Class 1 railroad capacity expansion projects. He has personally contributed to the design of over 30 railroad intermodal and automotive terminals, both new facilities and upgrades and expansions to existing facilities. Schafer graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Illinois) with his master’s degree in civil engineering in 2008 and his bachelor’s in civil engineering in 2006. Click here to read the RT&S article.
Luv Sehgal
Also in April Luv Sehgal, a Senior Rail Engineer with Arup, received the 2024 Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association (CEEAA) Young Alumni Achievement Award. The award recognizes early professional accomplishments or unique contributions to society by graduates of the Illinois CEE Department who are 35 years old or younger. Sehgal was recognized for his rapid career advancement, leadership in rail systems, and commitment to engineering excellence and sustainability, as well as his dedication to Illinois and the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance Right-of-Way Association (AREMA) and his engagement with student chapters, mentoring and workshops. He holds a master’s degree specializing in transportation engineering from Illinois and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from NIT Hamirpur in India. Click here to read the CEE announcement.
Sean Pengelly
Beginning in 2016, Railway Age magazine has recognized the top North American railroaders under the age of 40 for making an impact in their respective fields or within their companies in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The 25 individuals chosen for this award are judged on their industry experience and education, leadership skills, industry contributions and community service involvement. Two RailTEC alumni, Sean Pengelly and Jonathan Wnek, made their list in 2024.
Pengelly is an Engineer in the Projects & Development area for the Lake State Railway Company (LSRC). He graduated from Illinois in 2017 with a BS in civil engineering. While at LSRC Pengelly has led business development efforts, maintains relationships with the Michigan Department of Transportation Office of Rail and FRA CRISI grant administrators, and taken on lead roles in relation to CRISI funded projects. Many of these roles were not otherwise present at LSRC and he created the tools and resources to carry the projects forward.
Jonathan Wnek
Wnek has been in the rail industry for over 13 years and is currently a Project Manager at RailPros. He is a specialist in freight and passenger rail corridor design and has developed track design plans for projects in numerous states and supported many project areas, including track rehabilitation and track alignment. He is currently managing the Amtrak LiDAR Extraction Project , which includes extracting all track, signal, structural, station, and electric traction features and assets along the 410-route mile NEC. Wnek is a 2009 and 2010 graduate in civil engineering at Illinois. Click here to read their write-ups in the Railway Age article.
Hundreds of visitors on the first day of the 2024 Engineering Open House (EOH) stopped by the Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus where they could experience driving a train and learn about railroad signaling systems. Illinois students representing RailTEC, the UIUC student chapter of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA), and the Illini Rail Club shared their passion for rail engineering design and railroad operations at the 102nd EOH on 5-6 April. Some of the other interactive rail exhibits included demonstrations of railway control and signaling, a train simulator, train puzzle, intermodal game and a model train layout.
During his shift working at the Illini Rail Club’s model train layout during EOH Cameron Taylor, a freshman Civil and Environmental Engineering student, encouraged youngsters to operate one of the trains. “We let people drive the trains and see how it operates,” he explained. “It’s a great learning experience to get them interested in railroading early.” Just last year Taylor was one of the visitors to the open house when he was still in high school. “When I came to the Engineering Open House last year, my mind was blown,” he said of the railroad-related exhibits. “When I was here, I learned about the RailTEC program and rail studies and thought, ‘I definitely want to come here to school.’” Although Taylor is interested in rail infrastructure and design and rail safety, he is not ruling out becoming a railroad engineer someday. “That’s on my bucket list,” he said. Taylor said he has loved trains as far back as he can remember. “It started with ‘Polar Express’ and grew from there,” he said. “I was one of those kids that waved at the engineer when the train went by.”
Daniel Kuchta, a food chemist and train enthusiast, participated at this year’s open house by demonstrating a circa 1980s railroad crossing system that he salvaged several years ago. “They tore out the train signal unit in my hometown, so I pieced it together and thought it was good opportunity to display it here,” Kuchta said. “This is my sixth year setting up here.” he said. Kuchta explained to a group of high school students that railroad crossing systems, which detect when a train approaches and activates the crossing gates, were developed for convenience as well as safety. “The more accurate the system is when the gates go down, the less people will try to walk or drive around them,” he said. “The system makes sure everything is working properly before the gates go up.”
Canadian National (CN) Railroad’s signal department employees Jason Berner, Elliott Kaye and Jason Oldham showed visitors a live view of CN’s rail traffic between Champaign and Neoga as well as the corresponding signal system for that territory. “We are demonstrating how the two systems interact with each other,” Berner said. “Dispatchers have four to six screens of contiguous areas that they monitor to make sure the trains are going where they need to go, and the signals are working. “We dispatch trains 24/7, 364.5 days a year,” he said. “The only time off is Christmas morning.”
First-year RailTEC graduate student David Wasilewski demonstrated a system with a series of signals. “There is a current going through the track that activates the signal,” he explained. “The track is divided into sections with signals, so it protects the train in the next section from being rear-ended.” Wasilewski said being a part of the RailTEC program has been a perfect fit for him. He discovered the RailTEC program his freshman year at UIUC when he joined the Illini Rail Club. “I’ve been around trains my whole life, and I like designing and civil engineering,” he said. “RailTEC is probably the biggest rail research program with a lab.”
Check back for the dates of EOH 2025.
A young EOH visitor uses the train puzzle as she determines what types of items an be carried in different types of railcars as her parents and big sister look on.
Jason Berner, with the Canadian National Railroad’s signal department, showed visitors a live view of CN’s rail traffic between Champaign and Neoga as well as the corresponding signal system for that territory.
RailTEC PhD candidate Jose Gustavo oversaw the train simulator that allowed visitors to experience operating a train that resembled a Metra commuter train with stops at west suburban stations.
Nolan Mason, Mechanical
Engineering senior, exhibits the model train layout featuring train switching and sorting.
David Wasilewski, first-year RailTEC graduate student, demonstrates a system with a series of signals.
Daniel Kuchta, self-proclaimed train enthusiast, discusses railroad crossing systems.
RailTEC hosted Hanson Professional Services Inc. and a group of students from Springfield, IL on Saturday, April 6, 2024.
EOH visitors explore how the Intermodal Game works.
An attendee tries his hand at driving the train simulator located in the Crane Bay at Newmark Civil Engineering Lab.
Professor Christopher P.L. Barkan, George Krambles Director of RailTEC, was quoted twice in an Associated Press (AP) article written by Josh Funk on March 26, 2024. In his article, Funk discusses positive train control (PTC) and how, in this case, PTC would not prevented the collision of three Norfolk Southern trains in Pennsylvania in early March. Founded in 1846 the AP is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Click here to read the entire article.
The preliminary program is now available for the 26th annual Railroad Environmental Conference (RREC) which will be held on 29-30 October 2024 at the iHotel Illinois Conference Center on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus. Registration is also open for attendees as well as exhibitors and sponsors. Exhibitor registrations will be accepted on a first come, first served basis until the Exhibit Hall reaches capacity so act soon.
RailTEC is excited to announce the first William W. Hay Seminar of the 2024-2025 school year. Dr. Chen-Yu Lin, Assistant Professor in the Department of Transportation and Logistics Management at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan, has the honor of being the initial speaker for the fall semester. The title of Lin’s seminar is “Adapting to Future Climate for Railway Systems” and will be given on Friday, 30 August at 12:15 p.m. (Central time). It will be available in-person at 2311 Newmark Civil Engineering Lab as well as online. 
