Railroad Data Integration for Transportation Management Centers (0-2988-1)

This report describes a project plan to communicate train information (i.e., train position, direction, speed, and length) to a transportation management center (TMC) for improved traffic operations. Several different approaches are discussed. The report recommends using a Highway-Railroad Intersection monitoring device on the railroad controller to gather train data. This data would be brought back to a TMC via a communications link such as cellular, radio-frequency based communication, or wireline. The report also recommends starting with a laboratory demonstration using the TransLink' laboratory facilities. Based on the finding from this laboratory demonstration, the most successful application could be moved forward to a more detailed field demonstration.