News Archive

RailTEC is proud to announce that four RailTEC alumni have recently been honored for their contributions to the rail industry.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Congratulations to the RailTEC teaching team of J. Riley Edwards and Conrad Ruppert, Jr. for being ranked as Excellent by their students in the CEE 409 – Railroad Track Engineering course for Fall 2023. These lists are compiled by the University on a semester basis and reflect student ratings of instruction. The ratings are based on Instructor and Course Evaluation (ICES) questionnaire forms maintained by Measurement and Evaluation, Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning. Click here to see a listing of UI instructors who earned the distinction to be included on this list. More information on this class can be found below.

CEE 409 – Railway Track Engineering – Railroad track is the backbone of a railway network and a key element of the vehicle-track system. Its primary functions are to support and distribute train loads, guide rail vehicles and facilitate drainage. The safe and efficient movement of trains requires that track is properly designed, constructed, inspected and maintained. The objectives of this course are to provide the student with a fundamental understanding of basic railroad track engineering principles, concepts, practices and technologies. The course also includes the development of a comprehensive track design project in a team setting.  Finally, a field trip is planned to observe railroad track and engage in “hands-on” track construction and maintenance activities.

Registration is now open and sponsorships are still available for the International Crosstie and Fastening System Symposium. This two-day event will be held on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus on 4-5 June 2024 and will be held in conjunction with the AREMA Committee 30 (Ties) spring meeting on 6 June 2024. General sponsorships are available as well as a few limited Platinum Sponsor slots.

For more information about the 2024 Symposium and to register please visit our webpage. The registration fee includes symposium technical sessions, luncheon keynote addresses and dinners both nights. The Transit Keynote Address will be given by Carrie Wagener, First Deputy Chief Engineer, Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). The title of her address is: CTA’s Red and Purple Modernization Phase One Project: Overcoming Challenging Constraints.

The objective of the symposium is to further international communication and collaboration on design and performance challenges and solutions for crossties and fastening systems.

Tracks to the Future 2024 Session I  |  June 10–14, 2024

Locations:

• • Penn State-Altoona
  • University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE

Tracks to the Future 2024 Session II  |  June 24–28, 2024

Locations:

• • Michigan Tech, Houghton
  • University of District of Columbia
  • University of Illinois-Champaign
  • University of South Carolina, Columbia
  • California State University, Fresno
  • University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
  • Oregon State University, Corvallis
  • North Dakota State University, Fargo

Continuing its online success, RailTEC’s virtual short courses will once again be offered this summer in two one-week sessions 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. Participants enrolled in both weeks will receive a $100 discount. Registration closes on Friday, 19 July 2024. For more information and to enroll, click here.

Track Engineering Fundamentals | 5-8 August 2024

Course Topics: Rail; Crossties & Fasteners; Ballast & Subgrade; Drainage; Slab Track; Turnouts & Special Trackwork; Track Structural Analysis; Track Structural Design; Track Standards & Inspections; Track Maintenance Technologies; Asset Management & Life Cycle Costs
Location: Virtual | Time: Noon-4pm CDT | Instructor: Conrad Ruppert
14 Professional Development Hours

Railroad Project Design | 12-15 August 2024

Course Topics: Horizontal Track Geometry; Vertical Track Geometry; Cross Sections & Earthwork; Railroad Location; Location Referencing & Track Charts; Project Phasing; Project Cost Estimation
Location: Virtual | Time: Noon-4pm CDT | Instructor: Conrad Ruppert
14 Professional Development Hours

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.

The 103rd Annual Transportation Research Board (TRB) meeting in Washington, D.C. on 7-11 January 2024 had a strong showing in the rail section from RailTEC faculty, staff, students, and alumni.  In total there were over 75 separate references, including 49 authors, 20 Committee Members, 4 session chairs, and 3 committee meeting chairs. Click here for a guide to 2024 RailTEC contributions at TRB.

One highlight of the conference was the presentation of the William W. Millar Award to RailTEC’s Dan Mueller, Arthur Lima, Riley Edwards and Marcus Dersch. Their paper entitled, “Development of a Real Time Wheel Load Quantification System for the Transit Environment” was selected through peer-review under the Technical Activities Council as one of the best six papers at the conference. In addition, other members from Illinois’ CEE Transportation Engineering group received the K.B. Woods Award for outstanding paper published in the field of design and construction of transportation facilities. Angeli Jayme, Imad Al-Qadi and Egemen Okte were chosen for their paper entitled, “Environmental and Economic Efficiency of Stone-Matrix Asphalt with Surface Micro-Milling”.

TRB is the principal annual gathering of the North American transportation research community that typically attracts thousands of transportation professionals from around the world and the meeting program covers all transportation modes. There were more than 600 workshops, lectern sessions, committee sessions, and poster sessions addressing topics of interest to policy makers, administrators, practitioners, researchers, and representatives of government, industry, and academic institutions.

The 104th TRB annual Meeting will be held in Washington, DC at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on January 5–9, 2025.

The Railroad Environmental Conference (RREC) celebrated its 25th anniversary at the annual two-day conference on 14-15 November 2023 at the iHotel in Champaign, IL. Conference Director Professor Christopher P.L. Barkan, George Krambles Director of RailTEC, was honored for growing the conference from the first event in 1999 that had 150 attendees and 9 exhibitors to this year’s 425 participants and 43 exhibitors. Participants attended over 35 presentations by railroaders, consulting engineers, academics and others involved in all aspects of railroad environmental topics. Forty four exhibitors filled out the exhibit hall.

Also at the conference the Association of American Railroads (AAR) recognized the work of two railroaders for advancing environmental responsibility with Career Environmental Achievement Awards. The two honorees were Norfolk Southern’s (NS) Mark Dudle and Canadian National’s (CN) Rick Verkler.

As NS occupational safety director, Dudle is charged with protecting the health and safety of the railroad’s 21,000 employees, contractors, as well as the communities NS serves. He manages the railroad’s safety and health programs which focus on proper information and protective equipment. Dudle stands among the industry’s top emergency response experts who has led air monitoring, toxicology support and site safety efforts for NS following significant incidents, including the ongoing response to the NS train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, AAR officials said.

Verkler served as environmental counsel for CN’s U.S. operations. He managed and oversaw all aspects of state and federal environmental law, including air and water pollution, hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal, site cleanup and wetlands protection. Until his retirement, Verkler also was active on AAR’s Pre-emption Committee and Environmental Matters Working Group.

Other nominees for the award this year were: Aaron Stadnyk – CN Railway, Chad Prior – BNSF Railway, Adam Motsinger – Norfolk Southern, Kiley Gibson – CPKC, Daniel S. Dyer – CSX, and Chip Heard, Jr. – Union Pacific Railroad.

The 25th-annual conference was presented by the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign Rail Transportation and Engineering Center (RailTEC), with partners AAR; American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association; American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association; American Railway Development Association; and Railway Association of Canada.

On 28-29 September 2023 the Rail Transportation and Engineering Center (RailTEC) celebrated the 25th anniversary of the resurgence of the University of Illinois Railroad Engineering Program with current students, faculty, alumni and friends. The event started with an informal welcome dinner reception the night of the 28th followed by a day of student and alumni mini-symposiums, a William W. Hay Railroad Engineering Seminar, and a tour of the Research and Innovation Lab (RAIL).  The event ended with a formal banquet where Professor Christopher P.L. Barkan, George Krambles Director of RailTEC, was recognized for his dedication and profound impact on the resurgence of the rail program at Illinois.

For more information on the history of rail at Illinois, as well as details on the past 25 years, please see the RailTEC 25th Anniversary booklet.