American Public Transportation
Association (APTA)
Southeastern Pennsylvania
Transportation Authority (SEPTA)
American Railway Engineering and
Maintenance‐of‐Way Association
July 8-10, 2015 ● Philadelphia, PA
Schedule
Tuesday, July 7
Arrive in Philadelphia, PA
Check-In at Hilton Home 2 Suites located at 1200 Arch Street
Wednesday
July 8
p-REES 1
7:15 a.m.
Continental Breakfast at Hotel
8:00 a.m.
SEPTA Headquarters, 1234 Market Street – Third Floor Meeting Room - Registration
All events will be held in the Third Floor meeting room at SEPTA HQ
8:30 a.m.
Safety Briefing, Welcome, Introductions and Course Outline
Safety briefing
Scott Sauer, Director, System Safety and Risk Management
Welcome Remarks:
Michael Loehr, PE; Chair, APTA Business Member Workforce Development Committee
CH2M Hill
Randy Bowman, President, AREMA; Norfolk Southern Corporation
William Thomsen, PE, Chair, APTA p-REES Committee, Urban Engineers, Inc.
Joseph Niegoski, Director Educational Services, APTA
8:45 a.m.
Vision for Railway Engineering Education
Dr. Christopher P. Barkan, Professor and Executive Director, Rail Transportation and Engineering Center
(RAILTEC), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
9:15 a.m.
p-REES 1: Module 1-A: Introduction to the Railway Industry and Railway Engineering
Dr. Christopher P. Barkan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
10:00 a.m.
Break & Networking
10:30 a.m.
p-REES 1: Module 1-B Introduction to Railway Infrastructure
William Thomsen, PE, General Manager National Infrastructure Services, Urban Engineers Inc.
11:15 a.m.
p-REES 1: Module 1-C: Train Energy, Power and Traffic Control
F. William Lipfert, Vice President Rail Operations Planning & Simulation, LTK Engineering Services
Noon
Lunch & Networking
Lunch Provided in the Meeting Room
1:00 p.m.
p-REES 1: Module 1-D: Railway Intermodal Transportation
Dr. David B. Clarke, PE, Research Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering Director, University of Tennessee – Knoxville
1:45 p.m.
p-REES 1: Module 1-E: Railway Alignment Design and Geometry – AREMA/FRA Basis
Michael Loehr, PE, Practice Leader Rail & Transit Americas, CH2M Hill
2:30 p.m.
Break & Networking
3:00 p.m.
p-REES 1: Module 1-F: Railway Alignment Design and Geometry – TCRP 155/FTA Basis
Michael Loehr, PE, Practice Leader Rail & Transit Americas, CH2M Hill
3:40 p.m.
p-REES 1: Module 1-G: High Speed Rail Design
Conrad Ruppert, Research Engineer/Associate Director for Research, University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign
4:20 p.m.
p-REES 1: Module 1-H: Transit, Regional and Intercity Passenger Rail Transportation
Dr. Vukan R. Vuchic, UPS Foundation Professor of Transportation Engineering, University of Pennsylvania
5:00 p.m.
Day 1 Wrap up
Dr. Christopher P. Barkan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
5:30 p.m.
Reception and Panel Discussion
p-REES 1: Module 1-I: Engineering Education and Recruitment Needs
Moderator:
Dr. Leslie Myers McCarthy, Assistant Professor, Villanova University
Panel:
Jeff Wharton, President, IMPulse NC LLC
William Thomsen, General Manager National Infrastructure Services, Urban Engineers, Inc.
Raymond N. Carini, Vice President - Middle Atlantic Region, LTK Engineering Services
Daniel Amspacher, Director of Recruitment and Talent Management, SEPTA
Dave Peterson, Program Director Engineering Professional Development,
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dr. Christopher P. Barkan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
7:00 p.m.
Welcome Dinner
Maggiano's Little Italy, 1201 Filbert Street
Keynote Address
Jeffrey D. Knueppel, P.E., Deputy General Manager Operations/Engineering, Maintenance and
Construction, SEPTA
Thursday
July 9
p-REES 2 & 3
7:15 a.m.
Continental Breakfast at Hotel
8:00 a.m.
SEPTA Headquarters, 1234 Market Street
Safety Briefing
p-REES 2: Module 2-A: Train Performance
Dr. David B. Clarke, University of Tennessee – Knoxville
8:40 a.m.
p-REES 2: Module 2-B: Advanced Train Operations (CBTC and PTC)
Nicholas Columbare, Solutions Director – Strategy & Solution Portfolio North America, Alstom
Transportation
9:20 a.m.
p-REES 2: Module 2-C: Vehicles
James A. Martin, P.E., Director of Rail Vehicle Engineering and Vice President, STV
10:00 a.m.
Break & Networking
10:30 a.m.
p-REES 2: Module 2-D: Introduction to Railroad Capacity
C. Tyler Dick, PE, Senior Railway Research Engineer, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
11:15 a.m.
p-REES 2: Module 2-E: Transit, Shared Corridor Challenges
Conrad Ruppert, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Noon
Lunch & Networking
Lunch Provided in the Meeting Room
1:00 p.m.
p-REES 3: Module 3-A: Introduction to Rail Software
C. Tyler Dick, PE, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
1:40 p.m.
p-REES 3: Module 3-B: Railway Engineering Project Overviews
Heartland Corridor - Michael Loehr, Practice Leader Rail & Transit Americas, CH2M Hill
Second Avenue Subway – Christopher K. Bennett, P.E., Vice President, AECOM
Illinois High Speed Rail Corridor - Thomas R. Pavlick, P.E., Senior Supervising Engineer
Parsons Brinckerhoff
East Side Access - William Thomsen, General Manager National Infrastructure Services, Urban Engineers
2:45 p.m.
Break & Networking
3:15 p.m.
p-REES 3: Module 3-C: Program Development and Coordination
Dr. Christopher P. Barkan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
4:15 p.m.
p-REES 3: Module 3-D: Current Research Programs and Needs
Kevin Kesler, Chief, Rolling Stock R&D, Federal Railroad Administration
Terrell Williams, Federal Transit Administration
Larry Goldstein, Senior Program Officer Cooperative Research Programs, Transportation Research Board
5:00 p.m.
Day 2 Wrap up
Dr. Christopher P. Barkan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
5:30 p.m.
Adjourn
6:00 p.m.
Small Group Dinners – Please sign up on Wednesday morning
Friday
July 10
7:15 a.m.
Continental Breakfast at Hotel
8:00 a.m.
SEPTA Headquarters, 1234 Market Street
Safety Briefing
p- REES Recruiting Through Student Chapters
8:30 a.m.
Questions and Answers
9:00 a.m.
Depart for Tours and Field Visit
Heavy Rail, Light Rail, Commuter Rail, Inter-city/HSR, Yard, Command Center intended
Noon
Return to SEPTA