THE HIGH COST OF THE 30 TONNE AXLE

Just as the severe damage inflicted on highways by axles carrying ten tonnes or more is seldom reflected in user charges, so North American railways have been slow to grasp the true cost of raising gross car weights to 120 tonnes on four axles. It appears that increasing axle load from 25 to 30 tonnes will halve rail life. Once the effect on the track is taken into account, the apparent economies of high-capacity cars vanish--unless their utilization is below 50 km per day.