Research points to improved switches and crossings for rail industry

Used in railways to guide trains to their correct route, these ‘points’ are the most vulnerable components of the rail network, requiring frequent and costly maintenance and replacement to avoid disruptions in service. 

They are  prone to wear and tear because the blades of switches are made of thinner rail and also have to take extra heavy loads as they guide vehicles at speed. Although they count for less than one per cent of the entire route length of railways in the UK, they take up 20 per cent of expenditure on track maintenance and in the worst case, can have an approximate working life of only three years.

Led by Prof Simon Iwnicki, director of Huddersfield’s Institute of Railway Research (IRR), and supported by Southampton University, researchers will use computer-based systems modelling to develop optimised designs for switches, for instance, exploring whether rail companies can tailor new switches to the location in which they are to be laid, making them much more resilient.