WASHINGTON — Marshall University in West Virginia is receiving a $286,650 grant from the Federal Railroad Administration to demonstrate and test the integration of different track inspection technologies on a mobile platform or high-rail vehicle to assist rail inspectors in identifying track flaws.
The project will combine high-accuracy differential GPS with technologies that can evaluate subsurface areas under the track ballast, identify potential track buckling locations, measure track gage widths, and assess weak rail segments among other capabilities. Marshall University is partnering with CSX Transportation in the performance of this project.