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

Minutes from Annual Meeting Tuesday January 13, 2009

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
Transportation Research Board
500 Fifth Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20418

MINUTES of COMMITTEE MEETING
88th Annual Meeting
APO70 – COMMITTEE on COMMUTER RAIL TRANSPORTATION
AP070 (1) Self-Powered Rail Car Technologies Subcommittee
Tuesday, January 13, 2008 TIME 3:45 PM
Lincoln South, Washington Hilton Hotel

PRIVILEGED INFORMATION – Minutes of all TRB meetings are regarded as privileged and not for public release without prior approval of the Executive Director.

ATTENDANCE
Attendees (22): Bruce Horowitz, Cynthia Wentworth, John Hugunin, Nigel Davies, Clay Schofield, Stephen Bonina, David Wilcock, Tom Cornille, John Wilkens, Brad Barkman, John Schuman, Thomas Janssen, Tom Furmaniak, Jack W. Boorse, David Nelson, Vic Kamhi, Phil Strong, Peter Fahrenwald, Alan Bing, John Aurelius, Tom O’brien, Paul Stangas

David Nelson, Chairman Paul Stangas, Secretary

CALL TO ORDER
The Subcommittee Chair, David O. Nelson of Jacobs Engineering, called the meeting to order at 3:45 PM. The meeting began with a round of introductions of the participants, followed by a brief history of the role and activities undertaken by the committee. The Chairman announced that the subcommittee now has two sponsors, one the “Commuter Rail Transportation Committee” and the other “Passenger Rail Equipment and Systems Integration Committee” and reviewed the mission statement.

AGENDA
See attached meeting agenda and sign-in list.

GENERAL ITEMS FOR THE RECORD
TCRP Project A-27: Shared Use of Railroad Infrastructure with Non-FRA-Compliant Public Transit Rail Vehicles

This report is complete and will be published by the TRB; issue is anticipated in February of 2009. The report states that there is a strong business case; it can be made safe using conventional train control technology and rail operating practices and procedures.

US DOT Joint ITS Office (FRA/FTA) Study of Intelligent Transportation Systems Technologies for Integrated Rail Corridors

This report has been submitted to sponsoring agency. Official approval and a schedule for publication remain to be determined.

The Chairman stated that the APTA Shared-Use Working Group was somewhat dormant, as it awaited results of both the TCRP A-27 and FRA ITS reports.

PTC Regulation
It was noted that new legislation requires PTC to be installed and operation on most major railroads in the future. This requirement may affect the potential for shared-use in that a common standard may be established for both freight and passenger railroads.

DMU Rail Car Manufacturers and Market
The sole domestic builder of compliant DMU railcars (Colorado Railcar) has gone out of business, and this too may influence future choices of rail cars for shared-use services.

The number of cars required for a system also influences the decision to choose a compliant or non-compliant railcar. Siemens expressed the view that approximately 50 cars would be required for commercial viability; and Bombardier has stated that approximately100 cars would be necessary. Certainly standardization on vehicles will accelerate support of the shared-use concept.

Another option for application of non-compliant cars would be to use DMUs for mid-day or off-peak services. Other lines considering some form of shared-use operation and vehicles include Denver RTD, and METRA “Star” line. The line planned for Denton TX, considered non-compliant cars, but may alter its decision and select a compliant car to be compatible with the DART system that currently uses the Budd RDC railcar. Line opening is planned for 2010. However, surely a growing future of shared-use is not likely to be based on the dated RDC design.

Presentations at the 2009 Annual Conference
The Chairman reported that the Presentation # 628 tonight was sponsored by the Subcommittee. It will include presentations by representatives of Austin, TX and Tri-Rail systems. The Chairman will present a report about the system in Portland, OR since an agency representative was unable to attend.

Recent Industry and Service Developments
· The NCTD Sprinter service from Oceanside to Escondido opened in Feb 2008

· Portland, OR is projected to open in February 2009.

· Orlando, FL is issuing RFP for conventional Commuter Rail (i.e. locomotives and coaches).

· Ann Arbor is considering a DMU service on a 33-mile service on a Norfolk-Southern line.

· Tri-Rail (SFRTA) is using the Double Decker model of the Colorado Rail Car DMU. Tri Rail has recently double-tracked most of the railroad/, runs about 50 trains per day. Future service may involve 15-minute turns, and may go to 40 minutes train turns. The DMU may run 20,000 miles per year in mixed fleet operation. The Colorado Railcar vehicle uses a “Voith Transmission, a hydraulic transmission of power to rail wheels.

· Austin, TX projected to open in March 2009The Austin, TX revenue service is expected to start in late March or early April of 2009. This system Is a contract operation, and Veolia is the contract operator at this time. The pre-revenue service test is to run at about 30 days. Freight is scheduled to run at night at this time. In Austin presently there are two freight trains per day that run to quarries. Austin has adopted a low-platform arrangement to allow adequate freight clearances. The passenger window is seen as 3 hours in the morning peak and 3 hours in the PM peak. Austin’s operation is planned on a 6-car fleet. To satisfy regulatory authorities, Austin has established a 60 MPH operating speed limit for its service, and installed an FRA compliant fuel tank on its rail car.

Mid-Year Meeting
The mid-year meeting tentatively set for mid-June in Chicago. June 13, 2009 presently is the planned date.

Proposed Research And Session Topics For 2010 Annual Conference

Suggestions were solicited regarding a potential agenda and topics of research for future presentations.

1. Can a standard “PCC” type DMU be developed? Research would have to indentify the issues, the definition of standard. The issue is more relevant to the “user” than the manufacturer, since they establish the product requirements. European suppliers design “families” of cars based on modular designs that can be easily adapted to specific requirements.

2. What are the implications of the new PTC rule for use of non-compliant vehicles? Does PTC have any mitigating effects on the benefits or the need to implement crash energy management technology in new rail cars.

3. Does CalTrain policy impact the market and regulatory environment for non-compliant DMUs, and if so to what extent?

ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 6:00 PM

Distribution: Subcommittee members and friends
Committee Chair
Section Chair
Group Council Chair
TRB Staff Representative