1. Engineering for Performance
Improvement
Kevin Taylor - Research Program Chair
Colin Cole - Research Program Leader
R3 –Engineering and Safety Program
CRC for Rail Innovation
Established and Supported under Australia’s
Cooperative Research Centres Programme

2. Key Project Areas
Level Crossing Research
Condition Monitoring
New Methods and Products

3. Why Railway Level Crossings
Statistics

4. Railway Level Crossings
R3 associated projects include:
Evaluating Cost-effective Railway
Cost-
Level Crossing (RLX) Protection
Systems
Future Projects to include:
Video Camera Trials
Safety Database with RLX
compartment

5. Affordable Railway Level Crossing
(RLX) Protection Systems
Active protection: AUD$200,000 -
AUD$300,000 per RLX
, p
Upgrades = AUD$1.2 to AUD$1.8
billion
billi
Alternative low cost protection
systems available worldwide
Potentially
P t ti ll 50 systems th t meet
t that t
requirements but need evaluation

6. Video Cameras
Visual data available from train
driver perspective
p p
Video cameras will be placed on
trains th t transit hi h d
t i that t it high density
it
RLX
Images will be used to assess
behaviours
Leads to protective measures

7. National Rail Safety Database
Demand for a national Rail
Industry Safety database
RLX incidents will be included
Senior Industry working group
formed to shape database future
Two preferred options
CRC working closely with
Industry to determine
requirements.
i t

8. New Methods and Products
Improved Insulated Rail Joints
Rail Squat Management
Best Practice Rail Grinding

9. Improved Insulated Joints
Deliverables
D li bl
New G
N Generation IRJ A
ti Average
life 50%, Variability 50%
Railways in Australia Spend
approx $35million per year
associated with rail joint
maintenance and inspection

10. Improved Insulated Joints
Deliverables
D li bl
New G
N Generation IRJ A
ti Average
life 50%, Variability 50%
Railways in Australia Spend
approx $35million per year
associated with rail joint
maintenance and inspection

11. Rail Squat Management
Deliverables
D li bl
Rules for
R l f avoiding conditions of
idi diti f
squat formation ,Models for
predicting initiation and growth
growth,
Manuals, NDI methods,
Management strategies
Costs associated with Rail Squats
Railways in Australia Spend are
approx $5million per year with
problems escalating

12. Rail Squat Management
Deliverables
D li bl

13. Best Practice Rail Grinding
Deliverables
D li bl
Intelligent combining of i
I t lli t bi i f inspection
ti
data, Automated grinding decision
making,
making Predicting the RCF crack
depth and patterns
Estimated savings of $25million per
year may be possible from better
management of rail grinding.

14. Best Practice Rail Grinding
Deliverables
D li bl
Intelligent combining of i
I t lli t bi i f inspection
ti
data, Automated grinding decision
making,
making Predicting the RCF crack
depth and patterns
Estimated savings of $25million per
year may be possible from better
management of rail grinding.

15. Condition Based Maintenance
Deliverables
D li bl
Non-destructive assessment of ballast
on-
condition
Making available technologies usable
Short Rail Defects
Defects measured and prioritised –
value adding to existing measurement
systems

16. Condition Based Maintenance
Deliverables
D li bl
Non-destructive assessment of ballast
on-
condition
Making available technologies usable
Short Rail Defects
Defects measured and prioritised –
value adding to existing measurement
systems

17. Future Projects
More Emphasis o Energy a d
oe p as s on e gy and
Emissions
Hybrid locomotive options,
H brid locomoti e options Train
Energy optimisation
Continued Emphasis on
Maintenance and Asset issues
Concrete sleeper life, Condition
monitoring, Life cycle costs

18. Future Projects
j
Continued Emphasis on safety
Wayside worker safety RLX
safety, RLX,
Crashworthiness
More Suburban Rail Projects
o e Subu ba a ojects
Passenger access design

19. End f P
E d of Presentation
t ti
Questions
and
Discussion