by Bob Tuzik This article was originally published in Mass Transit (February 2022). SkyTrain, Vancouver’s iconic rail transit system, is a system in motion. Since the opening of the original Expo Line, named and timed to coincide with Expo 86, SkyTrain, which moves more than 115 million commuters per year pre-covid, …
by Bob Tuzik This article was originally published in Mass Transit (June 2023). Challenges abound in the design, construction, maintenance, and operation of light rail lines in urban areas. Chief among them is controlling track- and vehicle-born noise, an important part of maintaining the support of an agency’s various stakeholders, …
Part 2. Friction Management, Vehicle Suspension and Measurement Systems By Bob Tuzik, April 2014 Part 1 of this article explored advances in metallurgy, wheel/rail profile design and maintenance practices. Part 2 continues the theme, examining the technologies and techniques that have shaped our understanding of wheel/rail interaction. While the practice of …
Part 1. Metallurgy, Wheel/Rail Profile Design and Maintenance. by Bob Tuzik, January 2014 Ask a group of railroaders, researchers or suppliers what the essential aspects of understanding wheel/rail interaction have been over the past 20 years, and you’ll get a host of answers. But among them, major categories consistently emerge: …
by Bob Tuzik, January, 2008 The wheel/rail interface must be managed in order to increase the life of rail and rolling stock components and to reduce in-service failures. This was one of the primary messages delivered at the Association of American Railroads/Transportation Technology Center, Inc.’s 14th Annual Research Review. The research …
By Bob Tuzik • July, 2008 As research into wheel/rail interaction has evolved, the emphasis has moved toward implementation of available technology and conversion of data into information. Such was the case at Wheel/Rail Interaction ’08, the 14th annual seminar produced by Advanced Rail Management and sponsored by Progressive Railroading magazine. Railroaders, researchers …
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 …
By Bob Tuzik • January, 2008 All railways must deal with operating/engineering and vehicle/track interaction issues. But rail transit systems, which operate under the microscope of the urban environment, face special, often unique, challenges. Speakers at Rail Transit ’07, Advanced Rail Management and Interface Journal’s third seminar devoted to wheel/rail interaction on rail …
By Bob Tuzik • July, 2007 You’ve heard it before, you’ll hear it again. Delegates to the 13th Annual Wheel/Rail Interaction Seminar presented by Interface Journaland Advanced Rail Management heard it time and again over the course of the seminar: The wheel/rail interface is a system. And when there are problems, as …
By Bob Tuzik • January, 2007 Friction control plays a major role in reducing wear, noise and vibration, and managing wheel/rail interaction on rail transit systems. Controlling friction has become more achievable with the advent of engineered friction modifiers and improvements to wayside and onboard application systems for both traditional lubricants …