RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTIVITY: HIGH-PRODUCTIVITY INTEGRAL TRAINS

Some preliminary conclusions concerning the rate of technological change and railroad productivity are drawn based on the railroad industry's High Productivity Integral Train project. First, the economic targets established for integral trains appear to be reasonable in light of already available alternatives to conventional technology and opportunities for further improvement resulting from the design of noninterchange equipment and the exploration of possible improvements in truck and brake systems. If the targets are realized, integral-train technology should affect at a minimum 20 percent of railroad business and enable the industry to meet competitive challenges in the foreseeable future. Second, integral trains are not new conceptually or radically different in engineering. What is new is the economic and institutional environment. Mergers, deregulation, changing transportation markets, and truck competition have all improved the potential for integral-train technology and for other innovations that promise productivity improvement. Third, innovation in railroad equipment must overcome the adverse impacts of slow output growth, current excess capacity, long asset life, and the financial condition of the railroad supply industry. Therefore, the railroad industry may well need to explore new approaches to R&D and equipment purchasing policies if the rate of innovation is to be increased.

• Record URL:
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• Record URL:
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• Supplemental Notes:
  • Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Railways Systems. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Harvey, Scott B
• Publication Date: 1985

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: pp 58-64
• Monograph Title: Railroad productivity
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1029
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Development; Implementation; Productivity; Railroad trains; Research; Technological innovations; Trend (Statistics)
• Uncontrolled Terms: Research and development
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Railroads; Research; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00455824
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309039207
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: May 31 1988 12:00AM