SMART Orders 18 FRA Compliant Self-Powered Rail Cars

In mid-December 2010, the Board of Directors of Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART)unanimously approved a contract with Sumitomo Corporation to build SMART’s passenger rail vehicles at a new Nippon Sharyo plant in Illinois. The contract covers the manufacture and delivery of up to 18 self-powered rail cars (nine two-car trains) and cost $56,853,739 – more than $23 million below the original engineer’s estimate for vehicles.

These fully FRA-Compliant DMUs will be the signature feature of the SMART project, a 70-mile passenger train and parallel bicycle-pedestrian pathway from Cloverdale to Larkspur. The vehicle selection process has been a major focus of the district since nearly 70 percent of the voters in Marin and Sonoma approved funding for the project November 2008.

Sumitoma and Nippon Sharyo presented information concerning their team and their proposed cars at the annual meeting of the Self-Powered Rail Car Technologies Subcomittee on Tuesday January 25, 2011.

Click here for more information concerning the SMART project
Click here to see Nippon Sharyo's DMU Presentation

Minutes of 2010 Annual Meeting

Minutes of Committee Meeting

AP070(1) SELF POWERED RAIL CAR TECHNOLOGIES SUBCOMMITTEE

Wednesday January 13, 2010 at 10:15 AM

WASHINGTON HILTON HOTEL, WASHINGTON DC

David Nelson, Chairman Thomas Cornillie, Acting Secretary

Webpage: http://trbsprc.blogspot.com/

Call to Order

Committee Chair, David Nelson (Jacobs Engineering), called the meeting to order at 10:15 AM.

Attendence

Members and friends of the subcommittee introduced themselves. A total of 21 people were in attendance. Please see the attached sign-in sheet.

Agenda

See attached meeting agenda.

Committee Secretary Position

Chairman Nelson reported that the position of Committee Secretary remains and requested a volunteer to fill the role for today’s meeting. Thomas Cornillie agreed to take notes and prepare minutes for this meeting. Anyone interested in filling the position should speak to the Chair.

Website

Chairman Nelson noted that the subcommittee has a website: http://trbsprc.blogspot.com where meeting notes, agenda, and other information are available.

Committee Name

Sub-committee members in attendance voted unanimously to re-affirm the sub-committee’s name: “Self-Powered Rail Car Technologies Subcommittee”

Presentations

Two presentations were made to the committee:

1. Research to Support the RSAC Task Force: Presentation by David Tyrell of US DOT Volpe Center
2. Introduction to US Rail: Presentation by Michael Pracht, President and CEO

Update on Research to Support the Rail Safety Advisory Committee Task Force

Mr. Tyrell gave a presentation about the US DOT Volpe Center’s efforts to develop criteria and procedures for evaluating rail vehicle crashworthiness. The results were published in the Federal Register on January 8, 2010 and are viewable at the following address: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2010-01-08/html/E9-31411.htm

The ensuing discussion covered collision speeds, collision survivability and car deformity, and the relationship between crash energy management and buff-strength.

Introduction to US Rail

Mr. Pratt, the President and CEO of US Railcar gave a presentation about the acquisition of the assets of the bankrupt Colorado Railcar corporation by the Value Recovery Group of Columbus, OH and the formation of US Railcar.

The presentation included an overview of the accomplishments of Colorado Railcar in developing its DMU design and their plans to adapt the design based on revenue service experience.

Recent Industry and Service Developments

The committee briefly discussed the following recent developments:

• Challenges facing the SunRail project

• The role in the FRA and the commencement of revenue service on the Austin-Leander MetroRail system

Mid-Year Meeting
The mid-year meeting tentatively set for mid-June in Vancouver, BC Canada

Proposed Research and Session Topics For 2010 Annual Conference

1. Strategies for “bridging the gap” to permit true level boarding.

2. Potential to use PTC to facilitate interoperability of equipment of varying structural standards

3. Documentation of best practices developed in existing services

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 11:58 AM.

Distribution: Subcommittee members

Section Chair

Group Council Chair

TRB Staff Representative

Miami Tri Rail Reviews First Year of Successful SPRC Service

On January 13, 2008 Mr. Brad Barkman, Director of Operations for the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority reviewed the operations and performance of his agency's fleet of double deck SPRCs operating along a 73 mile corridor between West Palm Beach and Miami's International Airport. For a copy of Mr. Barkman's presentation follow the link below.

http://docs.google.com/Presentation?docid=dgv8p59k_80dwphjxgs

Austin TX Capital Metro to open new SPRC service in March

On January 13, Stephen Bonina of Interfleet Technologies reviewed the plans of Austin's Capitol Metro to open a 34 mile SPRC this spring. For a copy of his presentation follow the link below.
http://docs.google.com/Presentation?docid=dgv8p59k_1z9qhfm5n

Annual Meeting Agenda Tuesday January 13, 2009

Agenda
AP070(1) Self-Powered Rail Car Technologies Subcommittee
{Joint Subcommittee of Commuter Rail Transportation Committee (AP070) and
Passenger Rail Equipment and Systems Integration Committee (AR020)}
Annual Meeting
Tuesday, January 13, 2009, 3:45 PM - 5:30 PM
Lincoln South, Washington Hilton, Washington, DC
David Nelson, Chairman---Paul Stangas, Secretary

Minutes of the Midyear Meeting – San Francisco, Saturday, May 31, 2008

Committee Business
Adjustment in Sub-Committee Sponsorship
AR020 Passenger Rail Equipment and Systems Integration to become 2nd (or 3rd) joint sponsor of the SPRC Technologies Subcommittee (See Appendix A)

2009 Session 628 Recent Developments in North American SPRC Markets
Tuesday, January 13, 2009, 7:30pm- 9:30pm Hilton, Lincoln West
Is it commuter rail or is it light rail? The demand for rail transit services continues to grow each year. In many cases, hybrid services are being created to address the demand for service while trying to control the costs of the service. This session provides a glimpse at several new-start services from the past several years.

Portland West Side Express Story Lisa M. Cobb, Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon

Austin Metro-Rail Project Stephen Bonina, Interfleet Technology, Inc.

Tri-County Commuter Rail Authority Demonstration Program Bradley A. Barkman, Tri-County Commuter Rail Authority

Discussion of Recent Industry Developments
Three new SPRC systems in 2008-2009
SPRC Manufacturing Community – Demise of Colorado Rail Car
Evolving Regulations
Shared Track
Non-Compliant Rail Cars

Research Update
2007 TCRP Shared Track Research
2007 FRA ITS Report

Plans for Midyear Meeting
Chicago June 2009?

Research Plan and Agenda