D. Uzarski et S. Mcneil, TECHNOLOGIES FOR PLANNING RAILROAD TRACK MAINTENANCE AND RENEWAL, Journal of transportation engineering, 120(5), 1994, pp. 807-820
Rail continues to be an important transportation mode. Like other tran
sportation infrastructure, maintenance and replacement are critical to
ensure safe, efficient operation. Research and development of technol
ogies for condition-data collection and computer-based decision-suppor
t systems are not widely reported in the literature due to the nature
of the industry. This paper presents an overview of technologies for r
ailroad track-condition assessment and decision-support systems for tr
ack maintenance and renewal. Track inspection methods range from visua
l inspection to the use of sensors and sophisticated measuring systems
for the identification of corrugation, measurement of track geometry,
measurement of rail wear, and location of internal rail flaws. The da
ta produced by these systems may be integrated into a track-quality in
dex, or a component index, and aggregated by segment. These data are t
hen used for safety evaluations, work planning, and strategic planning
of repair and replacement. Decision-support systems attempt to move m
aintenance and replacement decision making from an art to a science. T
hey are widely used by the larger railroads. A variety of systems and
issues are briefly described.