FRA DOTX 219


FRA DOTX 219 is a self-propelled track geometry car owned by the Automated Track Inspection Program, a division of the Federal Railroad Administration in the United States. DOTX 219 was built by ENSCO, Plasser American, and Colorado Railcar in 2007. DOTX 219 measures several different aspects of track geometry, such as track gauge and rail cant. The data it collects has been used for various purposes, such as derailment investigations.

Specifications

DOTX 219 has several systems onboard for determining track geometry. The Track Geometry Measurement System measures track gauge, rail cant, and calculates speed limits for curves; the Differential Global Positioning System DGMS/LDS uses a geographic coordinate system to give coordinates to sections of track; the Transverse Rail Profile System measures rail profile and rail cant; and the Ride Quality Measurement System measures the ride quality for passenger trains. DOTX 219 uploads its collected track data to the Track Data Management System – an archive of track data collected since 1998 – via the satellite-based Mobile Broadband Internet System. The crew of DOTX 219 uses the Digital Survey Log to log information about a survey's progress and delays. The crew also uses the Digital Track Notebook, a handheld computer which can be used as a reference manual for railroad regulations, and can synchronize data from the aforementioned measurement systems.
The amenities inside of DOTX 219 include closets, five lockers, one bathroom, a galley, a server room, and a rear observation area. DOTX 219 has operating controls on the front end only. DOTX 219 has seating for 20 people, including the engineer: eight people in the rear observation area, four in the galley, four in the server room, and four in the front end. DOTX 219 is not fitted with cab signalling, automatic train stop, or automatic train control.

History

The Automated Track Inspection Program is a division of the Federal Railroad Administration which oversees track safety on railroads in the United States. DOTX 219 is the fourth of the seven original track geometry cars and the last of three self-propelled cars owned by ATIP. DOTX 219 was built in 2007 by ENSCO, Plasser American, and Colorado Railcar, as part of a contract for two new track geometry cars, with the other of which being DOTX 220. DOTX 219 and DOTX 220 were delivered to the FRA, and entered service the same year.
DOTX 219 has had several uses since it entered service. In 2011, DOTX 219 was used to identify locations of rail seat deterioration on tracks with concrete crossties. In 2014, DOTX 219 ran with a DOT-111 tank car – which had been fitted with strain gauges, accelerometers, and a transducer for brake pressure – in order to determine the cause for fracturing on stub sills. DOTX 219's track data has also been used in cataloging the condition of railroad tracks in train derailment investigations, such as one by the FRA for a 2015 derailment in Riddleville, Georgia, and one by the National Transportation Safety Board for a 2019 derailment in Fort Worth, Texas. DOTX 219 is sometimes paired with DOTX 223 – a buffer car with no measurement systems – during inspections.
In the fiscal year of 2009, DOTX 219 travelled ; in the fiscal year of 2010, it travelled.
DOTX 219 surveys about of track annually.