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

  • October 22, 2015
    LowCVP calls on truck operators and others to focus on cutting truck emissions
    To coincide with its participation in the new Freight in the City event on 27 October, the LowCVP is calling on fleet operators, local authorities and others to join forces in building the market for heavy goods vehicles which cut carbon, reduce emissions and lower fuel costs. In earlier research, the LowCVP has identified three main opportunities for cutting emissions from HGVs which pointed to the need for specific interventions: independent testing to validate the effectiveness of retrofit technology
    Read More
  • December 19, 2023
    Vinci Highways and Invision AI light up motorway in Greece
    New smart system adjusts road lighting to suit driving conditions and save energy
    Read More
  • May 14, 2025
    Kistler bridges health data gap
    Cloud-based software platform completes structural health monitoring package
    Read More
  • May 2, 2018
    Running on empty
    Drivers are an increasingly rare species on Europe’s commuter metros as unattended train operation is embraced. David Crawford takes a low-speed tour of the continent’s capitals to see what’s happening. Unattended train operation (UTO) is fast becoming the norm for Europe’s metros, on existing as well as new lines. November 2017 statistics published by the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) show the continent as having 28% of the global total of route km on lines operating at the ultimate
    Read More

Highlighted Content