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Title: RESEARCH PAYS OFF: PREVENTING DERAILMENTS AT TURNOUTS
Accession Number: 00742002
Record Type: Component
Availability: Find a library where document is available Abstract: Turnouts, where rail vehicles are physically moved from one track to another, and other special-trackwork areas are geometrically complex and pose a relatively high risk of train derailment. From 1984 to 1996, approximately 200 derailments occurred at turnouts and other special-trackwork areas of rail-transit systems in the United States. Under the Transit Cooperative Research Program, sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration and administered by the Transportation Research Board, a study was conducted to identify techniques that can be used to effectively reduce the potential for derailments on special trackwork. Several types of turnouts on two transit systems were instrumented and monitored under a range of operating conditions. A variety of devices and maintenance practices intended to reduce derailment risk were examined at the test locations, and their effectiveness in reducing the levels of detrimental forces was measured. A computer simulation model was used to determine the potential effectiveness of proposed mitigation devices that had not yet been manufactured and thus could not be physically tested. The adoption of comprehensive maintenance and inspection standards was found to be highly effective in reducing derailment potential. Rail lubrication and the use of several devices, such as extended guard rails and switch-point protectors, were also found to be highly effective. Use of the recommended devices and procedures would greatly reduce the incidence of derailments, thus increasing passenger and worker safety and yielding economic benefits through decreased maintenance costs and downtime and an increase in the service life of trackwork components.
Supplemental Notes: Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
Language: English
Corporate Authors: Transportation Research Board 500 Fifth Street, NW Authors: Zarembski, A MPagination: p. 20-21
Publication Date: 1997-7
Serial: Features: Photos
(1)
TRT Terms: Old TRIS Terms: Subject Areas: Design; Economics; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Public Transportation; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies; Vehicles and Equipment
Files: TRIS, TRB
Created Date: Oct 24 1997 12:00AM
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