This paper introduces a discrete event simulation for crew assignments and crew movements as a result of train traffic, labor rules, government regulations and optional crew schedules. The software is part of a schedule development system, FRCOS (Freight Rail Crew Optimization System), that was co-developed by Canadian National (CN) Rail and Circadian Technologies, Inc. The simulation allows ve...

Broken rails are the most common cause of severe freighttrain derailments on American railroads. Reducing the occurrence of broken-rail-caused derailments is an important safety objective for the railroad industry. The current practice is to periodically inspect rails using non-destructive technologies such as ultrasonic inspection. Determining the optimal rail defect inspection frequency is a ...

'Safety culture' is identified in the literature as a critical element of healthy and safe workplaces. How can rail organizations ensure that consistently effective work health and safety cultures are maintained across the diversity of their operations? This paper reports on research that is currently underway in the Australian rail industry aimed at producing a Model of Best Practice in Safety...

Railway tunnel clearance is directly related to the safe operation of trains and upgrading of freight capacity. As more and more railway are put into operation and the operation is continuously becoming faster, the railway tunnel clearance inspection should be more precise and efficient. In view of the problems existing in traditional tunnel clearance inspection methods, such as low density, sl...

Long term demand for rail transportation in North America is projected to increase considerably in the coming decades. A significant portion of the routes in the United States are single track with passing sidings. Eventually, the second mainline track will become necessary to maintain network fluidity. However, the full funding for the second track may not be available all at once; subsequentl...

Title of Document: IMPROVING RESILIENCE OF RAIL-BASED INTERMODAL FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS Xiaodong Zhang, Doctor of Philosophy, 2013 Directed By: Professor Elise Miller-Hooks, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering With the increasing natural and human-made disasters, the risk of an event with potential to cause major disruption to our transportation systems and their components ...

Using the data obtained from the structured interviews of 33 professionals with a high level of technical knowledge specific to the subject of intermodal rail yards and their associated operations, this study addresses 10 issues that cover not only the design and layout issues within a terminal, but also broader topics such as administration/ownership, location, and other topics that may be ove...

This paper describes an automated tool that allows the analyst to systematically vary key parameters of the ELECTRE III multicriteria decision-making tool, thereby facilitating sensitivity analyses of the results. We also demonstrate how the sensitivity analyses can be presented by means of an intuitive graphical depiction of shifts in the rankings of alternatives that can be readily interprete...