Agenda for 2011 Annual Meeting

COMMITTEE AR020

PASSENGER RAIL EQUIPMENT AND SYSTEMS INTEGRATION

January 25, 2011;  3:45pm–5:30pm (Marriott)

AGENDA

1. Welcome – Patrick B. Simmons, Chair
2. Introductions of Members, Friends, and Visitors

3. Old Business
                (a) Consideration of minutes

(b) Chairman's perspective on 2010
4. New Business
                (a) Membership Rotation

                (b) Planning for mid-year meeting
                (c) Committee web site and communications

5. Presentations

(a) “A Simplified Approach for Assessing Initial Fire Development and Spread in Passenger Rail Vehicles”;  Brian J. Meacham and Nicholas A. Dempsey (Worcester Polytechnic Institute), and Matthew Johann, Jeffrey Tubbs and Kurt Schebel (ARUP)

(b) “Hierarchical Network Model of Safe High-Speed Railway Operation”;  Yanhui Wang, Xuemei Xiao, Limin Jia, and Chenchen Zhang (Beijing Jiaotong University

6. Concluding Remarks – Patrick B. Simmons

www.highspeed-rail.org

Patrick B. Simmons, Director, NCDOT Rail Division pbsimmons@ncdot.gov (919) 870-9522

Eloy E. Martinez, Senior Consultant, LTK Engineering Services emartinez@ltk.com (857) 472 0029

Minutes from the 89th Annual Meeting

TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD 89^th ANNUAL MEETING 2010 January 12, 2010

Meeting Minutes (Click here for link to details)

AR020 Committee – Passenger Rail Equipment and Systems Integration

Item 1. Welcome from Chair of Committee

Item 2. Introductions of Members, Friends, and Visitors

Item 3. Old Business

Item 4. New Business

Item 5.  Presentations 

• John Harrison Update on CHST Project (Click here for link)
• Gibson Barbee – Hybrid Locomotive Technology (Click here for link)
• Alternative Power Generation: Automotive Perspective (Click here for link) 

Item 6. Other Committee Business

Item 7. Upcoming Workshops

PLEASE NOTE – PRIIA 305 Executive Committee and Technical Sub-Committee information available for review on AASHTO website. Use the following link to access:

http://www.highspeed-rail.org/Pages/default.aspx

SEC. 305. NEXT GENERATION CORRIDOR TRAIN EQUIPMENT POOL.

Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA)

(Public Law No. 110-432)

SEC. 305. NEXT GENERATION CORRIDOR TRAIN EQUIPMENT POOL.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Within 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, Amtrak shall establish a Next Generation Corridor Equipment Pool Committee, comprised of representatives of Amtrak, the Federal Railroad Administration, host freight railroad companies, passenger railroad equipment manufacturers, interested States, and, as appropriate, other passenger railroad operators. The purpose of the Committee shall be to design, develop specifications for, and procure standardized next-generation corridor equipment.

(b) FUNCTIONS.—The Committee may—(1) determine the number of different types of equipment required, taking into account variations in operational needs and corridor infrastructure; (2) establish a pool of equipment to be used on corridor routes funded by participating States; and (3) subject to agreements between Amtrak and States, utilize services provided by Amtrak to design, maintain and remanufacture equipment.

(c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—Amtrak and States participating in the Committee may enter into agreements for the funding, procurement, remanufacture, ownership, and management of corridor equipment, including equipment currently owned or leased by Amtrak and next-generation corridor equipment acquired as a result of the Committee’s actions, and may establish a corporation, which may be owned or jointly-owned by Amtrak, participating States, or other entities, to perform these functions.

(d) FUNDING.—In addition to the authorizations provided in this section, capital projects to carry out the purposes of this section shall be eligible for grants made pursuant to chapter 244 of title 49, United States Code.

(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, to remain available until expended, for grants to Amtrak and States participating in the Next Generation Corridor Train Equipment Pool Committee established under this section for the purpose of designing, developing specifications for, and initiating the procurement of an initial order of 1 or more types of standardized next generation corridor train equipment and establishing a jointly owned corporation to manage that equipment.