| American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association | |
| Key People: | Ray Verrelle (President) |
| Area Served: | North America |
| Focus: | Railway engineering in North America |
| Headquarters: | Lanham, Maryland |
The American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) is a North American railway industry group. It publishes recommended practices for the design, construction and maintenance of railway infrastructure, which are used in the United States and Canada.
AREMA is headquartered in Lanham, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. As stated in their mission statement, AREMA promotes "The development and advancement of both technical and practical knowledge and recommended practices pertaining to the design, construction and maintenance of railway infrastructure." AREMA recognizes outstanding achievements in railway engineering with the annual William Walter Hay Award.[1]
Beth Caruso was appointed as AREMA's Executive Director/CEO in September 2015. Prior to this appointment, she served as AREMA's Director of Administration. Ray Verrelle is the AREMA President and Chairman of the Board of Governors for 2023-4.[2]
AREMA was established on October 1, 1997, by the merger of four engineering associations:[2]
Formed in 1899, it began publishing the Manual for Railway Engineering in 1905 and established many technical committees which are still functioning today in AREMA. It was headquartered in Chicago until 1979, when it moved to Washington, DC.
Formed in 1891 in St. Louis, Missouri, as the American International Association of Railway Superintendents of Bridges and Buildings, the Association initially represented 40 railroads. The name was changed in 1907 to the American Railway Bridge and Building Association. The group provided a forum to exchange information and create solutions to problems that confront the railway industry.
The oldest of the groups was organized in 1883 by 61 roadmasters representing 24 railways. The Association provided a means for maintenance officers to meet and discuss their mutual problems. Rail joints, switches, frogs and ties were among the subjects studied, leading to the standardization of maintenance practices.
In 1885, the Association of Telegraph and Telephone Superintendents was formed by the telegraph superintendents of the major railroads. In 1895, the Railway Signaling Club was organized at a meeting in Chicago, Illinois, and created a code of rules governing the operation of interlockings. In 1919, the Signaling Club became the Signal Division of the newly created American Railway Association (ARA) and the Telegraph Superintendents became its Telegraph and Telephone Section. The ARA became the Association of American Railroads (AAR) in 1934; the Signal Division was renamed the Signal Section and the Telegraph and Telephone was renamed the Communications Section. The two sections merged in 1961 to become the Communications and Signal Division of the AAR, which has now been merged into AREMA.
AREMA has 29 technical committees, organized in six functional groups. The committees, whose volunteer members come from the railroad industry, meet on a regular basis and use their expertise to come up with the best methods to maintain a railroad.[2]
AREMA publishes recommended practices in nine separate documents.[2] Manual for Railway Engineering, Communications and Signals Manual, Practical Guide to Railway Engineering, and the Bridge inspection Handbook are four of AREMA's prime publications.
The AREMA Manual for Railway Engineering contains principles, data, specifications, plans and economics pertaining to the engineering, design and construction of the fixed plant of railways (except signals and communications), and allied services and facilities.[3]
21 chapters are contained in four volumes, updated annually by the technical committees.
Consultants use the manual's recommendations as a basis for design. Many railroads use the manual as a basis for their track standards and may add to it to describe their specific needs.[4]
The AREMA Communications & Signals Manual of Recommended Practices contains recommended practices for railway communications and signaling. 24 sections are contained in five volumes, written and updated by the AREMA committees.[5]
These practices are required for railroads in the United States by the Federal Railroad Administration and in Canada by Transport Canada.[4]
An electronic version of AREMA's Procedures and Proceedings is available to members. The extensive library includes over 65 years of technical proceedings taken from the Roadmasters & Maintenance of Way Association proceedings and the American Railway Bridge and Building Association proceedings.[6] Earlier Proceedings of the Annual Convention are available as digitized books.[7]