Rail squat defects

The development of squat defects has become a major concern in numerous railway systems throughout the world. In NSW they first came under notice in the Hunter Valley in the mid 1990’s and on the Sydney passenger network around 2000. They are now a serious problem affecting the network. This paper details the findings of field investigations into squat and related rail defects within the RailCorp infrastructure network covering the Sydney metropolitan and interurban areas. It describes the investigations carried out to date and canvasses the various hypotheses regarding the principal causes of squat defects. It reviews the role of various potential rail surface initiators including slippage defects, rolling contact fatigue cracks and wheel burns. It then considers growth mechanisms and the role of the rolling stock interface. The paper also outlines the research being carried out and current strategies for management of the squat problem.

Media Info

  • Pagination: pp. 13-25
  • Monograph Title: Permanent Way Institution (PWI) NSW, 2009 annual convention

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01517053
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Source Agency: ARRB
  • Files: ATRI
  • Created Date: Mar 4 2014 8:05PM