News Archive

Since its first class in 2015, RailTEC’s Railway Engineering Short Course has grown by leaps and bounds. The initial in-person one-week class of nine students has grown into a virtual format with over 125 participants. This year students participated from Canada, the Philippines, the UK, and twenty different U.S. states.

On 18-21 July 2022, lead instructor Conrad Ruppert, Jr. taught the Track Engineering Fundamentals course with 69 students. Tyler Dick was the lead instructor for the Railroad Project Design course taught on 25-28 July 2022 with 58 participants.

Attendees included rail professionals, engineers, planners, consultants and more from employees throughout the rail industry. They earned 14 professional development hours and had an excellent networking opportunity to meet others engaged in various facets of the rail industry.

Check back for announcements concerning our 2023 Short Course offerings.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Michigan Tech and Penn State Altoona teamed up this summer to offer nearly 50 high school students across the U.S. an exciting opportunity to learn about rail in a Summer 2022 program titled “Tracks to the Future: Railroad Transportation and Engineering”. Illinois hosted 16 campers from Illinois, Michigan and New Jersey.

Through virtual sessions, hands-on activities, and field visits to railroad facilities, students learned what forms modern railroad track, explored railway equipment from around the globe, and analyzed the latest operations, communication and control systems. They also learned how rail compares with other modes and leads the charge in reducing transportation greenhouse gas emissions. This hybrid program featured a two-day at-home virtual portion that ran 11-12 July with a two-day visit at one of the three partnering campuses on 14-15 July. Wednesday, 13 July was a travel day.

Successful camps are not possible without the extraordinary help from others. A huge thank you to the following groups:

1. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for funding the camp and all participant costs
2. Monticello Railway Museum (MRM) volunteers for opening up the museum especially for the group on a day they are normally closed, and hosting an amazing experience for the campers
3. Coordinators and camp counselors at the Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) program at Illinois’ Grainger College of Engineering for taking care of the group after hours
4. RailTEC grad students for their volunteer service

Eight RailTEC faculty, staff, and students traveled to Birmingham, UK for the 13th World Congress on Railway Research (WCRR). WCRR was held 6 – 10 June 2022 and is a major gathering for the global railway research and innovation community to exchange state-of-the-art ideas and develop connections with other research institutions. The theme for the 2022 conference was “Reshaping our railways post-pandemic: Research with an impact”. RailTEC gave four oral presentations and three interactive presentations. The presentations were:

Benchmarking Safety of Connected Railway Systems: An International Case Study of the United States and Canada
Chen-Yu Lin¹, Theodore Gerstein¹, Christopher Barkan¹
(¹Rail Transportation and Engineering Center (RailTEC), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, The United States of America)

Comparing Different Train Following Control Algorithms for Platoons of Freight Trains Operating with Moving Blocks
Tyler Dick¹, Geordie Roscoe¹
(¹University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, The United States of America )

Engineered Interspersed Concrete Sleeper Track Modulus Assessment In Ballasted Track
Arthur de O. Lima¹, Marcus S. Dersch¹, Jaeik Lee¹, J. Riley Edwards¹
(¹RailTEC – University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, The United States of America)

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Virtual and Moving Block Control Systems on a Long and Complex North American Freight Rail Corridor
Geordie Roscoe¹, Tyler Dick¹
(¹RailTEC – University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, The United States of America)

Improving Understanding of Railroad Tank Wagon Performance in Accidents Through Simulation-Based Derailment Analyses
Steven Kirkpatrick¹, Todd Treichel², Christopher Barkan³, Chen-Yu Lin³, Leandro Iannacone³, Paul Gharzouzi³, Paolo Gardoni³
(¹Applied Research Associates, Inc., Mountain View, The United States of America, ²Association of American Railroads, Washington, D.C., The United States of America, ³University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, The United States of America)

Optimal Strategies for Dangerous-Goods Wagon Placement in Freight Trains: A Probabilistic Modeling Approach
Chen-Yu Lin¹, Xinhao Liu¹, Christopher Barkan¹
(¹Rail Transportation and Engineering Center (RailTEC), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, The United States of America)

Use of 3D Laser Scanning, Deep Convolutional Neural Networks (DCNNs), & Change Detection Technology for Railway Track Safety Inspections
Riley Edwards¹, Richard Fox-Ivey², Arthur de O. Lima¹, John Laurent², Marcus S. Dersch¹, Thanh Nguyen², Ryan Harrington¹, Ian Germoglio Barbosa¹
(¹University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Urbana, The United States of America, ² Pavemetrics, Quebec City, Canada)

Chris Barkan, Professor and George Krambles Director of RailTEC, was the guest speaker for the University of Delaware’s Kerr Lecture Series on Monday, 25 April 2022. This lecture series brings distinguished scientists and engineers to the University of Delaware each year to speak on topics in engineering mechanics and design.  The title of his presentation was “Improving Railroad Train and Hazardous Materials Tank Car Safety”. While railroads have invested in infrastructure, rolling stock, and technology leading to substantial improvements in train safety and efficiency, the damage resistance of tank cars involved in derailments has also improved due to design changes.  It is thus paradoxical that some of the most serious, high-profile hazardous materials release accidents have occurred in the past decade or so. This presentation discussed statistical and analytical modeling research conducted by RailTEC’s Safety and Risk Research Group on identifying the most important safety improvements in the past and maximizing their efficacy.

RailTEC welcomed Hanson Professional Services Inc. and a group of students from Springfield, IL to Engineering Open House (EOH) on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) campus on Saturday, 9 April 2022. 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 21 students and adults spent the day examining a portion of over 250 interactive exhibits on display. In addition to viewing the exhibits a representative from the UIUC National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Student Chapter spoke to the group at lunch. RailTEC first began hosting the group in 2014.

The Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Department held its annual Student Awards Convocation on Saturday, 2 April. This event brings together scholarship winners and donors for a luncheon and awards presentation. RailTEC would like to congratulate the following 2022 Illinois rail scholarship and award recipients. They are:

• Dale Robbenolt – Ira O. Baker Prize
• Jake Wagoner – CN Railway Transportation Scholarship and Albert J. Reinschmidt Memorial Scholarship in Railway Engineering
• Allison Hefner – CN Railway Transportation Scholarship
• Tommy Stogin – Norman and Mary Carlson Scholarship
• Liam Bots – Michael and Jean Franke Family Foundation Scholarship

Information about each of the awards can be found below.

Ira O. Baker Prize

The purpose of the Baker Prize is to recognize outstanding seniors and is the highest honor a graduating CEE senior can receive. In addition to superior scholastic achievement, CEE faculty select winners based on a student’s activities in organizations and on personal characteristics that include initiative, reliability, and potential. The Baker Prize has been awarded to the top-ranking CEE seniors every spring since 1924. The award is named after Ira O. Baker, a civil engineering faculty member from 1875 to 1925, and Department Head for 39 of the 50 years.

Canadian National (CN) Railway Transportation Scholarship

This scholarship was established in 2018 to encourage and support student excellence in rail engineering and is presented to an outstanding engineering student(s) on the basis of leadership, scholastic performance, and demonstrated accomplishments and interest in railroad transportation at Illinois. It was created as part of CN’s support for RailTEC’s educational programs.

Norman and Mary Carlson Scholarship Fund

Established in 2005, the Carlson Scholarship encourages students to pursue careers in the rail industry. Carlson graduated from the UIUC College of Commerce and Business Administration in 1964, has spent his career in service to the railroad industry, and has written and published extensively on the history and technology of railways.

Michael W. & Jean D. Franke Family Foundation Scholarship

The scholarship is awarded to an outstanding student interested in railroad transportation engineering, as evinced by coursework, participation in rail research, and other railway engineering and transport related activities. The objective of the scholarship is to encourage the candidate to continue railway engineering studies and ultimately pursue a career in the rail-related transportation industry.

Albert J. Reinschmidt Memorial Scholarship in Railway Engineering

This scholarship was founded and sponsored by friends and railroad industry colleagues of Dr. Albert J. Reinschmidt. Reinschmidt earned all of his degrees studying railway engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and went on to a successful career in railway research, engineering practice, and policy with the Association of American Railroads. The scholarship is intended to provide financial assistance to help any civil, electrical, industrial, and mechanical engineering student achieve their educational goals in rail transportation engineering and technology with the objective of supporting development of a new generation of engineers advancing rail safety, efficiency, and technological advancement.

Marcus Dersch, RailTEC Principal Research Engineer, successfully defended his PhD dissertation on Monday, 4 April. His dissertation is titled “Railroad Track Fastening System Demands and Response: Implications for Mechanistic Design“.  The dissertation advances the M-E analysis and design of fastening systems through the deployment of field instrumentation, execution of experiments in the laboratory, and development and validation of multiple analytical models. Members of his committee were Illinois faculty Chris Barkan, Riley Edwards, Erol Tutumluer and John Popovics. Rounding out the committee was Professor Dr.-Ing. Stephan Freudenstein from the Technical University of Munich who participated via Zoom. Congratulations, Marcus!

Following the outstanding success of last summer’s Virtual Short Course, RailTEC will once again be offering two one-week online Railway Engineering Short Courses via Zoom. 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. The short course is an excellent networking opportunity to meet others engaged in various facets of the rail industry. Registration closes on Friday, 01 July 2022. For more information and to enroll, click here.

Track Engineering Fundamentals
18-21 July 2022 | Noon-4pm CDT (via Zoom)
Lead Instructor: Conrad Ruppert

• Monday: Introduction; Rail; Crossties & Fasteners
• Tuesday: Ballast & Subgrade; Drainage; Slab Track; Turnouts & Special Trackwork
• Wednesday: Track Structural Analysis; Track Structural Design
• Thursday: Track Standards & Inspections; Track Maintenance Technologies; Asset Management & Life Cycle Costs

Railroad Project Design
25-28 July 2022 | Noon-4pm CDT (via Zoom)
Lead Instructor: Tyler Dick

• Monday: Introduction; Horizontal Track Geometry
• Tuesday: Vertical Track Geometry; Cross Sections & Earthwork
• Wednesday: Railroad Location; Location Referencing & Track Charts
• Thursday: Project Phasing; Project Cost Estimation

RailTEC is excited that the International Crosstie and Fastening System Symposium will be an in-person event this year on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus on 24-25 May 2022.  This two-day event will be held in conjunction with the AREMA Committee 30 (Ties) spring meeting on 26-27 May. The objective of the symposium is to further international communication and collaboration on design and performance challenges and solutions for crossties and fastening systems.

For more information about the 2022 Symposium and to register please visit our webpage.  The registration fee includes symposium technical sessions, luncheon keynote addresses and dinners both nights. The Rail Transit Keynote speaker is Robert Powers, General Manager, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and the Class 1 Keynote is John Cech, Vice President of Engineering, BNSF Railway. Recorded presentations will be available to in-person attendees and post-conference registrants after the event. Abstracts will be accepted until March 31.