Rail milling as an integrated strategy for modern rail asset management

Rail surface and profile rectification is a well-established process in modern rail asset management that has proven to extend the life of rail and wheels. Traditionally, rail grinding is used to manage rail degradation by applying different strategies such as preventive maintenance or cyclic maintenance. However, operational factors beyond control can interfere with such strategies causing the rail to degrade beyond a level that requires corrective / curative intervention. In contrast to the abrasive grinding process, milling is a rotary cutting process that is capable of substantial metal removal rates (as required for corrective maintenance interventions) in one milling pass. When analysing rail milling and grinding technologies in detail it can be seen that the limitations of one technology can be compensated by the strengths of the other technology and vice versa. This is demonstrated in this paper by state of the art simulation models and applications examples from Europe and Australia. Consequently, by combining rail grinding strategies with the complementary rail milling technology it is possible to create an integrated, modern rail asset management that will maximize rail life while at the same time minimizing operational and maintenance costs.