Railway Track & Structures - April 2008 - (Page 11)

AREMA NEWS President’s Column his month, Mark Walbrun, vice president of the Passenger & Transit Functional Group, will report on the activities of the Group. Mark is vice president for TranSystems Corporation. Directors for P&T are Dave Ordas, consultant, and Robert Verhelle, deputy chief engineer E.T. for Amtrak. Now for Mark’s report. The AREMA Passenger & Transit Functional Group is continuing to work on improvements to the Manual for Railway Engineering, as well as a number of seminar and educational activities. The latest revision to the Manual includes T Passenger & Transit Group activities new, first-ever criteria for passenger-only railroad grades, along with updates to numerous sections of the Manual dealing with rail transit, commuter, intercity and high-speed railways. Our seminar on Planning and Engineering New Commuter and Intercity Rail Lines is scheduled for May 31 to June 1 in conjunction with the APTA Rail Conference in San Francisco. AREMA and the P&T Group, along with APTA and the International Air Rail Organization, sponsored a March 1-16 tour of new European rail technology being used in all forms of passenger rail, including people movers, streetcars, light rail, metros, commuter rail, intercity services and high-speed rail, along with multi-modal terminals and air-rail connections. Sixteen professionals with many divergent backgrounds participated. The tour ended in Amsterdam at the UIC Sixth Congress on High Speed Rail. Work continues with APTA on development of passenger-only trackwork recommended practices and updates to the Portfolio of Trackwork Plans. In addition, our electrification committee is working to broaden their recommended practices to Larry Etherton AREMA® President 2007-2008 include potential joint operation with non-compliant rail vehicles. Each of our P&T committees specializes in different areas of passenger rail and transit. We are always looking for accomplished individuals to join our committees to advance knowledge skills in this important area of transportation. Here is a rundown of each committee and its responsibilities: Committee 11 – Commuter & Intercity Rail Systems: This committee deals with the specialized systems needed to handle passengers on trains traveling at conventional speeds on FRA-compliant railroads, including special trackwork, platforms, stations, and maintenance facilities. Committee 12 – Rail Transit: This committee deals with the specialized systems needed to handle passengers on non-FRA-compliant rail transit systems, including metros, light rail, and streetcars. Their coverage includes track design, platforms, stations, and maintenance facilities. Committee 17 – High Speed Rail Systems: This committee deals with the specialized systems needed to handle passengers on trains operating at speeds above 110 mph and includes track design, platforms, stations, and maintenance facilities. Committee 33 – Electrical Energy Utilization: This committee deals with electric traction design issues for rail transit and railroads, along with other railway electrical issues, including stand-by train power, buildings, and other fixed facilities. The P&T committees collaborate on many topics. A major issue confronting the industry now is developing guidelines for “level boarding” that would meet the Americans with Disabilities Act provisions and still function within railroad clearance requirements. Problems to be overcome include vehicle operating tolerances, grade crossings with platforms, room for access ramps and selection of an optimal platform height when there are several train car floor heights and configurations in operation throughout North America. We are currently working on a symposium that would act as a forum Continued on page 17 Railway Track & Structures April 2008 11 www.rtands.com http://www.arema.org http://www.rtands.com

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Railway Track & Structures - April 2008 Contents On Track Industry Today Supplier News AREMA News NRC News TTCI R&D Railroads Seeking More Advanced Systems to Handle Materials SKOL Bounces Back From Summer Flood Landmark Railroad Bridges Need Inspection, Too Products and Literature People Calendar Sales Representatives Advertisers Index Website Directory Professional Directory Classified Advertising Chicago Perspective

Railway Track & Structures - April 2008

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