Advanced Rail Steels for Heavy Haul Application-track Performance and Weldability

摘要

Heavy Haul railroads focus on the long term on increasing the annual throughput by raising axle loads and train frequencies. Shorter time windows for maintenance make it increasingly difficult to achieve their goal of maximizing track availability. Therefore they require advanced track components, especially rails, as well as improved welding techniques that require less maintenance. This report represents an overview of such advanced high strength rail steels, their track performance in conjunction with applicable rail maintenance strategies (grinding in particular) as well as welding techniques that need less maintenance and promise to prolong service life time significantly. Since life cycle costing is becoming an integral part of the purchasing process of modem railways, an example life cycle cost analysis is presented.