Rail safety and efficiency projects on the right track

Several projects of the Cooperative Research Centre for Railway Engineering and Technologies are coming together that could save the industry many millions of dollars and improve safety if implemented, the centre said. Innovations in track design involving cant and ballast, and track degradation are seen as ways of increasing transit times, and reducing wastage and maintenance costs. &#8220As a result of this research project, we now have new standards of ballast construction that have the potential to reduce settlement of the track, minimise breakage of the ballast and increase the lateral stability of the track,&#8221 RailCorp senior geotechnical advisor David Christie said of the project led by University of Wollongong’s professor of civil engineering, Buddhima Indraratna. &#8220This means less track maintenance, less chance of track buckling and train derailment, fewer traffic interruptions and less quarry waste. It all adds up to the potential of saving the rail industry many millions of dollars. &#8220The research techniques also promote the recycling of used aggregates, which reduces the need for fresh quarried rock and unwarranted environmental degradation.&#8221 RailCorp already uses the new ballast grading. The rail research centre’s Cant Deficiency Project, dealing with the allowable tilt that can be built into curves in the track, could allow trains can run up to 6% faster just as safely, it said. Australian Rail Track Corporation consultant and project manager Fred Mau said as a result of these findings, ARTC had estimated that transit times could be significantly reduced by allowing trains to run faster without compromising safety levels. &#8220For example in the case of a train running between Melbourne and Brisbane, the research findings mean a potential saving of 100 minutes off the total transit time,&#8221 Mr Mau said. &#8220One minute in transit time because of deviations or other infrastructure improvements can cost up to $10m&#8211 so It could cost up to $1bn to achieve the same transit time savings as will be achieved by increasing cant deficiency.&#8221 Mr Mau said the technology would &#8220a significant impact on railway’s market share&#8221 against road transport. Meanwhile, the FreightMiser project is expected to shave 10% from long-haul freight fuel bills by alerting train train drivers to the ideal acceleration and deceleration profiles to reduce fuel consumption and ensure trains run to time. FreightMiser technology is being commercialised by rail research centre partners TMG Rail Technology, Pacific National and the University of South Australia, and should become operational in NSW this year. The rail research centre consists of rail industry partners: Rail Corp, TMG Rail Technology, ARTC, Pacific National, and Queensland Rail &#8211 and six university partners: the University of Wollongong, University of South Australia, Central Queensland University, Monash University, the University of Queensland, and Queensland University of Technology.

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