A major constraint limiting the growth of TOFC service in the Northeast has been one of railroad clearance restrictions along the Northeast Corridor. Presently, tunnel clearances at Washington, DC., Baltimore, and New York restrict TOFC train movements using standard TTX-type railcars loaded with standard sized highway trailers. The design of a low profile intermodal car would increase operating efficiency and expand the TOFC market for the railroads by improving the car's payload-to-weight ratio, reducing its aerodynamic drag, and eliminating the need for circuitous routings. Shippers could benefit from the new car through increased service, reduced drayage expenses, reduced transit times, and greater schedule reliability. Reductions in road congestion, road repair costs, air and noise pollution, combined with increases in employment and local tax contributions resulting from industrial growth would significantly serve the public interest. In response to these needs, the Congress directed the Federal Railroad Administration to sponsor the design, construction, and testing of a prototype intermodal railcar. This report documents the results of the project to develop the requirements definition for the design of the railcar, the primary output of which was a Preliminary Performance Specification.


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    Title :

    Low-Profile, Light-Weight Intermodal Railcar. Volume III: Requirements Definition


    Publication date :

    1981


    Size :

    254 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English