Dr. Rongfang Liu: Modeling the Effects of Rail Noise Propagation on Pedestrians in North Carolina Railroad Environments

Active Research Project

The Transportation Institute research team headed up by Dr. Rongfang Liu, director of the Transportation Institute and UPS Endowed Professor in the College of Business and Economics, began work on this NCDOT-funded research project in late 2022. 

The project will document the U.S. public’s opinions about rail safety, rail environments, and pedestrian activity in the railroad right-of-way using a nationwide survey. The survey is currently open to the public and may be accessed by clicking the link below. All participants will be entered into a drawing for a $100 gift card as a thank you for their time. Their information will only be used if they are selected as a winner. All other survey information collected is completely anonymous. The survey takes less than 5 minutes to complete.  

Additionally, researchers will conduct field research to document how rail noise propagates and decomposes in in North Carolina railroad environments. The data will be aggregated into models which will help engineers, government organizations, railroads, and safety professionals understand how pedestrians on railroad rights-of-way perceive train noise.