Rail Grinding Strategies Adopted in Australia

The article review the four types of rail grinding strategies that may be adopted in Australia to meet the specific requirements of a railway line. The requirements for the lines encompass the need for the following: to increase the service life of the rail by at least 50-100%; to considerably reduce the risk of rail failures; to reduce the rate of deterioration of wheels, track components, and track geometry; and to allow trains to be operated at higher speeds. The four types of grinding strategies identified are: corrective or defect grinding; transitional grinding; preventive or cyclic grinding; and special grinding, entailing the application of grinding in order to achieve a specific objective that usually lies outside the scope of the aforementioned three strategies. The article recommends that after a number of grinding cycles it is useful to review the strategy applied and implement any modifications necessary in order to further improve the economic benefits of rail grinding.