Transit, Freight, and High-Speed Rail

CSA staff have worked on over 500 transit and rail noise and vibration projects around the country.  Our staff have taught the NTI/FTA training courses on transit noise and vibration across the country for the past fifteen years. Mr. Meister is one of the authors of the Federal Transit Adminstration’s guidance manual on noise and vibration. Mr. Singleton prepared the General Assessment spreadsheet used and distributed by the FTA.

CSA has experience on projects ranging from preliminary assessments and alternative analyses to environmental impact statements and preliminary engineering to final design of systems. We have experience with all types of transit modes, including: light rail transit (LRT), bus rapid transit (BRT), streetcar, heavy rail, commuter rail, intercity and high-speed rail, and freight rail systems. CSA staff have provided noise and vibration consulting on transit projects at locations throughout North America, including:

  • Anchorage, AK
  • Atlanta, GA
  • Austin, TX
  • Boston, MA
  • Camden, NJ
  • Chicago, IL
  • Cleveland, OH
  • Dallas, TX
  • Denver, CO
  • Durham, NC
  • Edmonton, AB
  • Ft. Lauderdale, FL
  • Houston, TX
  • Los Angeles, CA
  • Miami, FL
  • Minneapolis, MN
  • New York, NY
  • Norfolk, VA
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • Phoenix, AZ
  • Portland, OR
  • Sacramento, CA
  • St. Louis, MO
  • San Diego, CA
  • San Jose, CA
  • San Juan, PR
  • Salt Lake City, UT
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Seattle, WA
  • Washington, D.C.

CSA staff have conducted noise and vibration assessments for both the FRA and STB, including the UP-SP merger, the Conrail merger with NS and CSX, the CN-IC merger, and numerous projects for the Alaska Railroad. Mr. Meister also helped to author the FRA’s locomotive horn noise rule, and design the FRA’s horn noise model, used to assess noise at grade crossings. More recently, CSA staff worked on the St. Louis Park freight rail relocation project, which involved shifting freight traffic onto a lightly used corridor through a residential neighborhood, and the Springfield (IL) Rail Consolidation project, which involved rerouting and consolidating freight traffic through Springfield to minimize impacts to the community.

CSA staff have also worked on high-speed rail projects around the country, including projects in California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Nevada, Texas and New England.