Longer freight trains consist of more railcars, which may include a wider variety of car types and sizes, and they require greater power distribution along the length of the train compared to shorter manifest trains. These additional complexities, along with other factors, necessitate a revision of the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Risk Reduction Program (RRP) rule. Specifically, the FRA should mandate that railroads explicitly and comprehensively address all significant operational changes in their RRPs.

TRB will host a webinar on Tuesday, November 12, 2024 from 2:00 to 3:30 PM EST that will present Special Report 353: Long Freight Trains: Ensuring Safe Operation, Mitigating Adverse Impacts, which examines the safety challenges associated with the operation of longer freight trains. The report focuses particularly on the growing use of longer manifest trains, which carry a diverse range of freight in various types of railcars. Among its findings, the report offers several recommendations to the FRA and highlights important issues such as the impact of longer trains on the frequency and duration of blocked highway-rail grade crossings, as well as the operational challenges posed to Amtrak’s intercity passenger trains in terms of scheduling and efficiency.

There is no fee to attend this webinar. Registration is required.

Webinar agenda and presenters

• Overview of report: Findings and Recommendations, Debra L. Miller, Chair
• Question and answer session moderated by David O. Willauer, TRB Study Director
• Committee Members in attendance:
  • Debra L. Miller, Chair, Retired Kansas State DOT
  • Peter F. Swan, Retired, The Pennsylvania State University
  • Dennis Mogan, Illinois Commerce Commission
  • Paul Vilter, Retired, Amtrak
  • John Samuels, Revenue Variable Engineering
  • Tyler C. Dick, University of Texas at Austin
  • Elton E. Toma, National Research Council Canada

The first 30 minutes of the webinar will be for presentations and the final 30 minutes will be reserved for audience questions.

Pre-registration is required. Once the webinar starts, you will be unable to register. Individuals that are registered for a webinar but do not receive their confirmation emails due to their organization’s internal firewalls should contact TRB Helpdesk for assistance in signing in.