<rss version="2.0" xmlns:atom="https://www.w3.org/2005/Atom">
  <channel>
    <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
    <link>https://rip.trb.org/</link>
    <atom:link href="https://rip.trb.org/Record/RSS?s=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" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
    <description></description>
    <language>en-us</language>
    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
    <image>
      <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
      <url>https://rip.trb.org/Images/PageHeader-wTitle-RIP.jpg</url>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/</link>
    </image>
    <item>
      <title>Plastic Ties Safety Performance Evaluation</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1366937</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Plastic composite ties use has increased significantly in recent years.  A variety of material compositions and designs are available. This project is to continue support of the existing Government/Academia/Industry Partnership, and specifically to: 1) support triennail National Workshops under the auspices of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) Subcommittee on Engineered Composite Ties, for information sharing and research prioritization, 2) address safety concerns raised due to unknown failure modes and durability in service through testing at the Transportation Technology Center (TTC) and publication of reports through the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), 3) document performance based on the testing and use by Class 1 railroads, and 4) update of the AREMA Engineering Manuals section on plastic ties based on these results.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 27 Aug 2015 09:09:34 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1366937</guid>
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>