The Transportation Research Board (TRB) is accepting proposals for the Rail Safety IDEA Program, which supports the development and testing of innovative concepts and methods for improving railroad safety or performance. Rail Safety IDEA proposals are due Sept. 15, 2016.
Rail Safety IDEA proposals will be considered for promising but unproven innovations to advance railroad practice. Such proposals can apply to any type of railroad, including high-speed rail, intercity passenger rail, or freight railroads.
Proposals are encouraged for innovations in a variety of areas in railroad systems: safety, security, and environment; human factors; rolling stock and components; track and structures; track/train interaction; grade crossings; hazardous materials transportation; train occupant protection; trespass prevention; signaling and train control systems; and employee safety.
IDEA stands for Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis. The Rail Safety IDEA Program provides funding at an early stage of the development process for promising but unproven innovative concepts or methods. IDEA proposals can be for up to $100,000 in IDEA funds.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) funds the Safety IDEA Program.
The IDEA Program Announcement, which includes instructions for preparing and submitting IDEA proposals, is available on the IDEA website at: www.trb.org/idea. If there are questions about preparing Rail Safety IDEA proposals, they can be addressed to Jo Allen Gause at jagause@nas.edu.