HOW A SHIPPER SEES SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH NEEDS

The background of the transportation procurement industry is briefly stated, reliability is identified as a critical factor in transportation, and comments are made on the maintenance of the transportation infrastructure. The need is indicated for research on reliability and improving utilization of the freight car in the railroad industry. The reliability of railroad transportation is jeopardized by the complexities of the system: the track, the freight car, the locomotive, the train, train crew, geography and climate. There is a need for study of the interactions between these elements. Such studies are being made with the assistance of FAST (Facility for Accelerated Systems Testing) at the Federal DOT Research Center in Pueblo, Colorado. The maintenance of highway, railway and bridge facilities are discussed. Two books are recommended for further reading: Railroad Research Study, Background Papers, July 1965; National Transportation Trends and Choices, January 1977 (Federal DOT).

• Record URL:
  https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trcircular/187/187-005.pdf
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00978515
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This article appeared in Transportation Research Circular No. 187, Transportation Research Needs Related to Social, Economic, and Environmental Issues. 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.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Smith, W K
• Publication Date: 1977-12

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Pagination: p. 29-32
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Circular
  • Issue Number: 187
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0097-8515

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridges; Environment; Freight cars; Freight transportation; Highway maintenance; Maintenance; Procurement; Railroad transportation; Research; Socioeconomic factors; Traffic managers; Transportation
• Uncontrolled Terms: Shippers
• Old TRIS Terms: Transportation research
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Bridges and other structures; Design; Economics; Maintenance and Preservation; Research; Society; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00173192
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: May 18 1978 12:00AM