Railway Track & Structures - March 2009 - (Page 10)

AREMA NEWS President’s Column ne hundred and four years ago, the American Railway Engineering Association (AREA – later to become AREMA) published the first Manual of Recommended Practices (MRE). In 1970, the title was changed to the Manual for Railway Engineering, and that publication has remained through today as the pre-eminent reference manual for the railway engineering profession. It is in use throughout the world as a baseline of recommended best practices in railway infrastructure for major railroads and transit systems and as operating and procurement standards for many other companies. The publication has gone through many format changes over the years and, since 2000, has been digitized and is available in CD-ROM, as well as O The "recommended" manual of recommended practices print form – in a four-volume, loose-leaf product. It is published annually and the 2009 edition will be released in April. The Manual chapters are reviewed or revised regularly to ensure that users are working with the most current information possible. The 2009 edition has 15 chapters that contain changes. Orders are now being accepted for the 2009 edition. Please check the AREMA Website – www. arema.org – to order. AREMA manuals provide a valuable source of information for the industry, and the sale of those publications represents a major source of revenue to support all of AREMA’s programs and services. In 2006, AREMA instituted a “Corporate License” program. All AREMA publications are protected by international copyright laws and the Association vigorously protects those rights. This license program grants free access to the MRE content for internal use within a company and eliminates any need to be concerned about potential internal copyright violations. This has proven to be an extremely valuable and cost-effective benefit to large companies with a need for multiple individuals to access the materials. The Corporate License can be purchased for either the MRE or the Communications & Signals Manual of Recommended Practices or both. Pricing is based on the total number of potential users. Any company interested in this program should call Beth Caruso at AREMA, +1 (301) 459-3200, ext. 701. In early January, I was fortunate to attend the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association annual meeting in Fort Myers, Fla. The agenda was filled with interesting and informative speakers who discussed topics from Class 1 capital spending levels for 2009, to what work railroads contract out, to the CN’s purchase of the EJ&E, to the state of the industry now and into the future presented by the always interesting Tony Hatch. A long series of safety awards were given to numerous contractors of varying employment categories, which points to the strong focus that the rail industry contractors have on the safe performance of its work. I very much enjoyed interacting with the many individuals and the companies that are so important to the success of our industry. The conference was extremely well run and I thank Chuck Baker and the NRC for inviting AREMA representatives to attend and further expand the relationship between our organizations. I hope to see you again next year. - Robert J. Boileau Put your career on the right track with AREMA's Railway Careers Network! Services are free and include confidential resume posting, job search and email notification when jobs match your criteria. Visit careers.arema.org Robert J. Boileau AREMA® President 2008-2009 10 Railway Track & Structures March 2009 www.rtands.com http://www.arema.org http://www.arema.org http://www.arema.org http://careers.arema.org http://www.rtands.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Railway Track & Structures - March 2009

Railway Track & Structures - March 2009 Contents On Track Industry Today Supplier News AREMA News NRC News TTCI R&D NRC Smashes Attendance Bridge Inspection Battling Bugs Ballast Fundamentals Vital to Keeping Track in Shape Products and Literature People Calendar Sales Representatives Advertisers Index Website Directory Professional Directory Classified Advertising Chicago Perspective

Railway Track & Structures - March 2009

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