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

AREMA NEWS J President’s Column ohn Unsworth, vice president of the Structures Functional Group, is reporting this month on the activities of the group. John is manager, structures planning & design, for Canadian Pacific Railway. Directors for the group are Jim Carter, Jr., chief engineer bridges & structures for Norfolk Southern Railway, and Jim Richter, deputy chief engineer structures for Amtrak. Now for John’s report. The AREMA Structures Functional Group consists of the leadership and members of Committees 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15 and 28. The three SFG Board members are active members of at least one of these Committees, which aggregately include almost 10 percent of AREMA members. The SFG is primarily responsible for the technical content of the AREMA Manual for Railway Engineering Chapters 6, 7, 8, 9, 15 and 28; in addition to various other publications and seminars. MRE Chapters 6, 7, 8, 9, 15 and 28 are recommended practices relating to the materials (timber, concrete and steel), design, construction, assessment (inspection Structures Functional Group and rating) and maintenance of facilities and bridges. These chapters are reviewed on a continuous basis by active, skilled Committee and Subcommittee members from the railway industry, consulting engineers, contractors, fabricators, suppliers, government agencies, researchers and academics. The work of keeping the structures volumes of the MRE (Chapters 6, 7, 8, 9, 15 and 28) current and vital is a challenging and important function performed by current and future leaders in the industry. The SFG has also assisted with the development of the AREMA Practical Guide to Railway Engineering and is currently completing the AREMA Bridge Inspection Handbook. This timely document provides valuable information regarding bridge inspection to Class 1 and shortline railroads and consulting engineers engaged in railway bridge assessment. It has been prepared by industry experts in steel, concrete and timber railway bridge design, construction, maintenance and inspection. In addition, the SFG has developed and presented popular seminars regarding loadings, scour and erosion (of interest to both track and structures personnel), longitudinal forces in bridges and steel bridge rating. In response to the demand, the scour/erosion and steel bridge rating seminars are being provided in 2008. Dates, locations and registration information for the seminars are available at www.arema.org. Continuing Larry Etherton AREMA® President 2007-2008 along the same track, the SFG is currently developing publications and seminars concerning bridge management system guidelines, seismic design and concrete bridge rating. Bridges have been a focus of public, media and government agency attention in recent years. Bridges have also been the focus of railroads, as confirmed by the substantial and growing portion of railroad engineering capital and expense budgets devoted to bridge maintenance, rehabilitation and reconstruction. The MRE recommended practices concerning bridge maintenance and assessment (inspection, materials science, rating, life cycle), which have been substantially adopted by most North American railroads, provide the technical foundation for the safe and reliable operation of modern heavy-axle-load traffic on existing railway bridges. Furthermore, when rehabilitation (strengthening and retrofitting) or replacement is required, the MRE provides modern rational design, fabrication and construction recommendations for railway bridges. Moreover, the SFG serves as the principal conduit for the conveyance of structural and bridge engineering research into the MRE. Railway bridge research, performed primarily by TTCI, a subsidiary of the AAR, and affiliated universities, is developed from recommendations of the AAR Bridge Research Technical Advisory Group. The BRTAG is comprised of the chief bridge engineers of Class 1 railways and the Chairs of Committees 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15 and 28. This enables the SFG active and timely promotion, pursuit, support and inclusion of appropriate state-of-the-art research into the Manual. The most difficult problems encountered by railway engineers involve the continued management (including the assessment, design, construction and maintenance) of a safe and reliable, but aging, infrastructure in the modern operating environment of heavy axle loads and increasing traffic volumes. This is particularly challenging for engineering professionals charged with the management of bridges, typically the oldest and most heavily utilized fixed asset in the railroad infrastructure. These challenges are met by technical expertise, which is available to both experienced and new engineers using the MRE and other AREMA publications as a foundation of practice. Recently, in response to increased traffic volumes, the concerns associated with the design, rehabilitation and replacement of bridges have been exacerbated by the need for minimizing interruption to railway traffic (and the detrimental effect it may have on rail transportation customers). Effective rehabilitation and rapid construction (also of recent interest to the Federal Highway Administration and many transportation Continued on page 17 Railway Track & Structures May 2008 11 www.rtands.com http://www.arema.org http://www.arema.org http://www.rtands.com

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Railway Track & Structures - May 2008

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