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

  • August 20, 2019
    Cost Benefit: the economic case for cycling
    Cycling is good for us for any number of reasons. David Crawford finds that it is now possible to access basic, low-cost data which will help make the economic case for improving infrastructure Cycling is enjoying a favourable press the world over as a ‘good thing’ in the economic, environmental and social spheres. A recent study on the Value of Cycling from the UK’s University of Birmingham, for example, shows that cycle-friendly urban settings can deliver annualised transport infrastructural support co
    Read More
  • December 19, 2017
    Inrix informs FHWA’s data improvements
    Refinements in the data available from the US Federal Highway Administration will improve road management across America. David Crawford reports. In August 2017, the US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued the first results from an upgraded version of its National Performance Management Research Data Set (NPMRDS). Developed to identify the locations and times of high congestion affecting traffic flows along America’s 259,000km (161,000 mile) national highway system, this is a key resource for sta
    Read More
  • April 2, 2015
    Kapsch and SNTF joint venture to develop Algerian railways
    Kapsch CarrierCom and the Algerian railways operator SNTF (Société Nationale des Transports Ferroviaires) are to partner in a joint venture in to make the Algerian railway system fit for the future. The Rail-Telecom agreement anticipates a knowledge transfer initiative, the supervision and maintenance of the Algerian railways telecommunication networks, including the nationwide Global System for Mobile Communications - Railway (GSM-R) and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) fiberglass backbone, and futu
    Read More
  • January 30, 2012
    IntelliDrive, connectivity, safety, mobility and the environment?
    Shelley Row, Director of the ITS Joint Program Office, US Department of Transportation, details the new five-year ITS Strategic Research Plan. Imagine a world where vehicles of all types can talk to each other in order to reduce or eliminate crashes, where vehicles can talk to traffic signals to eliminate unnecessary stops, where travellers can get accurate travel time information about all modes and route options, and where transportation managers have data which allows them to accurately assess multimodal
    Read More

Highlighted Content