The Transportation Infrastructure Durability Center (TIDC), housed within the ASCC, held its annual New England Railroad Symposium virtually on February 21st featuring presentations from a wide range of rail industry professionals including representatives from academia, industry, and government. This event received significant support and participation from the Maine Department of Transportation’s (MaineDOT) rail development & research innovation sectors.
The theme of this year’s event was “The Future of Rail in New England,” focusing on both current challenges facing New England’s rail systems, as well as how different groups are approaching these challenges and their plans moving forward. As part of this, the symposium sessions were titled “Future of Freight & Passenger Rail in New England” and “The Future of Rail Workforce in New England” and featured topics including “Complimentary Railroading: How Planning, Design & Construction Improve New England’s Railroads” and “Workforce Needs in an Era of Federal Investment.”
The purpose of this symposium is to bring together New England’s railroad infrastructure stakeholders to highlight recent advances in railroad technology and address the most pressing needs for the region’s rail system. As part of this goal, this year’s Keynote speaker was Kari Gonzales, President & CEO of MxV Rail, the world’s premier rail research advisory. In her presentation, Ms. Gonzales provides an overview of MxV Rail’s position as the industry’s research partner and independent advisor. This includes insight into how MxV Rail continues to meet evolving railroad challenges with proven problem-solving, as well as highlights from the North American Railroads’ Strategic Research Initiative program along with some of the new, innovative solutions being introduced into the freight rail market.
Certificates of Attendance are available on the TIDC website, and recordings from the event are available on the TIDC YouTube page.
The TIDC is the 2018 U.S. DOT Region 1 University Transportation Center located within the University of Maine Advanced Structures & Composites Center. TIDC’s focus is on extending the life and improving the durability of transportation assets. The University of Maine has partnered with The University of Connecticut, the University of Massachusetts Lowell, the University of Rhode Island, the University of Vermont, and Western New England University in collaboration with all 6 New England DOTs to create TIDC.
Advanced Structures & Composites Center