The National University Rail Center for Excellence (NURail CoE) is proud to announce that they are once again a Presenting Sponsor for the 2026 Principles of Wheel/Rail Interaction Course. This course will take place on 22 April 2026, one day prior to the 31st Annual Wheel Rail Interaction (WRI) Heavy Haul Conference, in Dallas, TX. NURail CoE Senior Associate Director J. Riley Edwards from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will be one of the Principles Course speakers. Click here to register.
For 2026 the Principles of Wheel/Rail Interaction course has been revitalized and reimagined with a tighter focus on the practical aspects of wheel/rail and vehicle/track interaction. The course will begin with a case study of an actual wheel/rail interaction-related derailment. Next, presenters will cover the fundamental aspects of track, vehicle suspension systems, damage mechanisms and measurements systems but will also connect the dots between theory and what actually happens in the field. Finally, a wrap-up session will review the causes attributed to the case study derailment in light of the principles examined throughout the course and attendees will look at approaches that can be taken to mitigate wheel/rail- and vehicle/track-related derailments in the future.
