Technical Committees

This committee is responsible for maintaining liaison with the academic community and promoting the need for specific railway engineering education among that community. They are also responsible for developing programs encouraging student interest in railway engineering and the continuing education of engineers employed in the railway industry. This committee is also dedicated to adding value to the members by providing a working forum for Maintenance of Way training professionals to develop and exchange ideas to increase safety, quality and productivity; thereby effectively addressing the challenges of the industry.

Major Projects

• AREMA Scholarships
• Mentoring
• FRA Training
• Meet the Next Generation Event at the Annual Conference
• Introduction to Practical Railway Engineering
• Track Alignment Design Seminar
• Railway Engineering Education Symposium
• Case Studies (See below)

Meetings

In-person meetings are held in various locations throughout North America in Spring, Summer and in association with conference. Meetings and conference calls are open to anyone interested in attending. Please contact Cassie Gouger (Secretary) via email or phone (303-721-1440, Ext. 8930) for more information.

Case Studies:

• Case Study Overview
• Case Study Survey Template
• Casky Case Study Overview
• Casky Case Study Survey
• Humbert Case Study Survey

Sub-Committees and Current Assignments

Subcommittee A: Recommendations for Further Investigation and Research.

Subcommittee 1: Railway Engineer Development. This subcommittee is charged with development of programs to promote education and knowledge opportunities for both the railway engineer and the railway engineering supervisor.

C1-2-03 – Practical Guide to Railway Engineering. This assignment is to develop errata, collect commentary, updates & additions and eventually publish a second edition. Ongoing assignment.

C1-9-03 – Mentoring Program. This assignment is a demonstration project charged with developing a database of AREMA members interested in mentoring a young engineer or student as well as young engineers or students interested in being mentored. Potential matches will be suggested and occasional follow-up will be conducted to ensure that the match is beneficial to both parties. Ongoing assignment.

C1-6-05 – Introduction to Practical Railway Engineering. Develop, field and maintain a two-day seminar to compliment the work of the Practical Guide to Railway Engineering. A subset of this assignment is to develop a way-ahead to ensure exposure to the widest audience.Ongoing assignment.

C1-1-09 – Track Alignment Design Seminar. Develop curriculum and materials for a new, comprehensive track alignment design seminar to supplement the IPRE seminar, then conduct seminars on a periodic basis. Ongoing assignment.

C1-1-10 – Webinar Development. Develop a modular course structure for presentation in a webinar format as stand alone units or as part of a more structured sequence of courses. Coordinate with other AREMA Technical Committees to discuss existing content and identify subject matter and presentations that could be used for webinars. Ongoing assignment.

C1-2-10 – Tracks to Knowledge. Organize AREMA Educational Programs into an effective career development program that focuses on technical and practical knowledge and recommended practices pertaining to the design, construction and maintenance of railway infrastructure. Ongoing assignment.

Subcommittee 2: Student & Faculty Relations. This subcommittee is charged with promoting interaction between industry and the academic communities as well as making recommendations to the Board of Directors regarding the AREMA Education Foundation.

C2-2-82 – AREMA Scholarships - charged with judging student AREMA scholarship applications and selecting winner(s). Ongoing assignment.

C2-10-03 – Meet the Next Generation Event at the Annual Conference, which will match graduating students with interested potential employers in attendance at the Annual Conference. Ongoing assignment.

C2-11-03 – Student Speakers - charged with promoting formal and informal presentations by AREMA members to university classes and associated affiliations. This group will also be charged with assisting students or student groups in the formation of student AREMA chapters. Ongoing assignment.

C2-01-06 – Student Chapter Coordinator – charged with maintaining liaison with AREMA student chapters. Ongoing assignment.

Subcommittee 3:  University Course Curriculum - will be charged with making recommendations to the academic community of courseware applicable to a career in railway engineering including potential short courses offered to the railway engineering community at large.

C3-1-09 – Railroad Engineering Education Symposium. Develop and maintain materials for a biennial gathering of university faculty to present and discuss opportunities to incorporate railway engineering curriculum as well as research projects to serve the industry. Ongoing assignment.

Subcommittee 4: Training Cooperative. This subcommittee is charged with facilitating the sharing of resources by bringing together professionals to identify best practices and methods throughout the railroad industry.

C4-1-09 – AREMA FRA 213 Track Safety Standards Curriculum. This assignment is charged with maintaining the several AREMA courses associated with the 49 CFR 213 Track Safety Standards. Ongoing assignment.

C4-2-09 – AREMA FRA 214 Workplace Safety Curriculum. This assignment is charged with maintaining and developing AREMA based curricula associated with subparts B, C and D of the 49 CFR 214 Railroad Workplace Safety Regulations. Ongoing assignment.

C4-3-09 – Bridge Worker Safety Curriculum. This assignment is to develop and field a bridge worker safety training program. Ongoing assignment.

Subcommittee 7: Library of Knowledge. This subcommittee will be charged with developing information databases accessible by AREMA members via the AREMA web site.

C7-10-03 – Case Study Library. This assignment will solicit and catalog project case studies of every railway engineering discipline in the PGRE template format representative of the projects encountered by a practicing railway engineer. Ongoing assignment.

C7-12-03 – Image Library. This assignment will be charged with acquiring, cataloging and providing in a web based delivery format photos free of copyright and usable by AREMA members for non-commercialized purposes. Ongoing assignment.

Administrative Subcommittee: This Subcommittee is charged with supporting the Secretary with such tasks as maintaining the Committee’s web pages, publishing information on committee activities, publishing presentation templates and standards, recruiting and maintaining membership, reviewing the Committee’s by-laws, etc.