Awarded via a panel/peer review process by the National Research Council (NRC), this research project is to explore shared use of railroad track and infrastructure between freight and passenger equipment that is compliant with Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) requirements and transit equipment that is not FRA compliant, especially light rail vehicles (LRVs). TCRP and the transit industry are exploring this important issue because the potential for sharing common track would enable LRVs access to many urban rail corridors previously denied because of compatibility differences.

The project report can be accessed via: http://www.trb.org/Main/Public/Blurbs/160767.aspx.

WT was tasked to explore and evaluate the feasibility of utilizing heavy rail in the western part of Australia to move iron ore from mines located in the west coast. An infrastructure company intends to utilize an existing narrow gauge track and extend new tracks on both ends to connect the mine and the port. Operation analysis and train simulation techniques are used in this study to evaluate the feasibility and cost/benefit of mine operations.