Proactive monitoring and management of the wheel-rail interface for improved freight rail performance

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The train derailment at Lac-Mégantic, Québec in 2013 raised awareness in Canada (and across North America) about freight rail safety and, more generally, freight rail performance. While the cause of this particular incident has not been directly linked to rail or track issues, infrastructure condition is a known contributor to train derailments. As such, track infrastructure condition is regulated and carefully monitored to ensure various parameters do not exceed prescribed regulatory thresholds. However, despite marked improvements in the deployment and sophistication of rail monitoring technologies, gaps remain concerning the spatial and temporal extent of monitoring capabilities, the understanding of the underlying causes of rail wear, knowledge of rail wear trends to help predict future conditions, and the ability to integrate large but often disparate datasets in ways that support more proactive management decisions. The proposed research aims to help address these gaps by enhancing the capacity of Advanced Rail Management (Canada) Inc. The purpose of the proposed research is to improve freight rail performance through proactive monitoring and management of the complex forces, interactions, and wear that occur at the interface between the rail and the railcars' wheels. The research focuses on: (1) enhancing capabilities to analyze worn rail and support decisions about how best to re-shape worn rail through proactive rail grinding; and (2) improving knowledge about the track and rail traffic factors that affect rail wear. The proposed research approach requires advanced technical skills and pragmatic knowledge delivered by a collaborative research team. This research supports proactive, data-driven rail maintenance and management programs that improve the productivity, safety, and efficiency of Canada's freight rail industry . When the rail industry benefits in these ways, there are direct financial savings for industry shippers, Canadian consumers, and the Canadian economy.