Moving Towards Unrestricted Shared Use How Caltrain has Taken the Next Big Step and What Recent Developments Mean to US Commuter Railroads

摘要

This paper describes the process used by Caltrain to successfully obtain a waiver of FRAcrashworthiness regulations, allowing the operation of European-style Electric Multiple Units (EMUs)comingled with FRA-compliant passenger trains. It presents the five basic components of the waiverpetition, provides details about the safety features of the European-style EMUs, and summarizes thelessons learned during the three-year process. It is shown that operating non-FRA-compliant European-style EMUs comingled with FRA-compliant locomotive-hauled passenger trains will not compromiseCaltrain's safety, and that the measures to be put in place as conditions of the waiver will actually enhancethe overall safety of the system.