<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"><channel><title>TRB Publications Index</title><link>http://pubsindex.trb.org/</link><atom:link href="http://pubsindex.trb.org/common/TRIS Suite/feeds/rss.aspx?s=PHNlYXJjaD48cGFyYW1zPjxwYXJhbSBuYW1lPSJzdWJqZWN0aWQiIHZhbHVlPSIxNzc5IiAvPjxwYXJhbSBuYW1lPSJsb2NhdGlvbiIgdmFsdWU9IjIiIC8%2BPHBhcmFtIG5hbWU9InN1YmplY3Rsb2dpYyIgdmFsdWU9Im9yIiAvPjxwYXJhbSBuYW1lPSJ0ZXJtc2xvZ2ljIiB2YWx1ZT0ib3IiIC8%2BPC9wYXJhbXM%2BPGZpbHRlcnMgLz48cmFuZ2VzIC8%2BPHNvcnRzPjxzb3J0IGZpZWxkPSJwdWJsaXNoZWQiIG9yZGVyPSJkZXNjIiAvPjwvc29ydHM%2BPHBlcnNpc3RzPjxwZXJzaXN0IG5hbWU9InJhbmdldHlwZSIgdmFsdWU9InB1Ymxpc2hlZGRhdGUiIC8%2BPC9wZXJzaXN0cz48L3NlYXJjaD4%3D" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /><description></description><language>en-us</language><copyright>Copyright © 2015. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright><docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs><managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor><webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster><image><title>TRB Publications Index</title><url>http://pubsindex.trb.org/Images/PageHeader-wTitle.png</url><link>http://pubsindex.trb.org/</link></image><item><title>Low-Impact Frog Design Primer and Research Roadmap</title><link>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2672509</link><description><![CDATA[The frog is a component of special trackwork where one rail crosses another. Openings called flangeways in standard frogs let wheel flanges pass through. When a wheel passes through the flangeway at the frog point, contact between the wheel tread and frog wing rail creates high-impact forces, noise, and vibration. Low-impact frog designs can reduce these effects, but little public data exist on their effectiveness, longevity, or maintainability. This Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Research Report serves as a guide for transit agencies in selecting appropriate frog designs for noise and vibration mitigation and in maintaining effective noise and vibration performance through proper maintenance practices. It also offers a research roadmap for the rail transit community to focus its efforts to foster, support, monitor, disseminate, and implement research on frog system design.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 26 Feb 2026 09:15:16 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2672509</guid></item><item><title>Design of Revenue Service Adjustments for Urban Rail System Maintenance</title><link>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2672021</link><description><![CDATA[Urban railway systems require regular maintenance to uphold safe and efficient operations. System operators are sometimes forced to perform this maintenance during revenue service hours. The resulting changes in revenue service are called a “revenue service adjustment,” or RSA. Because RSAs typically feature planning horizons of months or even years, operators have an opportunity to design them in ways that minimize the level-of-service (LOS) impacts for passengers. This paper presents a framework for operators to consider LOS impacts early in the RSA planning process. First, a taxonomy of service delivery strategies is developed, where various strategies can be characterized by typical LOS impacts and operational considerations to efficiently identify options to consider. Second, a method is presented to develop optimal service plans to deliver the various strategies. Third, the distribution of LOS impacts on various groups of passengers is found for each service plan. Finally, considerations related to work planning and productivity are quantified and balanced against LOS impacts. The framework is demonstrated on a real-world case study from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) in which a single track needed to be removed from service. The results show that under the same resource constraints, different RSA design decisions can result in a large range of potential wait time impacts, with ratios ranging from 1.15 to 1.34 compared with normal revenue service, as well as a promising daily time period to perform work that balances a large increase in productivity with a smaller increase in LOS impacts.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 20 Feb 2026 15:28:56 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2672021</guid></item><item><title>Assessing Safety Effectiveness of Treatments and Technologies at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings</title><link>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2666565</link><description><![CDATA[This report provides information on the safety effectiveness of treatments and technologies at highway-rail grade crossings and presents a rational approach for evaluating this effectiveness, while considering different levels of data availability. The information contained in this report will help highway agencies and other organizations concerned with safety aspects at highway-rail grade crossings in making informed decisions regarding the deployment of treatments and technologies at such crossings to reduce incidents and improve safety.]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 07 Feb 2026 12:17:08 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2666565</guid></item><item><title>Quantitative Method for Assessing the Quality of Intermodal/Interagency Connections and Service Integration at Suburban Rail Stations</title><link>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2663309</link><description><![CDATA[Connections or transfers are an important part of public transport journeys. However, transfers can be an inconvenient part of a passenger’s journey compared with direct trips, especially when connecting between low-frequency routes such as commuter rail and suburban bus services. With long headways, a missed or badly timed connection can significantly lengthen one’s commute by up to a service’s headway. Transfer optimization has been considered and applied to varying degrees, but with most emphasis on station design and intra-agency timetable coordination rather than inter-agency timetable coordination. Most reliability metrics do not consider how connections are affected by delays on intersecting routes. In this paper, global best practices employed by railways and transport authorities to measure the performance of connections are reviewed. Regional public transport governance approaches supporting timetable coordination and service integration are also synthesized. A metric of connection convenience was developed inspired by the limited academic literature and best practices. The metric is then applied to evaluate the convenience and coordination of connections between GO Transit rail services and connecting bus services in Ontario, Canada, based on walking time between stops. This research is important for informing service integration policies seeking to improve multimodal and inter-agency connections. Agencies can use this metric along with transfer demand data to help prioritize services for improved scheduling such as application of timed transfer system pulsing and better interchange facilities.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 04 Feb 2026 16:29:39 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2663309</guid></item><item><title>Sensitivity of Potential Battery Electric Locomotive Energy Benefits to Freight Railway Operating Characteristics and Charging Strategies</title><link>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2663318</link><description><![CDATA[Freight railroads are exploring alternative energy technologies such as battery electric locomotives (BELs). A BEL produces tractive effort from electricity stored in onboard batteries that are recharged at terminal stations, through regenerative braking, or both. To aid railroads in identifying the types of routes and train services benefiting most from BEL implementation, this paper investigates the sensitivity of BEL energy benefits to various parameters across multiple rail corridors. A simplified train energy model was developed to quantify BEL performance on four rail corridors in the United States. For each route, diesel energy consumption of conventional diesel-electric locomotives was compared with diesel consists supplemented with one BEL across a range of train weights, railcar resistances, battery efficiency, and battery capacity using the simplified model and a comprehensive train performance simulator. Both approaches indicated that BELs can achieve diesel savings from 0% to 40% depending on grade profile and terminal charging availability. Energy savings were more sensitive to changes in battery efficiency and train mass than to changes in train rolling resistance and battery capacity. Additional analysis of terminal charging strategies and charger power rates revealed a trade-off between battery size, charge rate, and life-cycle benefits. Although general trends were observed, BEL energy savings were highly variable between routes and should be analyzed on a case-by-case basis. Similarly, BEL implementations must carefully match battery capacity and charging strategy to operational needs instead of standardization across all routes. Further, favorable BEL implementation strategies were sensitive to technology pricing based on battery and charger development.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 04 Feb 2026 08:56:19 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2663318</guid></item><item><title>Characterizing a Long-Time Evolution of Metro Network Topology: Evidence from Metro Networks in 34 Chinese Cities</title><link>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2663316</link><description><![CDATA[The development of urban metro networks is crucial for planners and policymakers in addressing sustainable urban development. This study collected metro network data from 34 cities in China and utilized a three-dimensional model to perform a topological analysis of these networks, aiming to identify successful practices. The service degree of population demonstrated a strong correlation with the topology of urban metro networks. The topological analysis revealed three phases in the evolution of metro networks: (1) central densification; (2) outward expansion; and (3) preferential development. Throughout this process, the complexity of metro networks tends to reach saturation, and transfer convenience is enhanced, resulting in a reduction in the number of transfers required during travel. Furthermore, the implementation of ring lines was effective in improving the state features of metro networks during the early stages. Increasing the ratio of radial lines can maintain network simplicity and enhance transfer convenience. The findings of this study provide insights for policymaking in the development of urban metro systems.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 04 Feb 2026 08:56:19 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2663316</guid></item><item><title>Transport Performance Enhancement through Risk-Informed Bridge Scour Management</title><link>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2663040</link><description><![CDATA[Bridges are vital connections within transport networks, but scour-induced failures can severely disrupt network connectivity, increase user travel delays, and reduce reliability. The goal of this paper is to prioritize bridge scour management actions to improve transport network performance, defined here by connectivity and delay. This paper introduces a novel risk-informed decision-support framework that aids long-term programming and real-time operational decision processes. This framework couples bridge-level monitoring with network-level prioritization based on predicted transport-user impacts and early-warning triggers. It quantifies expected travel delays and network connectivity under different flood scenarios, guiding maintenance and protection investments toward bridges with the largest performance consequences. The framework is applied to a case study on UK railway bridges where warning times to failure are estimated and proactive bridge closures are simulated to assess operational impacts. The results inform the risk-aware prioritization of bridges for operational measures. This risk-informed approach extends traditional scour management by explicitly tying asset interventions to user-oriented performance outcomes and by supporting long-term programming and real-time operational decisions under uncertainty.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 30 Jan 2026 09:04:14 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2663040</guid></item><item><title>Wheel Wear Analysis of Metro Vehicles with Asymmetric Braking Force</title><link>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2661773</link><description><![CDATA[Air braking is widely used in metro vehicles. As a result of manufacturing errors and braking failures, uneven brake pad forces often occur on the left and right sides during the braking process of metro vehicles. To investigate the effect of uneven brake shoe pressure on wheel wear in metro vehicles and thereby enhance braking safety, a dynamic model of a metro vehicle considering brake shoe braking was established. The Jendel wear model was adopted to study the wheel wear response of metro vehicles under uneven brake shoe pressure conditions, targeting different complex fault operating scenarios. The results show that under the straight-line condition, the lateral displacement, yaw angle, lateral force, and wheel wear increase with the uneven degree of brake shoe pressure. On the right curved track, the brake failure of the inner wheel increases these indicators, and the brake failure of the outer wheel decreases these indicators. When the failure is complete, the inner side fault increases the wheel wear by 19.53%, and the outer side fault reduces it by 46.39%. The lack of braking force on the inner side of the curved track is not conducive to train operation, while the lack of braking force on the outer side of the curved track has no significant negative effect on train operation. Moreover, the wheel wear will increase under the unbalanced braking coupled with the wheel diameter difference. The research contributes to the optimization of metro vehicle braking systems and the operation and maintenance of wheel-rail systems.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 29 Jan 2026 10:06:22 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2661773</guid></item><item><title>CPO–BiTCN–BiGRU: A Real Time Integrated Prediction and Optimization Model for Railway Track Operational Conditions</title><link>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2657976</link><description><![CDATA[The operational condition of railway tracks is critical to ensuring the safety and reliability of railway networks, necessitating real time monitoring and predictive modeling for proactive maintenance. Existing data-driven methods have improved prediction capabilities, but challenges such as inefficient multiscale feature extraction and limited model adaptability persist when processing complex, heterogeneous track data from multisource sensors. To address these limitations, this study proposes a Crested Porcupine Optimizer–Bidirectional Temporal Convolutional Networks–Bidirectional Gated Recurrent Unit (CPO–BiTCN–BiGRU), a novel hybrid model unifying temporal feature extraction, bidirectional sequence modeling, and metaheuristic optimization for railway track condition prediction. The model integrates three tightly coupled components: (1) BiTCN with dilated causal convolutions to capture multiscale temporal dependencies in vibration and displacement signals; (2) BiGRUs to model bidirectional contextual relationships, enhancing dynamic adaptability to operational fluctuations; and (3) a CPO, a metaheuristic algorithm inspired by porcupine defense mechanisms, to autonomously optimize hyperparameters (e.g., learning rate, neuron counts, regularization coefficients), reducing manual tuning efforts and minimizing prediction bias. Experimental validation on two independent data sets—a 103-sample data set and an extended 1,800-sample data set from the China National Railway Group—demonstrates the model’s superior performance. Compared with conventional approaches, the CPO–BiTCN–BiGRU achieves a 63.8% reduction in the root mean square error and a 9% improvement in the certainty correlation coefficient on the multisensor fusion-derived track condition index. Of note, the model maintains robust generalizability across diverse operational scenarios, as validated using stratified five-fold cross-validation. This advancement provides a scalable framework for real time decision-making in railway infrastructure management, bridging the gap between predictive maintenance theory and engineering practice.]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 26 Jan 2026 17:01:14 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2657976</guid></item><item><title>Bi-Directional Dynamic Vibration Absorber for Small-Radius Curved Track Systems: Design and Performance Evaluation</title><link>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2647069</link><description><![CDATA[Low-frequency vibration amplification in steel-spring floating slab track is especially significant in small-radius curves. To mitigate this issue, a novel bi-directional dynamic vibration absorber (Bi-DVA) is proposed to effectively suppress such vibrations and improve the stability of the track system. A coupled dynamic model, which integrates the vehicle, curved track segment, floating slab, and Bi-DVA, was developed using extended fixed-point theory, vehicle-track coupled dynamics theory, and finite element analysis. The optimal configuration of the Bi-DVA’s parameters was thoroughly explored, and its performance under various operational conditions was assessed in terms of vibration reduction and enhancement of wheel-rail safety metrics. The vertical and lateral vibration amplitudes of the floating slab were reduced by up to 10.2 dB and 8.9 dB. The vertical and lateral accelerations of the rail were decreased by 11.7 m/s2 and 1.82 m/s2, and the peak vertical and lateral accelerations of the vehicle body dropped by 0.44 m/s2 and 0.19 m/s2, respectively. Additionally, the derailment coefficient was reduced by 0.08, and the wheel load reduction rate decreased by 0.06.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 09 Jan 2026 16:59:37 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2647069</guid></item><item><title>Service Life and Anti-Corrosion of Catenary Foundations in Salt Lakes: Qinghai-Tibet Railway Case Study</title><link>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2647079</link><description><![CDATA[This study investigates anti-corrosion strategies and evaluates the service life of concrete foundations for electrified catenary systems in the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Phase I project, in China, under saline lake conditions. By combining field sampling, laboratory chloride ion content analysis (total and free chloride ion), and electrochemical testing (linear polarization resistance), the efficacy of fiberglass-reinforced polymer (FRP) sleeves in mitigating chloride ingress and reinforcing steel corrosion was systematically assessed. Results demonstrated that FRP sleeves significantly reduce chloride diffusion rates, maintaining corrosion current density below the critical threshold (0.2 μA/cm²) and stabilizing polarization resistance. A modified chloride diffusion model integrated with reliability theory predicted a 24-year service life for FRP-protected foundations. The findings validate that FRP protection, coupled with enhanced concrete strength and corrosion inhibitors, effectively counters high-salinity corrosion, providing the first quantitative validation of FRP’s long-term efficacy in hypersaline salt lakes, and establishing a reliability-based service life model adaptable to pre-contaminated concrete scenarios.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 08 Jan 2026 10:29:52 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2647079</guid></item><item><title>Restoring Accessibility during Urban Rail Disruptions via Bus Network Redesign</title><link>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2647053</link><description><![CDATA[In broad terms, accessibility measures opportunities (e.g., shops, residents) reachable within a given time frame. Urban rail transit (URT) plays a crucial role in providing accessibility, but it is susceptible to disruptions. In city centers with dense public transport (PT) networks, travelers can often find alternative lines. However, in suburbs where PT is sparse, disruptions have a more significant impact on accessibility. The traditional approach consists in deploying bridge and replacement buses to mitigate URT disruptions without specific care to accessibility. Yet, the question arises: is this approach the most effective way to restore accessibility? To the best of our knowledge, our paper is the first to propose a bus re-routing method with the objective of restoring accessibility during URT disruptions. We formulate an integer program and develop a two-stage heuristic algorithm to maximize restored accessibility. The efficacy of our method is always the present assessed in Évry-Courcouronnes and Choisy-le-Roi, France. The results show that, compared with conventional replacement methods, our strategy improves accessibility, in particular in the areas most affected by the disruption. Such results are observed even when no additional vehicles are deployed and, at the same time, achieve a reduction in the kilometers traveled. Despite it being well understood that accessibility is the most relevant benefit a transportation system can produce, this aspect is reflected by the traditional approaches in remediation to disruption. With this work, we show instead how to make accessibility the main guiding principle in remediation.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 08 Jan 2026 10:29:52 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2647053</guid></item><item><title>Route-Based Intermediate and Terminal Station Capacity Models for High-Speed Rail</title><link>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2647051</link><description><![CDATA[Stations serve as critical capacity bottlenecks within a high-speed rail (HSR) system, where the interaction among trains on different routes plays a pivotal role in determining overall capacity. Past studies have often neglected to delve into the nuanced influence of specific route combinations on station capacity. This research addresses this gap by focusing on intermediate and terminal (turn-back) stations as spatial reference points. We introduce route-based capacity models and simulation processes to assess station capacity, considering potential headways among adjacent trains. Our approach utilizes a hybrid process, seamlessly integrating analytical techniques with simulation methods. Initially, several trains with various route possibilities are generated by simulation, and their corresponding average headways are analytically computed. The proposed models and processes are validated using the Taiwan HSR network. The results conclusively demonstrate the efficacy of our approach in evaluating HSR station capacity, offering valuable insights for station capacity assessment and management during the planning, design, and operational phases.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 08 Jan 2026 10:29:52 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2647051</guid></item><item><title>Toward Sustainable Rail Transport: Well-to-Wheel Analysis of Locomotive Emissions Using Alternative Fuels</title><link>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2646164</link><description><![CDATA[Diesel-electric locomotives remain the dominant mode of freight rail traction in many countries, relying heavily on petroleum-based fuels and significantly contributing to greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions. This study introduces the Well-to-Wheel Locomotive Emissions Assessment framework, grounded in ISO 14040/44 standards, offering a structured, scalable, and globally replicable method for assessing railway fuel strategies. Using real-world data from the Vitória-Minas Railway, five fuel scenarios were modeled, including blends of petroleum diesel (B10), biodiesel (B25), and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Although developed for Brazil, the framework accommodates diverse locomotive types, regional fuel chains, and operational conditions, making it suitable for application in other national contexts. The results showed that the most favorable scenario, an 80% LNG and 20% B25 blend, achieved reductions of 24.93% in CO₂e, 36.09% in NOx, 45.23% in particulate matter, and 63.05% in SO₂ emissions compared with current operations. These findings could offer valuable guidance for transport authorities, infrastructure operators, and energy policy planners worldwide. By integrating upstream and downstream emissions, this research delivers practical, internationally relevant insights into cleaner rail transport solutions and advances the application of life cycle thinking in the freight sector.]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 30 Dec 2025 13:51:27 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2646164</guid></item><item><title>Experimental Study on Stiffness Degradation of CRTS III Ballastless Track–Girder System Under Train Load</title><link>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2643804</link><description><![CDATA[A physical model of the China Railway Track System III (CRTS III) ballastless track was cast at a 1:4 scale, adhering to the principle of mid-span concrete stress equivalence. A multistage amplitude fatigue test, composed of 9 million cycles, was then conducted on the CRTS III–girder system. The results indicated that, first, no cracking or failure occurred in the CRTS III–girder during the experiment. The static deflection at mid-span and the concrete strain at the bottom of the box girder web increased significantly. However, throughout the experiment, the neutral axis of the girder remained unchanged. Second, the static stiffness of the CRTS III–girder and the static stiffness coefficient of the box girder concrete initially experienced a rapid decline, followed by a period of slow fluctuation, and then a subsequent rapid decline. Third, the degradation of dynamic stiffness in the CRTS III–girder mirrored that of the static stiffness. The changes in dynamic stiffness across the three stages were 14.79, 4.85, and 22.87 kN/mm, respectively. Consequently, the dynamic stiffness of the CRTS III–girder decreased to 93.33%, 89.08%, and 78.29% of its initial value across the three stages. Finally, the experimental results closely aligned with the theoretical predictions, demonstrating strong consistency between theory and experiment.]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 30 Dec 2025 13:51:27 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://pubsindex.trb.org/view/2643804</guid></item></channel></rss>