Interface - The Journal of Wheel/Rail Interaction

TECHNOLOGY

Implementing Wheel/Rail Measurement and Analysis Technology
By Bob Tuzik • July, 2008

Any examination of the systems in use to measure and monitor wheel/rail interaction requires a discussion of the challenges associated with implementing new and emerging technology. Several industry practitioners participated in such a discussion at Advanced Rail Management and Progressive Railroading magazine's Wheel/Rail Interaction ’08, the 14th annual seminar devoted to examining research and development efforts on freight and passenger systems.

The emergence of heavy axle loads and higher overall freight volumes in North America have had profound effects on research into wheel/rail interaction and the overall stress state of infrastructure and rolling stock, said Mike Franke, Amtrak’s Assistant Vice President – State and Commuter Partnerships. “They have significantly changed the way we manage and organize track maintenance activities and they have leveraged technology as never before in day-to-day condition monitoring of equipment and track.”

There is a great deal of interest from around the world in what we're doing in the way of wayside measurement and fault-detection, and how the information it generates can improve safety and the reliability of the rail network, he said.

Technology Drivers
The drivers for new technology include improvements in service, safety, productivity, fuel efficiency, asset utilization and revenue growth, said Robert Blank, Norfolk Southern’s Director of Research & Tests. The technology needed to help achieve these goals is identified by various means at NS. Service metrics identify why trains are delayed or what incidents took place; incident reports identify rail and wheel failures. “We also look at where we're spending maintenance dollars, and how we're meeting safety and service expectations,” Blank said.

NS is implementing ECP (electronically controlled pneumatic) braking technology on its coal car fleet, for example, to improve performance and reduce overall costs.

As part of its research effort, NS looks at work being done by other railroads. It also works with industry associations, such as the AAR and its TTCI and university affiliations, to identify technologies that can be applied to railroad-related issues. NS also works closely with suppliers. “They are where a lot of the new technology comes from,” Blank said.

The NS R&T Department also works with internal stake-holders of new technology to identify the appropriate sites, infrastructure requirements (power, communications, access, etc.) and the service lanes that may be affected. “If we're going to be stopping trains for high-impact wheels, for example, we want to know what effect it’s going to have on overall operations and service commitments,” Blank said. NS also determines which departments’ budgets will be affected and which department will be responsible for maintenance. Costs and benefits must be identified in order to compete among hundreds of other projects for funding. Where tangible benefits cannot be identified but a compelling case can be made to introduce a new technology, the finance group will sometimes give the go-ahead for “research,” he said.

Once a project is approved, implementation typically requires extensive communication between R&T, Maintenance, Communications and Signals, Mechanical, Transportation and the IT Departments. “Our IT people want to ensure that the data and data transmission are secure.”

Post-deployment, NS maintains on-going effort to quantify the benefits of the technology and to address the root causes of the problems that it identifies. “The work that the Wheel Defect Prevention Research Consortium is doing to determine the root causes of high-impact wheels and what can be done to reduce them has come from this,” he said. Through the Advanced Technology Safety Initiative (ATSI), NS, along with BNSF and other Class I railways, is working to reconcile issues relating to cost/benefit issues between railroads and private car owners.

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