Effectiveness of Intermediate Rail Fastenings on the Railway Sections of Siberia

Abstract

Being one of the important elements of the track superstructure, rail fastenings substantially determine the operational reliability of the rail track and the conditions for its interaction with the rolling stock. The reliability of rail fastenings affects the life cycle cost of the track superstructure. Nowadays, the most common types of rail fastenings on the weldless track are ZBR-65 and ARS-4, and the most promising for difficult operating conditions is ZBR-65PShM. In the conditions of increasing overhaul times, a special task is to identify the optimal type of intermediate rail fastening, which will ensure the stability of the rail track throughout the overhaul cycle with the least amount of labor. It is proposed to use the results of assessing the condition of the rail track with measuring cars, in particular, deviations of the 2nd degree (not requiring speed limits) as a criterion for assessing effectiveness. The assessment was made taking into account the cargo intensity and line plan. The article presents the results of assessing the probability of failure-free operation of rail fastenings for types ZBR-Sh, ZBR-PShM, ARS. Using statistics, particular failures are identified for the elements considered rail fastenings. It has been established that the highest probability of failure-free operation is accounted for by the fastening type ZBR-PShM, and the smallest - by ARS. On the basis of the obtained indicators of the fastening reliability, their durability and current maintenance costs, the most rational area of their application is proposed depending on the line plan and cargo intensity.