Working process technology for the replacement of continuous welded rails

This paper presents an improved technology for the replacement of continuous welded rail strings using road-rail excavators equipped with dual-roller rail grippers. Existing methods for the installation and replacement of continuous welded rail strings are reviewed, and their shortcomings are identified, including limited productivity and the need for a significant amount of manual operations. The proposed technology makes it possible to replace rail strings without dismantling rail joints, to perform work at the optimal rail fastening temperature, and to reduce the risk of rail damage during handling and installation. The sequence of operations for the use of one, two, and four excavators is presented, and a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of each option is carried out. The results show that the proposed technology makes it possible to reduce the duration of work windows while simultaneously increasing the level of mechanization and improving the operational safety of continuous welded rail track maintenance.