Wayne Williams, spoke on
Designing Modern Rail for the New
Millennium.
The greatest costs for railroads are operations and maintenance, and
therefore the biggest areas of needed efficiency.
Wayne covered: Issues in FRA Passenger Car Structures, Structural
Safety vs. Crash Worthiness, Crash Worthiness vs. Crash Avoidance.
To get rail customers you must offer 3 "Cs": Cost, Comfort and
Convenience.
He showed excellent slides of "Real World Field Experiences."
His Significant New Technologies slides included the ability to remove
overhead electrified wires for trolleys by 'lighting up' only the
sections of the track on which trolleys are traveling, accomplished in
other countries. Automated Maintenance systems to read profile
and flange height. Non-FRA Compliant Vehicle Designs (used
successfully in Europe). Satellite Communications with trains.
