How can you make your rail lines safer and more efficient? Optimizing track performance can save costs, operate more efficient and reliable lines, and improve safety for humans, cargo, and the environment.
Here are 5 ways you can optimize track performance:
1. Regular Inspections
Track performance drops to zero when the track is closed. Avoid costly closures due to broken rail components by regularly maintaining your lines. This can be done with little to no disruption to rail operations:
- Schedule inspection when no trains are scheduled.
- Use automated remote railway monitoring solutions to monitor rails and report back details about maintenance or parts replacement needs.
- Fly drones over your lines with thermal imaging, 3D LIDAR, and high-definition digital cameras onboard. This saves time, expense, and potential danger to your team members, as individuals and equipment only need to be deployed when the drone identifies an issue.
Regular inspections will also help identify potentially failing parts early so they can be replaced before they break and cause an accident or cause a costly, downtime for your lines.
2. Regular maintenance and replacement of railway products
You can optimize your railway operations by performing regular maintenance and replacing railway products. Regular maintenance can extend the expected lifespan of your rails, ties, and other track components.
Add a schedule of preventative maintenance to save costs. With preventative maintenance, you maintain or replace parts before they become a problem that compromises your operations or safety. You can use predictive analytics and part lifespan estimates from your rail product manufacturers to predict the lifespan of your parts. You can also refer to historical maintenance data to predict when maintenance or replacement of railway parts is recommended.
3. Use trackside monitoring tools
You can always send personnel to every section of the track to perform visual inspection and maintenance of your rail lines, but that can be costly, especially for lines in remote areas. It also necessitates shutting down sections of the line you’re inspecting.
Instead, implement trackside monitoring tools to automatically check your rail components’ efficacy and state of repair. Here are some examples of monitoring tools and equipment that can help you optimize track performance:
- Real-time sensors: Sensors can be installed along your tracks to monitor temperature, part stress, and vibrations. With this information, you can see if conditions (such as extremely low or high temperatures during a season) contribute to faster-than-expected wear and tear on the equipment.
- Drones: Drones can fly over your rail lines, taking high-resolution pictures. Your maintenance staff can then review those images to look for areas of concern that require in-person inspection or maintenance. These drones can also collect other critical data through onboard thermal imaging and 3D LIDAR cameras to assess the state of repair of your parts.
- Track geometry measuring systems: These sensors measure your track alignment and other measurements to ensure they remain in place. Optimal track geometry means trains travel more efficiently, and parts may last longer due to no extra friction from misaligned rails.
4. Improve track design
Another way to optimize track performance is through design. Trains can travel faster and more efficiently on straight, flat-track sections. When possible, design tracks to reduce steep curves and gradients, which can add stress to the rails and slow down rail cars.
A continuous welding method to join rails rather than traditional jointed rail sections can increase reliability. The more joints a line uses, the more opportunities there are for breaks and cracks. Continuous Welded Rail (CWR) leads to smoother rides and lower maintenance requirements.
5. Using high-quality parts
Your choice of rail products and materials will play a significant role in optimizing track performance. Many rail components and parts are specifically designed for unique uses or conditions. For example, your choice of high-speed rails will be much different than that of light rail lines due to the anticipated use of the lines.
Choosing high-strength steel creates stronger tracks with a longer, more reliable lifespan. Also, engineered or recycled materials for your ballasts are stronger and more resilient. This improves track stability and drainage, reducing the risk of deformed parts over time.
What parts are best to optimize track performance?
Your choice of railway parts manufacturers and suppliers matters. Choose a reliable supplier who uses high-quality parts and certified relay rails to ensure you’re starting your rail project on the right foot.
With solid and resilient parts, you can reduce cost, risk of part failure, and accidents while improving operational efficiency and safety for all.
When it comes to rail products, North America Rail Products (NARP) can supply everything from the ballast up, including rail, OTMs, turnouts, and switches. Talk to us about your railway maintenance and performance challenges or concerns, and we’ll match you with a high-quality rail product that fits your needs.
Contact a member of our team today to get started.
