Ensuring safe train operation, minimizing service interruptions, and optimizing maintenance procedures are primary railway industry focus areas. To support these goals, a multi-disciplinary team of researchers at the University Illinois Urbana-Champaign proposed wireless, continuous, accurate methodology to monitor track conditions. This project, referred as “Smart Track”, included development ...

Major growth in rail traffic in many parts of the world in recent years has brought railway networks close to capacity and restricted the time available for track access to carry out maintenance work without costly temporary route closures. There are, therefore, significant benefits in designing or modifying ballasted track systems to reduce maintenance and associated access requirements. Under...

Railway tracks undergo plastic settlement when subject to repeated train loading. This occurs differentially along the track rather than in a uniform manner, and profile is key parameter scheduling maintenance operations. Therefore this paper presents novel numerical approach predict irregularity evolution. The model combines empirical laws with finite element theory, where track-ground structu...