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Conference Technical Sessions

Communications & Signals | Engineering Services | Maintenance
Passenger & Transit | Structures | Track

COMMUNICATIONS & SIGNALS Session Chair: N. Michael Choat AREMA Functional Group Vice President Rail Controls, Ltd. Session Sponsored by The Okonite Company
7:55	Safety Briefing and Group Comments N. Michael Choat
8:00	Broken Rail Detection in Non-Signaled Territory Richard P. Bowden, BNSF Railway Company
8:30	Update on FHWA’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices John T. Sharkey, PE, Campbell Technology
9:00	PTC Panel Discussion Moderated by Robert P. DeMarco, Simmons-Boardman
9:30	PTC Panel Discussion Moderated by Robert P. DeMarco, Simmons-Boardman
10:00	Coffee Break (Sponsored) See Sponsors Page
10:30	Industry Leaders’ Panel Moderated by Robert P. DeMarco, Simmons-Boardman
11:00	Testing Annual WT by Verification of Internal Equipment Parameters Patrick J. Venneman, Invensys Rail Scott Fall, BNSF Railway Company
11:30	Maintaining Integrity of Vital Wayside Circuitry During and After Modifications Bennett R. Feely, AECOM
12:15	AREMA Annual Chairmen’s Luncheon (Ticketed Event - Separate Fee Required) Dennis J. Duffy, Vice Chairman - Operations, Union Pacific Railroad
2:00	Axle Counter vs. Track Circuits - Safety in Track Vacancy Detection and Broken Rail Detection Blake Kozol, Siemens Industry, Inc. David Thurston, Parsons
2:30	An Innovative Wireless Sensor Based Vital Train Detection and Warning System Ahtasham Ashraf, Central Signal, LLC

ENGINEERING SERVICES Session Chair: Kevin Keller AREMA Functional Group Vice President HDR, Inc. Session Sponsored by VAE Nortrak
7:55	Safety Briefing and Group Comments Kevin Keller
8:00	Impact of Automated Inspection Technology on Rail Terminal Performance Bryan Schlake, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
8:30	Streamlined Approach to Permitting Expansion of the BNSF Railway Memphis Intermodal Facility Douglas L. Dorsey, Hanson Professional Services Inc.
9:00	BNSF North SIG Intermodal Improvement Project – Seattle, WA Charles Burnham, PE, David Evans and Associates, Inc. Danniel MacDonald, PE, BNSF Railway Company
9:30	Determining the Causes of Train Delay Mark H. Dingler, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
10:00	Coffee Break (Sponsored) See Sponsors Page
10:30	A Stochastic Discrete Mode Choice Model for Truck to Rail Diversion Kristopher Naleszkiewicz and Jose Tejeda, HDR, Inc.
11:00	Wichita Central Corridor Railroad Grade Separation Project Michael G. Jacobs, PE, City of Wichita, Kansas
11:30	Sophisticated Mapping for Increasing Track Efficiency: GIS, LiDAR and Surveying the BNSF Barstow - Oakland Route Yaneev Golombek, Merrick & Company John Fleming, BNSF Railway Company
12:15	AREMA Annual Chairmen’s Luncheon (Ticketed Event - Separate Fee Required) Dennis J. Duffy, Vice Chairman - Operations, Union Pacific Railroad
2:00	Rail Embankment Stabilization on Permafrost - Global Experiences Shane M. Ferrell, EIT, Hanson Professional Services Inc. Pasi Lautala, PhD, PE, Michigan Tech University
2:30	USTDA Feasibility Study for the Upgrade of the Dar es Salaam to Isaka Railway John W. Orrison, BNSF Railway Company Mike Mohan,Consultant and Retired Railway Executive Scott Goehri, HDR, Inc.

MAINTENANCE Session Chair: Raymond S. Zenisek AREMA Functional Group Vice President CSX Transportation Session Sponsored by Rail Construction Equipment Co.
7:55	Safety Briefing and Group Comments Raymond S. Zenisek
8:00	The Drone - an Unmanned Chase Tamper Joseph W. Palese, MCE, PE, ZETA-TECH, A Harsco Rail Business Unit
8:30	SICOR - Speed Induced Current On Rail Dietmar Griem, Rohmann LP
9:00	Financial Evaluation of Flexible Protection Systems for Natural Hazard Mitigation in Modern Railroad Applications Frank Amend, PE, Geobrugg North America, LLC
9:30	New Advances in Underwater Inspection Technologies for Railway Bridges Over Water Daniel G. Stromberg, SE, PE, Collins Engineers, Inc.
10:00	Coffee Break (Sponsored) See Sponsors Page
10:30	Rail Temperature Prediction for Track Buckling Warning Yu-Jiang Zhang, PhD, ENSCO, Inc.
11:00	Evaluation of GPR Technologies for Assessing Ballast and Subgrade Conditions Dingqing Li, PhD, PE, Transportation Technology Center, Inc.
11:30	Automating Track Inspection Through The Use of Automatic Machine Vision Systems Larry Horton, MERMEC Inc.
12:15	Annual Chairmen's Luncheon (Ticketed Event - Separate Fee Required) Dennis J. Duffy, Vice Chairman - Operations, Union Pacific Railroad
2:00	Construction Activities that Support Maintenance David C. Clark, CSX Transportation, Inc.
2:30	Fouling Detection of Ballast by Electromagnetic Surveying Ali Ebrahimi, University of Wisconsin-Madison

PASSENGER & TRANSIT Session Chair: Robert J. Verhelle AREMA Functional Group Vice President Amtrak Session Sponsored by PB
7:55	Safety Briefing and Group Comments Robert J. Verhelle
8:00	Lower Manhattan Recovery Office Projects Update Stephen Goodman, US DOT/Federal Transit Administration Steven Plate, Port Authority of NY & NJ Uday Durg, PE, MTA Capital Construction
8:30	Light Rail on Geofoam Fill Ryan Snow, Stacy and Witbeck, Inc. James Webb, PE, Utah Transit Authority
9:00	Building for the Future - Greensboro to Charlotte Double Track Projects on the NCRR Jason Orthner, PE, North Carolina Department of Transportation Rail Division Brad Kerchof, PE, Norfolk Southern Railway Company
9:30	Panel Discussion: Focusing on Research Needs for Streetcar Track Design & Construction Recommended Practices William H. Moorhead, TRAMMCO, LLC
10:00	Coffee Break (Sponsored) See Sponsors Page
10:30	Panel Discussion: Focusing on Research Needs for Streetcar Track Design & Construction Recommended Practices William H. Moorhead, TRAMMCO, LLC
11:00	Evaluation of AC versus DC Stray Current Measurements Geradino A. Pete, PE, PB
11:30	Fast Tracking SEPTA’s ARRA Stimulus Projects Jeffrey D. Knueppel, PE and Robert Lund, SEPTA Joseph Guzzi, PMP, HNTB
12:15	Annual Chairmen's Luncheon (Ticketed Event - Separate Fee Required) Dennis J. Duffy, Vice Chairman - Operations, Union Pacific Railroad
2:00	Mixed Traffic and High Speed Michael Steidl, Vossloh Fastening Systems America Corp.
2:30	Delivery of São Paulo Metrô Line 4 - Brazil’s First Passenger Rail PPP Steven L. Clark, Arup USA, Inc. Claudio Andrade, Ing, ViaQuatro

STRUCTURES Session Chair: James S. Richter, PE AREMA Functional Group Vice President Amtrak Session Sponsored by TranSystems Corp.
7:55	Safety Briefing and Group Comments James S. Richter, PE
8:00	Construction of the Salt River Bridge and Mitigation of Unforeseen Subsurface Conditions Duncan M. Paterson, PE, PhD, HDR, Inc.
8:30	The Heartland Corridor Clearance Improvement Project James N. Carter, Jr., Norfolk Southern Corporation
9:00	Fast Track Railway Bridge Design & Construction in Remote Location - Lessons Learned in Labrador Christophe Deniaud, PhD, Peng, AECOM
9:30	Design and Float-In Construction of a 500 ft. Truss Span Kevin R. Eisenbeis, PE, SE, Harrington & Cortelyou, Inc.
10:00	Coffee Break (Sponsored) See Sponsors Page
10:30	Gusset Plates in Railroad Truss Bridges – Finite Element Analysis and Comparison with Whitmore Testing Walid S. Najjar, PhD, PE and Frank DeOrtentiis, PE WSP SELLS
11:00	Collapse and Reconstruction of the CRANDIC Cedar River Bridge Chad Lambi, PE, Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway Jeff Teig, PE, HDR, Inc.
11:30	Replacement of Railroad Timber Bridges Using Recycled Plastics John S. Kim, PhD, PE and Vijay Chandra, PE, PB Thomas J. Nosker, PhD, Rutgers University
12:15	Annual Chairmen's Luncheon (Ticketed Event - Separate Fee Required) Dennis J. Duffy, Vice Chairman - Operations, Union Pacific Railroad
2:00	Best Practices for Bridge Management and Inspection Jeremy Shaffer, PhD, InspectTech Systems
2:30	Day-Lighting a Tunnel Under Live Track Regan T. Brudie, PE, Alaska Railroad Corporation Robert G. Dugan, CPG, Golder Associates, Inc.
3:00	FRA Bridge Regulation Update Gordon A. Davids, PE, Federal Railroad Administration

TRACK Session Chair: Randy L. Bowman AREMA Functional Group Vice President Norfolk Southern Railway Company Session Sponsored by RailWorks
7:55	Safety Briefing and Group Comments Randy L. Bowman
8:00	Construction Loads Impacting Plastic/Composite Tie Performance Richard Reiff, Transportation Technology Center, Inc.
8:30	Performance Evaluation of 48” Diameter Corrugated High Density Polyethylene Pipe Under 315,000 lbs Railway Live Loading Shawn R. Coombs, PE, Advance Drainage Systems, Inc.
9:00	Effects of Track Parameters on Rail Joint Bar Stresses and Crack Growth Muhammad N. Akhtar, PE, Transportation Technology Center, Inc.
9:30	Advancements in Fastening System Design for Concrete Crossties Mauricio J. Gutierrez Romero, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
10:00	Coffee Break (Sponsored) See Sponsors Page
10:30	Corus Premium Grades to Address Wear and Rolling Contact Fatigue Frédéric Fau, Corus Rail France SA
11:00	Acela Track Geometry Degradation Rates Based on 5 Years of Data Louis T. Klauder, Jr., PhD, PE, Track Shape & Use, LLC
11:30	Investigation on the Effect of Railway Track Support System Characteristics on the Values of Track Modulus Mohammad Worya Khordebinan and Massoud Palassi, University of Tehran
12:15	Annual Chairmen's Luncheon (Ticketed Event - Separate Fee Required) Dennis J. Duffy, Vice Chairman - Operations, Union Pacific Railroad
2:00	Improving the Safety of the Railway Infrastructure Using Insitu Polyurethane GeoComposites Peter K. Woodward, PhD, Heriot-Watt University
2:30	Sealing Characteristics of Tie Pads on Concrete Crossties J. Riley Edwards, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign