The Federal Railroad Administration Office of Research and Development has funded the development of an analytical model for simulating train operations known as the Train Energy and Dynamics Simulator (TEDS). Sharma & Associates, Inc. developed TEDS under FRA guidance and funding.
“TEDS simulates the operation of a defined train over defined track with defined train handling, and is capable of modeling modern train operations and equipment,” its developers say. “It is an effective tool for studying train operations safety and performance as affected by equipment, train makeup, train handling, track conditions, operating practices and environmental conditions. Such studies are invaluable in equipment selection, route and service planning and incident simulation.”
Significant effort has been devoted to establishing the validity of TEDS capabilities and simulations. The results of these efforts have been published in two ASME papers (RTDF2012-9418 and JRC2015-5760), as well as an FRA report (DOT/FRA/ORD-15/01).
TEDS is now available to the public, including the railroad industry and academic institutions, for use in the development and further advancement of railroad transportation operations and safety, through a Commercial Service Agreement between Sharma & Associates and the user. TEDS will be made available to authorized users on a server platform with appropriate privacy safeguards on the Sharma & Associates network.
FRA said it “reserves the right to review the user’s request and provide authorization for the service agreement.” To inquire about obtaining a Service Agreement for TEDS use and applications, send a request to TEDS-Request@sharma-associates.com.