Our independent testing practices support one of our core values – rigor. Confidence in our work comes from never settling and we put breakthrough technologies to the test. In partnership, we safely experiment, learn, adapt, and advance, so our clients can thrive.
With new facilities designed for today’s client needs, we can streamline project management, control costs, and reduce reporting requirements. We can meet evolving industry challenges by working in new and more efficient ways.
Introducing the latest FAST® Loop, a cornerstone of the AAR’s Strategic Research Initiative. This redesigned 2.8-mile track supports over 30 experiments annually, testing components under near-revenue conditions. By offering accelerated testing with heavier-than-standard freight cars, the FAST Loop supports impactful R&D that advances rail safety, efficiency, reliability, and sustainability.
The FAST® Loop is essential for advancing rail safety by allowing components to be rigorously tested before they are deployed in revenue service. This accelerated testing environment replicates real-world conditions, ensuring that new technologies and components are reliable and safe. The loop accumulates over 140 million gross tons of heavy axle load traffic per year, providing a robust platform for evaluating the durability and performance of rail infrastructure.
By supporting a wide range of experiments, from detecting defective wheels to testing new track structures, the FAST® Loop plays a crucial role in the rail industry’s innovation pipeline. FAST offers a tightly controlled full-scale environment, which allows testing to be conducted as efficiently as possible. Data is collected repetitively and continuously to allow direct correlation to those operating conditions. MxV Rail’s dedication to cutting-edge research ensures that the FAST® Loop remains at the forefront of rail technology advancements.
The Suspension Resonance Track (SRT) is a state-of-the-art test zone designed to meet modern industry safety standards. Featuring three unique sections—Pitch and Bounce, Twist and Roll, and an Adjustable Test Zone—it provides comprehensive testing for freight and passenger rail vehicles. This facility, backed by over 40 years of expertise, supports rigorous evaluations to ensure rail components meet AAR Chapter 11 and M976 specifications.
The Pitch and Bounce section includes ten 39-foot parallel rail sections with a vertical profile change from 0 to 0.75 inches and back to 0 in 39-foot wavelengths, tested at speeds from 30 to 70 mph. The Twist and Roll section, with a cross-level of 0.75 inches, allows tests from 10 to 70 mph. The Adjustable Test Zone offers flexibility for various customer needs up to 2 inches laterally and 1.5 inches or more vertically.
Primarily used by freight railroads and rail car manufacturers, the SRT also provides valuable data for passenger cars and locomotives. This comprehensive testing environment ensures that components meet interchange standards, offering mobility without damage and resonance over varying surfaces. MxV Rail’s unmatched expertise, with its Vehicle Track Interaction Engineering group and specialized instrumentation team, ensures the highest quality testing and validation of rail components, continuing a legacy of impactful research and development.
The Curving Performance Track (CPT) is designed for rigorous testing of freight and passenger cars, featuring curves ranging from 3 to 12 degrees. This track supports Chapter 11 and M976 test specifications, ensuring components meet interchange standards. It helps find the ideal balance between speed and curving performance, providing essential data for safe and reliable rail service. MxV Rail’s expertise ensures high-quality evaluations in a controlled environment.
The CPT runs between the east and west tangents of the High Speed Loop (HSL), with specific curves to test vehicle dynamics. The range of curves have been designed to offer engineers an unlimited opportunity to examine the trade-off between stability, speed, resonance, and curving performance. Primarily used by freight railroads, the track also provides valuable data for passenger cars and locomotives. This comprehensive testing environment ensures all components perform effectively in interchange conditions.
With its Vehicle Track Interaction Engineering group, specialized instrumentation team, and trackside expertise, MxV Rail maintains the highest standards in testing and validation. The CPT’s infrastructure, developed with industry suppliers, includes intentional rail defects to assess vehicle performance in real-world scenarios. This advanced testing ground continues MxV Rail’s legacy of contributing to the safety and efficiency of rail operations through impactful research and development.
The High Speed Loop is where overall system performance is measured. Clients can showcase their latest advancements and make progress on long-term research projects with confidence.
The MxV Rail Impact Track and Wall, completed in June 2022, represent cutting-edge infrastructure for impact testing. Located at PuebloPlex, the half-mile track with a 1.5% downhill grade allows for testing at speeds up to 30 mph. The wall, reinforced with 108 tons of rebar and over 700 cubic yards of concrete, provides crucial data on impact forces. This facility enables advanced safety research to reduce risks and drive future innovations in the rail industry.
The MxV Rail Impact Track and Wall, inaugurated in June 2022, serve as a pivotal asset for testing rail impact forces, designed with insights from over two decades of experience. Situated on the south side of PuebloPlex, the newly built track spans half a mile with a 1.5% downhill grade, allowing for test speeds of up to 30 mph—an improvement of 10 mph from previous capabilities. This enhanced speed enables more comprehensive analysis of impact forces, which is critical for advancing railway safety.
108 tons of rebar and over 700 cubic yards of concrete, is key to testing train components under real conditions. With more than 3,000 tons of ballast and significant earthwork, the facility is designed to meet the needs of the rail industry for decades to come.
MxV Rail’s new infrastructure, the first of its kind completed by the team, reflects the industry’s evolving demands. Leveraging lessons learned from previous structures, the team built a modern facility that enhances testing capabilities, enabling innovation and improving safety standards for both freight and passenger rail systems.
MxV Rail laboratory services add value to any research or test plan. Clients working with our team of railroad specialists have a unique opportunity to perform pointed and specific testing for railroad components, before or after that technology meets real-world application on the track. Our new labs leverage all of the latest technologies and methodologies to solve our clients’ most challenging questions. Partnered with data collection and decades of expertise, our lab services provide groundbreaking independent research in a confidential test environment.
Our engineers use dynamic test rigs to create specific conditions in a controlled environment to deliver data and insights for our clients. In our labs you’ll find a unique tie testing frame, rolling load machine, and a multitude of two- and three-post machines that are key to definitive testing for clients. Whether it’s bolster and frame testing on the 660 machine, industry-standardized strap testing, or multiple damage and lading tests, the combination of MxV Rail engineers and test equipment creates a test environment unlike any other in the world.
Equipped with a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and an automated sample polisher, our metallurgy lab offers a robust array of testing methodologies from failure analysis of rail and welds, to fatigue testing of contact surfaces and components. The lab also offers tensile testing, metallography, and hardness testing that will serve our clients and the industry’s testing needs for years to come.
MxV Rail collaborated with MTS® to create a one-of-a-kind Rolling Contact Fatigue Simulator (RCFS). The RCFS is used to improve rail and wheel performance in relation to rolling contact fatigue. The RCFS helps progress wheel and rail steel research globally.
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MxV Rail operates as an independent scientific organization and maintains a confidential research environment for clients. Any work products and data are secure through our privacy and customer data policies. Your MxV Rail project manager can discuss these in more detail.
MxV Rail’s team is diverse and interdisciplinary in its expertise. We apply a broad knowledge base to any clients in the transportation sector. We collaborate with many different clients working on emerging technologies. Contact MxV Rail’s team to see what makes us exceptional research partners.
Contact MxV Rail’s business development team at AskMxVRail@aar.com.
Yes! We continue to have a team of more than 250 rail specialists with decades of institutional knowledge. Our interdisciplinary knowledge enables us to build teams that address the complex challenges our clients encounter.
“We took the best aspects of our old test loops and designed track not only capable of supporting today’s rail industry but also an ideal test bed for proving tomorrow’s transportation innovations.”
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