By Jeff Tuzik Sometimes it’s easy to tell that a rail needs maintenance. Excessive rail wear, surface damage, profile degradation, and other issues are unsubtle, if severe enough. But knowing that rail grinding is in order isn’t the same as knowing where to start. Developing and implementing a grinding program …
By Jeff Tuzik In India, rail freight traffic is increasing rapidly. To accommodate the growth, the government has funded and overseen the ongoing construction of dedicated freight corridors in high-traffic-density regions. For the two corridors now in operation, there is a new focus on developing and implementing an optimal rail …
by Jeff Tuzik The track system is a remarkable feat of engineering. To the uninitiated, it can appear simple, mundane. But those charged with constructing or maintaining it know that it’s a marvel of design, that has been continuously updated since its inception roughly 200 years ago. “We take loads …
by Jeff Tuzik Measurement is the foundation of design, optimization, and maintenance. No system functions without accurate measurement, and the railroad is no exception. But measurement systems used in the industry have a come a long way since the days of the string line and protractor; the contemporary array of …
by Jeff Tuzik Vehicle stability is of paramount concern in the rail transit environment. It affects safety, ride quality, and wear and damage on the track, wheels, trucks, and suspension. In turn, stability is largely defined by the interplay of track characteristics, wheel and rail profiles, and truck and suspension …
by Jeff Tuzik Understanding and improving wheel/rail interaction requires unwavering attention to the little details that can have a big effect. It’s what we do here at Interface Journal and what we talk about at the annual Wheel/Rail Interaction conferences that we participate in. But every now and then, it’s …
by Jeff Tuzik Rail transit systems collect a lot of data. This is data collected from many sources—wheels, rail, track, and vehicles—and from many types of measurement devices. Some of the data must be collected per regulatory requirements, but much of it is collected because it’s valuable. Transit systems use …
by Jeff Tuzik The benefits of friction management are well known and often touted. But one benefit in particular—fuel savings—receives far less attention than the others. But as railroads race to meet greenhouse gas reduction targets and ultimately net-zero goals that they have set for themselves, fuel savings have become …
By Jeff Tuzik Sometimes it’s easy to tell that a rail needs maintenance. Excessive rail wear, surface damage, profile degradation, and other …
By Jeff Tuzik In India, rail freight traffic is increasing rapidly. To accommodate the growth, the government has funded and overseen the …
by Jeff Tuzik The track system is a remarkable feat of engineering. To the uninitiated, it can appear simple, mundane. But those …
by Jeff Tuzik A lot of derailments happen at switches and turnouts. Many are low-speed, low-energy derailments that happen in yards and …
By Jeff Tuzik Wheel Rail Seminars named Christopher Barkan, Professor of Railway Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) as the …
by Jeff Tuzik Measurement is the foundation of design, optimization, and maintenance. No system functions without accurate measurement, and the railroad is …
by Jeff Tuzik Vehicle stability is of paramount concern in the rail transit environment. It affects safety, ride quality, and wear and …
by Jeff Tuzik (This article was previously published in the December 2025 issue of Mass Transit) One of the most vexing, and …
by Jeff Tuzik Understanding and improving wheel/rail interaction requires unwavering attention to the little details that can have a big effect. It’s …