UK university to develop asset management tool for light railways and tramways

Experts at the University of Huddersfield have won more than US$208,000 funding to develop a software-based asset management tool that will enable light railway operators to calculate the most appropriate rail wear limits for their system. This would mean longer intervals between maintenance and replacement, reducing disruption to passengers and costs to the operators, while maintaining safety levels.
December 22, 2015 Read time: 2 mins

Experts at the University of Huddersfield have won more than US$208,000 funding to develop a software-based asset management tool that will enable light railway operators to calculate the most appropriate rail wear limits for their system.

This would mean longer intervals between maintenance and replacement, reducing disruption to passengers and costs to the operators, while maintaining safety levels.

The research is being carried out at the university’s Institute of Railway Research, which has developed expertise in computer modelling of the interface between rail vehicles and track.

This will play a major part in the new project and there is also on-site collaboration with some of the UK’s busiest tramway systems.

The project is funded through UKTram’s Low Impact Light Rail scheme, supported by Innovate UK’s SBRI programme. The project is headed by Dr Adam Bevan, who is the IRR’s Head of Enterprise. It includes Professor Jay Jaiswal, a metallurgist with a speciality in rail steels.

The project, to develop a software tool that will enable tramway and light rail operators to develop more realistic maintenance schedules, was one of fifteen projects awarded funding for a feasibility study. Following an assessment of the outcomes of this work, funding was awarded to progress to the demonstrator phase and trial the developed tools in real-life situations. This phase is due for completion in October 2016 and will deliver a software-based asset management tool and guidance document based on the operating conditions of the specific network.  It will enable infrastructure managers to arrive at the optimum rail wear limits and to select the appropriate grades of rail steel for their systems.

The developed tool will be made available to UKTram members and the University’s Institute of Railway Research will provide technical consultancy to customise it for the specific conditions of the network.  The software and supporting technical consultancy will also be offered on a commercial basis to the large numbers of tramways and light railways around the world.

GIS/ Mapping & Location Based Systems

Related Content

  • Denmark will check-in with Fairtiq
    December 11, 2023
    Swiss ticketing provider to deliver pay-as-you-go solution to Rejsekort & Rejseplan
    Read More
  • TRL to lead project to encourage wider adoption of plug-in vehicles
    September 11, 2015
    The Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) has appointed TRL, the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory, to lead its Consumers, Vehicles and Energy Integration (CVEI) project. The US$8 million project will examine how the UK energy system needs to adapt in order to accommodate and encourage greater adoption of plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles. The project aims to understand the required changes to existing infrastructure, as well as consumer response to a wider introduction of plug-in hybrid and el
    Read More
  • Phoenix rises to the Smart City challenge
    December 10, 2015
    Andrew Bardin Williams looks at the City of Phoenix where voters backed a $30bn plan to revamp its transportation network to cultivate a more connected community. According to a Land Use Institute study, half of all Americans and even more millennials (63%) would like to live in a place where they do not need to use a car very often. The City of Phoenix is putting in place plans to revamp its urban development and transportation policies to meet these changing quality of life perceptions.
    Read More
  • EU mobility’s Covid escape route
    July 29, 2021
    European Union roads could be more resilient after the pandemic ends, thanks to the goal of creating a more integrated mobility network, says ERF’s José Diez
    Read More

Highlighted Content