Technologies for Planning Railroad Track Maintenance and Renewal

Rail continues to be an important transportation mode. Like other transportation infrastructure, maintenance and replacement are critical to ensure safe, efficient operation. Research and development of technologies for condition‐data collection and computer‐based decision‐support systems are not widely reported in the literature due to the nature of the industry. This paper presents an overview of technologies for railroad track‐condition assessment and decision‐support systems for track maintenance and renewal. Track inspection methods range from visual inspection to the use of sensors and sophisticated measuring systems for the identification of corrugation, measurement of track geometry, measurement of rail wear, and location of internal rail flaws. The data produced by these systems may be integrated into a track‐quality index, or a component index, and aggregated by segment. These data are then used for safety evaluations, work planning, and strategic planning of repair and replacement. Decision‐support systems attempt to move maintenance and replacement decision making from an art to a science. They are widely used by the larger railroads. A variety of systems and issues are briefly described.