Day 21: July 1, 2013

I started the day working on the first module of the presentation. I read some information of FRA website and several articles to have a better understanding of the importance of the railroad indsutry. Some of this articles are: AAR; June 2012; The Economic Impact of America's Freight Railroads, AAR; April 2013; Overview US Freight Railroads, AAR; April 2013; A short history of US Freight Railroads. In addition, I read some other relevant information in FAR and other railroad related websites. 

On the afternoon, Jesus showed me quickly how to use the software PC*Miler. After that, he calculated using this mentioned software the practical route between my origin (the COLT loading facility in Epping ND) and my destination (the unloading facility in Port Arthur TX). After that, I drew the route in ArcMap and started to work with this software to calculate the population density along the route.

Finally, today I had a very constructive conversation with Xiang. We both agreed that in my case study I will use the same risk model that we used in the first couple of weeks. The only parameter that I am goign to modify is the CPR. (I will consider speed-dependent CPR). He also mentioned that I should try to find articles that specifically talk about the analysis of the risk associated with the transportation of crude oil by rail. I also mentioned him the possibility to create a GIS tool to optimize the risk evaluation process and he advised me to work on this once that the learning modules are finished.

Today:

-Work on the "udemy" ppt (module 1 introduction)                          (to be finished)

-Obtain the "practical" route using PC*Miler software                       (done)

-Draw the route in ArcMap                                                          (done)
-Determine the risk model to be used in the case study                    (done)
-Literature review on Railroad Hazmat Transportation                     (finished)

Next day:
-Work on the "udemy" ppt (module 1 introduction)

-Work with ArcMap to obtain the population density along the route

-Literature review on the evaluation and analsyis of crude oil transportation risk
-Attend the RailTEC weekly meeting