The Rail Transportation Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers is accepting abstracts through Oct. 1 for its 2012 Joint Rail Conference, April 17-19 in Philadelphia. APTA is one of seven co-sponsors of this major, multidisciplinary North American railroad conference that will cover all aspects of rail transportation and engineering research.

The conference theme, “Technology to Advance the Future of Rail Transport,” includes freight and passenger rail, encompassing commuter, regional, and intercity systems.

The program covers railroad civil, mechanical, electrical, and systems engineering, as well as safety, planning, design, operations, maintenance, and management.

Specific topics include, but are not limited to:
* Track 1, Railroad Infrastructure Engineering;
* Track 2, Rail Equipment Engineering;
* Track 3, Signal and Train Control Engineering;
* Track 4, Service Quality and Operations Research;
* Track 5, Planning and Development;
* Track 6, Safety and Security; 
* Track 7, Energy Efficiency and Sustainability; and
* Track 8, Urban Passenger Rail Transport.

The other co-sponsoring organizations are the Land Transportation Division of the Vehicular Technology Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers; the Rail Transportation Committee of the Transportation and Development Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers; the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association; the Transportation Research Board; and Informs-Railway Applications Section.

More information is available here.