The Development of Standards for the Rail Transit Industry Project TCRP G-4 APTA Rapid Rail Conference June St. Louis Thomas J. McGean, P.E.
TCRP G-4 PROGRAM Project Begun in 1996 Sponsored by FTA, Administered by TRB and TDC (APTA) Approach – establish an institutional framework for developing transit standards within IEEE and ASME engineering societies – demonstrate the process by developing one or more needed standards
WHY TCRP G-4 USES ENGINEERING SOCIETIES? Automatic ANSI Certification Complies with PL & OMB A-119 Rules, Procedures & Oversight already in place at no cost to transit industry Professional standards experts available to assist at no cost Large reservoir of existing case law IEEE & ASME assume standards liability risk
CONSENSUS STANDARDS PRINCIPLES Must be present to meet PL –Due Process –Openness –Consensus –Balance –Right of Appeal
PROJECT FACT SHEET FY 00 Budget – $175K Facilitation/Management –$125K Transit Agency Travel Number of Working Groups –IEEE 15 ASME 2 Transit Professionals involved –90 transit agency 100 supplier 70 consultant 40 other Leverage of TCRP Dollars - 7.6/1 Standards Published to Date - 7 Estimated Annual Savings - $1/3 billion
How Standards Save Money –rationalize procurement process –reduce “custom engineering” –simplify maintenance activities –reduce spare parts inventory –reduce training costs Introduction of Microprocessors Makes All of These More Critical –IEEE 1473 Alone Estimated to Save NJT $420K/year
KEY STANDARDS PUBLISHED TO DATE IEEE Communications Protocol IEEE Communications Based Train Control Performance & Function IEEE Event Recorder IEEE Propulsion, Braking & Train Control IEEE Passenger Information IEEE Software Verification IEEE Auxiliary Power Interface IEEE Electric Motors
Other TCRP G-4 Standards Environmental - Being balloted LRV Crashworthiness - Being balloted Rail TCIP - Underway Battery Physical Interface - Underway Software Documentation - Underway Electronic Control - Underway Railcar Structural - Being formed NiCad Battery Peformance - PAR stage HRI - PAR stage Central Control CBTC Graphic Interface - PAR stage Vehicle/Wayside Communication Protocol - Proposal
Status of Standards Activity
CONCLUSIONS TCRP G-4 has implemented a complete consensus standards system for rail transit 7 IEEE Standards Published, 8 IEEE and 2 ASME Standards Underway Potential Savings of $1/3 Billion/Year Leverages Public R&D Funds 8/1 Alternative to Federal Regulation
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