Construction and Maintenance of Underground Railway Tracks To Safety Standard of SANS: 0339
Construction and Maintenance of Underground Railway Tracks To Safety Standard of SANS: 0339
Construction and Maintenance of Underground Railway Tracks To Safety Standard of SANS: 0339
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by F.J. Heyns*
Introduction
The design, construction and maintenance of
underground railway tracks, to date, in the
mining industry in South Africa have been
carried out on an ad hoc basis without proper
standards and guidance, while existing
standards have generally not been complied
with. Tracks underground are, therefore,
generally in poor condition due to incorrect
design and construction procedures and very
little maintenance planning.
This is mainly due to the fact that the
transportation of freight and/or passengers is
not the mining industrys core business,
compared to, for example, a railroad company.
Spoornet and Metro staff are usually put
through various training workshops and
courses as part of their employment to
appreciate the importance of track design and
maintenance. This is not the case in the
mining environment. The two most important
issues relating to poor underground railway
The Journal of The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
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Planning phase
Design phase
Construction phase
Operational and maintenance phase.
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Synopsis
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100%
100%
50%
50%
0%
0%
Level of influence
Figure 1Influence of different phases on the total life cycle cost (adapted from Haas et al.)
Vertical profile
Longitudinal vertical plane
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Trans
verse
vert
vertic
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Lo
Circular sections,
straight sections and
transition curves
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Hor
Alignment
Horizontal plane
Track geometry
The railway tracks, and more specifically the rails, are used
to guide the train wheels evenly and continuously along a
profile. This track geometry refers to the track profile in
space. The track profile is defined in space by a vertical
profile, horizontal plane, and by a transverse vertical profile
as shown in Figure 2.
Track geometry measurements on surface railroads are
usually made through a self-propelled track geometry track-
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Distance (km)
Horizontal versine (mm)
Vertical versine (mm)
Gauge (mm)
Twist (mm)
Super elevation (mm)
Longitudinal level (mm).
Maintenance
Due to repeated loading from traffic, the track progressively
moves vertically and laterally from the desired geometry.
This deviation is irregular, and riding quality decreases as
dynamic loads increase. Figure 4 shows two track deterioration trends for a typical problem section of track. The solid
line plot shows the track roughness increase with managed
maintenance input and the dotted line without maintenance
input. The following conclusions can be made about the track
performance:
The original as-built functional condition cannot be
regained by typical maintenance input.
The best possible condition that can be obtained at a
Run to failure
Ad hoc maintenance
Schedule component replacement
Preventative maintenance
Condition based maintenance.
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Figure 4Hypothetical track deterioration rates with and without maintenance input
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Table I
Typical procedure
Joints
Switches
Sleepers
Drains
Fastening systems
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Table II
Problem caused
Correct procedure
Ballast/run of
mine gradings
Ballast/run of
No compaction specified
Proper super-elevation
cannot be achieved
Track will not be level
Compact ballast
Rail bending
Gauge widening
Joint support
mine compaction
Drainage:
cross slope
Drainage:
side drain
Drainage:
dewatering system
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References
1. Guideline for the Compilation of a Mandatory Code of Practice for
Underground Railbound Transport Equipment, August 2003.
2. HEYNS, F.J. Underground Railway Track Geometry Measurements for
Maintaining Track to the Safe Standard Of SANS: 0339. Railway Safety
Africa 2004, Rosebank. 2004.
3. Course NotesIntroduction to Multi Disciplinary Concepts in Railway
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