A reliability analysis of railway switches

作者：Rama Dovile^*; Andrews John D

来源：Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers - Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit , 2013, 227(4): 344-363.

DOI：10.1177/0954409713481725

• Railway switches and crossings
• points
• turnouts
• reliability
• failure

Switches and crossings (S%26C) are critical elements on railway networks. Any failure of S%26C usually leads to train delays and cancelations having a negative impact on the quality of service delivered, railway safety and also operating costs. S%26C is a multi-component system and to enable proactive prevention of S%26C unit faults, with their undesirable consequences, the ability to predict problems at component level is needed. This paper describes the derivation of lifetime distributions of individual S%26C components based on field data collected. Maintenance was identified as a potential contributor towards increased frequency of reported S%26C faults. The outcomes of the analysis and lifetime distributions for the elements of the switch units provide a means of predicting the expected number of maintenance activities, and associated costs for these units over any specified period of time. They provide an essential input to the optimisation of maintenance in developing an asset management strategy.

• 出版日期2013-7