UIUC Launches National University Rail Center of Excellence
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
The May 29 ribbon-cutting ceremony for the National University Rail Center of Excellence was attended by federal and state dignitaries, including FRA Administrator Amit Bose, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.), Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Omer Osman, and university officials, including UIUC professor and National University Rail Center of Excellence Director Chris Barkan. (Photo Credit: Heather Coit)
The first-ever National University Rail Center of Excellence officially opened May 29 at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s (UIUC) Grainger College of Engineering, with support from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).
UIUC was the selected institution for the FY 2022-23 Rail Research and Development Center of Excellence program, FRA said, and is now leading the center, which comprises a consortium of nine partner institutions, including the University of Illinois Chicago, University of Delaware, Kansas State University, Michigan Technological University, Morgan State University, Rutgers University, University of Texas at Austin, and Tuskegee University.
FRA is providing up to 50% of the cost of launching and operating the center and supporting research activities. Each of the nine universities in the consortium are contributing a portion of the total non-federal match.
Illinois Grainger Engineering professor Chris Barkan, of the Civil and Environmental Engineering department, is serving as Director of the National University Rail Center of Excellence; he is also the George Krambles Director of Grainger Engineering’s Rail Transportation and Engineering Center (RailTEC), which recently celebrated its 25th anniversary.
UIUC on May 29 held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the $15 million center’s opening, which was held at the Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory. In attendance were Barkan, FRA Administrator Amit Bose, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.), Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Omer Osman, UIUC Provost John Coleman, and UIUC Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation Susan Martinis.
“We are excited to celebrate this important milestone in the advancement of rail transportation,” Barkan said at the event. “My partners and I are incredibly grateful for the support that the National University Rail Center of Excellence has received from the USDOT Federal Railroad Administration, as well as the Illinois Department of Transportation, Michigan Department of Transportation, New Jersey Transit, and our many rail sector sponsors and supporters. We look forward to continuing our work together and are eager to get started.” Barkan also thanked the partners and collaborators within academia, government, and industry that made the center a possibility at Grainger Engineering, and “most of all,” he said he thanked the students, as they are the reason “why we do this. You are the future of rail transport in this country.”
“The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is the right institution to advance research and development to improve safety, efficiency, and reliability of both passenger and freight rail operations,” Sen. Durbin said. “As home of the largest railroad track research laboratory in the United States, I look forward to the progress the U of I will make in collaboration with the National University Rail Center of Excellence consortium.”
“Students and faculty at the University of Illinois lead the way in 21st century research and technology every day—and it’s only fitting we tap their expertise to help bring our rail system into the future,” said Rep. Budzinski.“I’m thrilled to see my alma mater designated as the National University Rail Center of Excellence with a $7.5 million investment from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Along with partners across the country, the University of Illinois and our Illinois students will continue to lead the way in improving safety and efficiency in our nation’s rail system. Their work will make a difference for passengers, for rail workers and for businesses transporting goods across the country and to the global marketplace.”
“The rail safety research and innovation that will move forward at the National University Rail Center of Excellence will be felt nationwide, helping to get people and goods where they need to be safely, efficiently, and reliably,” said Amit Bose.
