Title: Developing Grinding Strategies for Light Rail: Rail Corrugation on the Sheffield Supertram Light Rail System in Britain is a Significant Issue
Abstract: In rail life extension, grinding is an essential maintenance tool, although it consumes rail life. On any network, rail grinding occurs for three key reasons: rail profile restoration to ensure desired rail/wheel contact for optimal ride quality and vehicle curving behavior; rolling contact fatigue removal and management; and corrugation removal and management. The authors discuss the rail grinding philosophy adopted by Sheffield, Britain's 58 track-km Supertram network, with a 25 tram fleet, maintained by Stagecoach Supertram Maintenance Limited. The Supertram network has 35 km of embedded grooved rail and 23 km of ballasted rail. The Supertram network's rail grinding prioritization is based on a corrugation survey of the entire network, including both types of rail. The authors conclude that significant renewal costs have been saved through restoration of long stretches of previously unground track to desired condition; the backlog of sites requiring grinding has been reduced since a larger proportion of the network will have been ground in 2007; and there has also been a significant reduction in grinding costs.
Publication Year: 2007
Publication Date: 2007-07-01
Language: en
Type: article
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 2
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