Modeling the development of rail corrugation to schedule a more economical rail grinding

Rail corrugation should be managed appropriately, as it causes noise, vibration, and degradation of track components and materials. Generally, rail corrugation is managed with the removal of rail surface roughness by rail grinding. However, in many cases, rail corrugation will reoccur after the rail is ground, thereby making the management of the phenomenon difficult for railway operators. For the proper management of rail corrugation, it is necessary to understand the development of rail corrugation and model it mathematically. However, this effort has not been made in previous studies. This paper investigates an efficient method for scheduling a regular grinding maintenance to manage rail corrugation. Using regularly measured data about rail surface roughness on a commercial line, a mathematical model was developed to estimate the growth of rail corrugation. This model was utilized to estimate the effects of the remaining roughness after rail grinding on the maintenance cost and to optimize the maintenance schedule. First, it was confirmed that the development of rail surface roughness of rail corrugation can be expressed in three phases and can be modeled by fitting the functions of growth curves to measurements of rail surface roughness recorded over a long period. Next, the rail grinding strategy was examined by applying this model to realize both effective and economical strategies for the maintenance of rail corrugation. This study confirmed that maintenance costs can be reduced by rail grinding that removes almost all of rail corrugation. In the case of ballasted tracks, it has been found that the optimal grinding schedule can reduce the cost of rail grinding as well as the cost of tamping. These findings can be applied by railway operators tasked with managing maintenance schedules for railway lines at a minimum cost.