Public transportation officials are seeking official inspection standards for rail-specific infrastructure, and are also pursuing universal design guidelines to maximize public service at transit stations.
Currently, inspectors of rail bridges and structures must informally use Federal Highway Administration guidelines, even though a bridge carrying railroad traffic is subjected to different conditions than a vehicular bridge, noted Joni Korte, structures inspection program manager for Metro St. Louis. The American Public Transportation Association has created its own set of fixed structures inspection guidelines, she told attendees of the APTA annual rail conference last month in Toronto.