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by Cindi Leeman
The Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, is the focus of a recent article published in The Hill and written by ASNT Executive Director Neal J. Couture, CAE. The article, “To reduce train derailments, invest in personnel,” addresses the importance of recent technological advancements, proper training and certification of inspection personnel, and how it can enhance the safety of railcars and infrastructure.
Recent train derailments in the United States have prompted Congress to introduce the bipartisan Railway Safety Act of 2023 and the RAIL Act, both aimed at improving rail safety procedures and reducing mechanical failures. Missing from the legislation and discussions, according to Couture, is the technical training and certification of rail industry inspectors, especially those using nondestructive testing (NDT) technologies. NDT is widely used by the rail industry, but recent advancements in technology demand advanced training that the legislation does not reference. In this article, Couture argues that legislation and rulemaking must address the need for proper training and certification of inspection personnel to enhance rail safety.
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ASNT Published Papers on Railroad NDT
The North American railroad network is a critical component of the US transportation system and economy, as it has been for more than 150 years. Nondestructive detection and characterization play a key role in monitoring the health of the network, and ASNT has always played a role in disseminating emerging research on NDT of railroads.
The following papers were published in ASNT’s Research in Nondestructive Evaluation (RNDE) and the NDT of Railroads Technical Focus issue of Materials Evaluation (ME). They provide an overview of rail inspection, wayside detection/monitoring technologies, and the future for North American railroad applications. The topics are intended to introduce readers to developments and accomplishments in automated inspection technologies in North America, US governmental regulations, industry challenges, and opportunities for the automated condition assessment of railroad components. (Members can read back issues of ME—through 2016—in the archive.)
To find more papers and articles published in ASNT publications or presented at ASNT conferences, search the ASNT NDT Library. Full papers in the library are free to ASNT members.
From RNDE Volume 34, Issue 1, January 2023
- “In-Motion Railroad Tie Deflection Measurement via Ultrasonic Airborne Sonar and Computer Vision Techniques,” Ali Zare Hosseinzadeh, Diptojit Datta, Francesco Lanza di Scalea, pp 1–21
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09349847.2022.2136808 - “Numerical Study of Rayleigh Wave Interaction with Rolling Contact Fatigue Type of Defects,” Alex Vu, Yoganandh Madhuranthakam, Anish Poudel, S.K. Chakrapani, pp 1–21
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09349847.2023.2180560
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From the NDE of Railroads Technical Focus issue of ME, Vol. 77, Issue 7, July 2019
- “Review of Wayside Detection and Monitoring Technologies and Their Future for North American Railroad Applications,” Matthew Witte and Anish Poudel, pp 885–896
- “Current Practices of Rail Inspection Using Ultrasonic Methods: A Review,” Anish Poudel, Brian Lindeman, and Robert Wilson, pp 870–883
- “Metallurgical and Nondestructive Testing of Rail from the 1800s to 2018,” Gregory Garcia and Joseph Krista, pp 897–905
- “Rail Defect Imaging by Improved Ultrasonic Synthetic Aperture Focus Techniques,” Simone Sternini, Albert Y. Liang, and Francesco Lanza di Scalea, pp 931–940
- “High-Speed Ultrasonic Rail Inspection by Passive Noncontact Technique,” Albert Y. Liang, Simone Sternini, Margherita Capriotti, and Francesco Lanza di Scalea, pp 941–950
- “Rolling Contact Damage Characterization on Railroad Rails Using Electromagnetic Field Imaging (EMFI),” Anish Poudel, Matthew Witte, Paul Gies, and Douglas Skow, pp 951–965
Research in Nondestructive Evaluation and Materials Evaluation are publications of ASNT.
Call for Papers—NDE of Railroads Technical Focus Issue of ME
In 2024, Materials Evaluation will publish a Technical Focus Issue on NDE of railroads. Potential topics include:
- Rail flaw detection
- Special trackwork inspection
- Rail fastening system inspection
- Track buckling measurements
- Cross tie inspection
- Substructure inspection
- Railway bridges inspection
- Wheel/rail contact characterization
- Wheel defect detection
- Axle defect detection
- Wayside inspection/machine vision inspection of railcar components
- Tank car weld inspection
- Condition-based maintenance and novel inspection
- AI/ML applications
The submission deadline is 1 May 2023. Submitted papers should not be under consideration for publication elsewhere. We also encourage authors to send a short abstract or tentative title to the Technical Editor Anish Poudel (MxV Rail) in advance at anish_poudel@aar.com.
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Cindi Leeman is the editor of ASNT Pulse, cleeman@asnt.org.
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Additional information on railroads in the US is available from the American Association of Railroads:
- AAR, 2023, “Railroad 101,” AAR.org/Railroad-101
- AAR, 2023, “Freight Railroads Move America Safely,” AAR.org/fact-sheets/
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Edited 01 April 2023
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