Certain aspects of the current ballast regulations are qualitative and at times difficult to enforce. For example, when ballast is fouled and drainage is impaired, it can be difficult to assess when safety is compromised. To improve the understanding of the behavior ballast with fouling, FRA granted AAR a waiver from its current regulations ("Waiver") to allow the deterioration of track geometry at fouled ballast locations to be studied. The Waiver imposed conditions to study the behavior of track with fouled ballast and monitor operational safety. This paper describes the process adopted to comply with the Waiver conditions. The process involves keeping a master list of fouled ballast locations on routes chosen by BNSF. Weekly track geometry measurements are made. BNSF and FRA track inspectors use the data to decide when action is needed at each location. Operations under the Waiver are expected to continue until January 2019.
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