Rails - Science topic

A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail, or conductor rail, provides electric power to the railway locomotives or trains, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway track. It is used typically in a mass transit or rapid transit system, which has alignments in its own corridors, fully...

Urban challenges in Africa, marked by rapid growth, urban sprawl, poverty, and fragile institutions, highlight the intricacies of the continent's urbanization. Beira, historically linked to the ‘Companhia de Moçambique’ from the nineteenth century, exemplifies these challenges. Its significance is emphasized by the activities of port and rail conne...

A rail block simulation system is a computer program that simulates the movement of trains on a railway network by dividing the track into discrete sections called blocks, where only one train can occupy a block at a time, allowing for analysis of the train movements, capacity optimizations, and safety checks within a virtual environment, often use...

A third rail, also known as an electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing the electric power to a locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between rails. It is used typically in a mass transit or a rapid transit system, which has alignments in its own corridors, fully or almost fully segregat...

Point machines are an important factor in the safety of rail services. They need to operate with precision, be reliable and withstand high loads. Siemens provides a state-of-the-art and tried-and-tested solution-the S 700 K point machine for points with external locking. It is economical and versatile, making it suitable for use in the mass transit...

The alarm signal is a safety feature on all our trains. Any passenger or onboard staff member may pull the alarm in the events of danger-if, for example, there is smoke inside the trains, or a train window breaks, or a passenger is ill. When a train stops in response to an alarm signal, trains travelling behind it on the track also receive word to...

There is a wide variety of electric traction systems around the world and these have been built according to the type of railway, its location and the technology available at the time of the installation. Many installations seen today were first built more than 100 years ago, some when electric traction was barely out of its diapers, so to speak, a...

The platform screen doors (PSDs) are used at some train, rapid transit and people mover stations to separate the platform from train tracks, as well as on some bus rapid transit, tram and light rail systems. Primarily used for passenger safety,[1] they are a relatively new addition to many metro systems around the world, some having been retrofitte...

A railway electrical fault and error detection automation system is a technological setup that utilizes sensors and data analysis to automatically detect and identify electrical faults within a railway system, such as issues with traction power lines, signaling systems, or track circuits, allowing for prompt maintenance interventions and minimizing...

The Global System for Mobile Communications-Railway (GSM-R) delivers digital, secure and dependable communications between drivers and signalers. This helps to increase the safety, reduce delays and improve performance-providing a better experience for passengers. GSM-R supports secure and reliable drivers-signalers communication by bringing togeth...

A one-week training program for highly-motivated Ph.D students, post-docs and early career scientists. A series of lectures given by world-leading scientists in low-temperature plasma science and applications, accompanied by daily brainstorming workshops and breakout sessions for students to apply what they learned to case studies of possible appli...

A balise is an electronic beacon or transponder placed between the rails of a railway as part of an automatic train protection system. The French word balise is used to distinguish these beacons from other kinds of beacons. A Eurobalise is a specific type of a balise installed between the rails of a railway. Eurobalises are part of the European tra...

Door systems on rail vehicles have to meet high safety requirements and always operate reliably to protect people from danger. If the automatic door control fails in an emergency, it has to be possible to open the door manually. No train is allowed to move, while any door is still open. An automatic door is taken out of normal operation if it no lo...

In railway signalling systems, there are a considerable number of wayside objects installed along tracks to ensure safe operation, e.g., optical signals, point machines of switches, axle counters, and barrier gates and warnings on level crossings. The wayside objects are controlled and driven by wayside Object Controller (OC) or Field Element Contr...

Centralized traffic control (CTC) is a form of railway signalling that originated in North America. CTC consolidates train routing decisions that were previously carried out by local signal operators or the train crews themselves. CTC consists of a centralized train dispatcher's office that controls railroad interlockings and traffic flows in porti...

In the ever-evolving landscape of railway technology, two critical components stand at the forefront of train detection systems: the axle counters and the track circuits. These technologies play a crucial role in ensuring the safety and efficiency of rail networks worldwide. As railway operators seek to enhance their infrastructure, the choice betw...

Level crossings (LCs) present substantial safety challenges due to their unique role as intersections where road and rail traffic meet at the same elevation. This study provides a comprehensive review and analysis of resource allocation studies aimed at enhancing safety and operational efficiency at LC locations. The collected studies are categoriz...

The daily work of railway engineers and managers consists of making a series of decisions, the quality of which is crucial to the efficiency and resiliency of the rail system. They face many challenges in their decision-making, including large and complex infrastructure asset networks; limited resources, time and information; a range of outcomes; c...

The ERTMS components corresponding to the ERTMS subsystem installed are on the lineside equipment and the onboard components. The Control Centre is not an ERTMS component. It is a signal box covering all the routes and trains running in a specific area. A Control Centre usually commands several interlockings, comprising one or several railway lines...

In the last decade, hardened fine-grained plate components have been used in turnouts and crossings on Western European urban rail networks, as well as in Hungary, in place of traditional rail or Hadfield steel components. The first crossing was built in Hungary in 2016. These components have many advantages, such as the ease with which they can be...

In Hungarian design practice, the Zimmermann-Eisenmann quasi-static design method is employed to dimension track structures with embedded rails. This method determines the mean values of deformations and stresses using an infinitely long elastically embedded beam as the static frame. After establishing these mean values, the effects of track condit...

A track circuit forms part of the broader signalling system, which comprises many parts to enable trains to move safely around the network. A track circuit itself is an electrical system that detects the absence of a train on a section of the track. This information then helps the signalling system know if it's safe for another train to proceed. Th...

A track circuit is an electrical device used to prove the absence of a train on a block of rail tracks to control signals. An alternative to track circuits are axle counters. The basic principle behind the track circuit lies in the connection of the two rails by the wheels and axle of locomotives and rolling stock to short an electrical circuit. Th...

Stringent emission regulations and the depletion of conventional fuel sources drive research on green fuels, additives, and the optimization of fuel injection and exhaust gas recirculation. This study analyzes the impact of butanol additives in diesel and cashew shell liquid biodiesel (CSLB) blends under optimal operating conditions. CSLB was produ...

This paper empirically investigates how local actors manage potential impacts and uncertainties associated with a new high-speed rail (HSR) access. The provision of such supra-regional transport infrastructure offers significant benefits to accessed cities and regions. However, the main challenge lies in transforming the potentials into actual loca...

The article explores the crucial synergy between mechanics, manufacturing and railways in driving industrial advancement. By analyzing the interconnections between these sectors, it highlights the role of mechanical engineering in optimizing both manufacturing processes and rail transport systems. It discusses the advances in automation, robotics a...

The development of cost-effective and reliable railway monitoring technologies is crucial for the maintenance of modern infrastructure. Embedding sensors into rail pads has emerged as a promising approach for monitoring wheel-track interactions, but the successful implementation of these systems requires a robust framework for signal data acquisiti...

This paper presents the design and analysis of a high-speed rail-to-rail clocked comparator implemented using the 65-nm CMOS process. The proposed comparator improves the conventional design by enhancing transconductance across the rail-to-rail common mode range. By connecting input transistors in parallel, the latch circuit is directly linked to t...

As a consequence of the several negative externalities associated with car usage, there is a growing pressure to promote more sustainable mobility habits through supporting transport alternatives. An increasingly attractive solution is the concept of intermodal mobility, i.e., the combination of different modes of transport in a single trip, levera...

Satellite data have the potential to significantly enhance railway operations and drive the digitization of the rail sector. In the context of railways, satellite data primarily refers to the use of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data for applications such as navigation, positioning, and signalling. However, remote sensing data from Eart...

The Meiji Era saw the introduction and development of railways in Japan. Railroads can lower transportation costs and create arbitrage opportunities for merchants in different markets. When merchants engage in arbitrage, prices converge. Using Bayesian mean-shifting autoregressions, we investigate grain price convergence between 1875 and 1912 for s...

The rail transport system is essential for moving passengers and heavy goods over long distances, with steel 900A being a common material used for rail tracks in Thailand. Prolonged exposure to heavy loads and variable environmental conditions can lead to rail track damage known as "engine burn”, which results from friction between the train’s whee...

Model-based testing (MBT) generates test cases through a model representing the software under test (SUT). The generated abstract test cases need to be transformed into concrete or executable test scripts. Despite the benefits offered by MBT, its industrial adoption is slow. This paper aims to propose a Model-Based Test scrIpt GenEration fRamework...

The major concern of this research work is to assess the effects of the debt crisis and economic dependence on governance and the citizenry in Nigeria. In achieving this, the research work relies on a descriptive approach and structured questionnaire and interview for data collection. A sample size of one hundred and twenty (120) respondents was us...

Rail tracks are constantly subjected to dynamic loads, and identifying the critical speed at which the vibrations reach their peak amplitude is essential to prevent structural failures and derailments. This study presents a comprehensive three-dimensional finite element model of a ballasted rail track under a moving load at varying speeds, consider...

Dhaka MRT Line-6, Bangladesh's first metro rail system inaugurated in December 2022, represents a significant advancement in the country's transportation infrastructure, necessitating a thorough evaluation of its safety standards relative to global benchmarks. This study presents a comparative analysis of safety features implemented in Dhaka MRT Li...

Goaf areas are a significant hazard in mining, posing serious safety risks, and their management is a complex challenge due to their irregular spatial distribution and unpredictable roof collapses. Research on goaf areas focuses on detection technologies, disaster analysis, risk assessment, and remediation techniques. The characteristics of goaf ar...

Maintaining cleanliness on classroom green boards is essential for effective learning and a dust-free environment. Traditional manual cleaning methods are time-consuming, inconsistent, and result in chalk dust dispersion, which can cause respiratory issues for users. To address these challenges, this project presents an Automatic Green Board Cleane...

During the excavations for the Marmaray Project, which will connect both sides of the Bosphorus by rail through the ancient Byzantine Port of Theodosius was unearthed in the Yenikapı district of Istanbul, under the administration of the Istanbul Archaeological Museums. The aim of this study are to understand and explore stratigraphic sequence of th...

Extended Abstract Introduction and Objectives: Providing housing for young people is one of the problems faced by the Family and Youth Protection Law. Due to the high cost of land and buildings, the waiting period for owning a house has increased drastically. Introduction and Objectives: Providing housing for young people is one of the problems fac...

The Indian Railways has played a crucial role in shaping the country's socio-economic landscape since its inception in the mid-19th century. This article provides an overview of the development of India's rail infrastructure from the time of its independence in 1947 to the present day, highlighting key milestones, challenges, and future prospects....

The “rail track superstructure–subgrade” system is a sophisticated engineering structure critical in ensuring safe and efficient train operations. Its analysis and design rely on mathematical modeling to capture the interactions between system components and the effects of both static and dynamic loads. This paper offers a detailed review of contem...

Imagine a woman who loves another woman, shares her life with an immigrant partner, and raises two adopted children. Now picture her standing at the helm of a political party that rails against same-sex rights, immigration, and the very family she's built. This isn't a riddle-it's the real-life story of Alice Weidel, co-leader of Germany's far-righ...

Climate change has intensified in recent decades due to the increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG) arising mainly from human activities. The transport sector is one of those responsible for the increase in these concentrations, due to the incomplete burning of fossil fuels in the use of different modals, such as road and railway. H...

Over the past decade, there has been a notable increase in interest among researchers, managers, and other stakeholders in the public transportation sector regarding service quality (SQ) and customer satisfaction (CS) in the domain of railway transportation. Like for all other sectors and industries, quality of service is also of great importance t...

Modulation techniques for current source inverters (CSIs) have traditionally been derived from those used for voltage source inverters (VSIs), with space vector modulation (SVM) and pulse width modulation (PWM) being the most popular. Among these, PWM is the preferred choice due to its simplicity and ability to offer the same benefits as SVM, such...

This study demonstrates the effectiveness of the Cryosat-2 (C2) altimeter as a tool for land subsidence monitoring. The study area is near Hanford and Corcoran, California, where land subsidence can affect the stability and alignment of rail infrastructure, potentially leading to increased maintenance costs and safety concerns. We analyzed vertical...

With the rapid construction of rail transportation infrastructure, vibration issues caused by wheel–rail interactions during train operation have become a significant concern. Excessive vibration can lead to rail defects, such as corrugation, and also cause environmental vibration and noise problems in surrounding buildings. Rail dampers have been...

Rail travel is one of the safest means of transportation, with increasing usage in recent years. One of the major safety concerns in the railway relates to intrusions. Therefore, the timely detection of obstacles is crucial for ensuring operational safety. This is a complex problem with multiple contributing factors, from environmental to psycholog...

Advancements in transport engineering and technology play a crucial role in improving multimodal transport systems and optimizing logistics operations. This study focuses on efficient material flow management in an industrial enterprise, directly supporting the goals of sustainable transport and innovative logistics strategies. The manufacturing pl...

China’s urban development has entered the stage of urban renewal, transitioning from large-scale incremental construction to stock enhancement and renovation. In response to challenges such as traffic congestion and land-use constraints, urban planning has increasingly prioritized the development of urban underground space (UUS) and urban rail tran...

The phenomenon of adhesion improvement during wheel-rail sliding has been experimentally verified under water conditions. However, the academic community is in agreement that, for oil that is also fluid, the adhesion characteristic curve under oil conditions exhibits a single peak, making adhesion improvement through wheel-rail sliding impossible....

DNA is an exceptional building block for the fabrication of dynamic supramolecular systems with switchable geometries. Here, a self-assembled, tunable plasmonic–fluorescent nanostructure was developed. A precise sliding motion mechanism was operated through the control of strand displacement reactions, shifting two single-strand DNA (ssDNA) rails c...

Basalt fiber reinforced polymer composites (BFRP) are widely applied in sectors such as aerospace, rail transportation, construction, and energy. However, developing BFRP with effective damage self-sensing capabilities remains a major technical challenge. This study utilized basalt fiber (BF) as both a reinforcement and volume exclusion phase to im...

Transit-induced gentrification is a context-dependent phenomenon. Since most empirical studies have analysed single transport investments, the moderating role of local contextual factors is not well understood. This study uses consumer registers and municipal data to investigate within which time frame and under which geographical and economic cond...

There is a growing recognition that cities are both vulnerable and significant contributors to climate change (CC). In the last two decades, the Global South nations have surpassed developed countries in energy-related carbon emissions, highlighting the need for greater mitigation responsibilities. Despite the increasing appreciation of the crucial...

This study examined the response of investment to business environment and governance of select quoted companies in Nigeria from the year 2020 to the year 2024. Using the Random effect panel data regression model, the study utilized various proxies of governance and business environment. The study employed control of corruption, voice and. accounta...

This study focuses on estimating transportation system-related emissions in CO2 eq., considering several socioeconomic and energy- and transportation-related input variables. The proposed approach incorporates artificial neural networks, machine learning, and deep learning algorithms. The case of Turkey was considered as an example. Model performan...

In elevator systems, pressure plates secure guide rails and limit displacement, but defects compromise their performance under stress. Current detection algorithms face challenges in achieving high localization accuracy and computational efficiency when detecting small defects in guide rail pressure plates. To overcome these limitations, this paper...

Although the damped triboelectric nanogenerator with an assisted pendulum and spring structure has the significant advantages in harvesting water‐wave energy, these designs have reduced the space utilization of devices. Meanwhile, the indispensable and high‐weight power take‐off device in the related researches greatly also reduces the space utiliz...

Rail systems are essential for economic growth and regional connectivity, but aging infrastructures face challenges from increased demand and environmental factors. Traditional inspection methods, such as visual inspections, are inefficient and costly and pose safety risks. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have become a viable alternative to rail ma...

This study investigates the impact of high-speed rail (HSR) on Thailand’s public transportation market and evaluates the effectiveness of machine learning techniques in predicting travel mode choices. A stated preference survey was conducted with 3200 respondents across 16 provinces, simulating travel scenarios involving buses, trains, airplanes, a...

The technologies of buried power rails and backside power distribution networks are promising tools for reducing the size of nanoscale CMOS-based circuits. They provide significant improvement in many system-level parameters, for example, voltage drop and power losses are reduced by more than 2 times, and when using a ruthenium buried power rail -...

In laser measurement, geometric error detection of long-travel linear guides is challenging because of air disturbances. This Letter proposes an optical axis calibration approach for long-travel linear guide detection using a four-degree-of-freedom measurement (4-DOFM) system. The 4-DOFM system can measure two straightness errors and two angular er...

One of the tasks of ensuring the safe and sustainable operation of railway transport is to assess the life cycle of the railway track and its elements—in particular, rails. It is known that the main cause of their failure is the development of defects that arise as a result of contact of rails with the wheels of rolling stock—contact fatigue defect...

Purpose-This paper investigates the moderating influence of cultural values on the relationship between governance and risk in large-scale infrastructure development projects. It integrates cultural psychology theory into interactive governance theory as a moderator of managerial perceptions of external debt as an effective rule-based risk manageme...

China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), launched in 2013, aims to improve global connectivity through infrastructure projects. In Indonesia, the Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Rail (KCJB) project is an important part of the BRI, with the aim of speeding up travel time, improving connectivity, and boosting regional economic growth. However, the project...

(1) Background: Rapid urban growth in China has extended rail systems to neighboring cities to meet intercity travel needs, making it important to understand intercity travel patterns. (2) Methods: Taking the Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan Intercity Metro Xihuan Line as an example, intercity ridership patterns are analyzed. A Gaussian mixture model is a...

This session focuses on advanced modeling and control strategies for power electronics and electric drives, with applications in distributed generation systems (e.g., microgrids, renewable energy integration, and energy storage) and electrified transportation (e.g., electric vehicles, rail traction, and electric aviation). Contributions leveraging...

Despite opportunities, Bangladesh has failed to become a regional hub or meet domestic demand to strengthen her national interest. The fact that the existing port management and infrastructure is proved inappropriate in present day’s context let alone future context. Presently, vessel turnaround time is one of the global indexes of port efficiency....

Urbanism in the world has had a great role in the formation of the concept of urban area. A high ratio of urban population resides in metropolitan areas, and the advancement of transportation and HSR network has changed the concept and dimensions of urban areas. As most of the analyses of urban area development through HSR has been limited to econo...

To address the problem present in current subgrade settlement detection methods, this paper proposes a nondestructive intelligent and dynamic detection method for subgrade settlement based on vehicle-mounted binocular stereo vision technology. This method aims to achieve all season, the whole road, long-term detection of subgrade settlement for Roa...

Abstract Introduction: Education is a basic human right, yet millions of girls living in urban slums face significant challenges that disrupt them from accessing quality education. Objectives: i. To identify the major educational challenges of slum girls ii. To suggest solutions to overcome these barriers. Methodology:  Study area: Sholoshohor...

Lahore, as of the 2023 census, stands as the second most populous city in Pakistan, with a total population of 13 million. The exponential growth in the city’s population underscores the pressing need for the development of efficient transportation systems. In developed countries, there is a concerted shift towards sustainable and eco-friendly tran...

An electromagnetic launcher is a kind of rail symmetrical distribution launcher. When a symmetrical current is passed between the rails, the strong magnetic field is symmetrically distributed between the two rails. The bore parameters affect the efficiency and accuracy of the launcher. Launching accuracy is an important evaluation content for asses...

There has been a growing interest in studying the impact of soil–structure interaction (SSI) on high-speed rail (HSR) bridges during near-fault earthquakes. A model of the HSR vehicle–track–bridge–soil–pile (HSR-VTBSP) system is created to compute its seismic response in both elastic and plastic states. The model is used to investigate how the SSI...

Rail monitoring using in-service vehicles enables the fast detection of surface defects, which are often responsible for high noise emission. In this paper a processing sequence is presented that converts axle box accelerations into rail condition indicators based on spectral characteristics of the rail surface. The methodology is exemplified with...

This study employs the wave dispersion relation of periodic structures to demonstrate the dual resonance mechanism occurring as a train traverses a series of bridges. Dual resonance occurs when the resonant speeds of both the train and the bridge coincide, leading to resonance in the bridge and progressively amplifying the train’s responses from th...

Deciding on appropriate transport modes is critical in terms of emissions, time, and cost. However, transport routes do not always allow for the selection of the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly modes of transport. Therefore, various modes of transportation must be used together to overcome these constraints. This study investigates...

Using rail corridors for BRT may limit right-of-way costs, yet little is known about the land development impacts of this model. This research examines the perceptions and outcomes of implementing BRT station area developments within freight rail corridors using (1) surveys with planners, homebuilders, and developers and (2) Poisson regressions of...

Traditional station passenger flow prediction can no longer meet the application needs of urban rail transit vehicle scheduling. Station passenger flow can only predict station distribution, and the passenger flow distribution in general sections is unknown. Accurate short-term travel origin and destination (OD) passenger flow prediction is the mai...

This paper presents a rank-adaptive implicit integrator for the tensor solution of three-dimensional diffusion and advection-diffusion equations. In particular, the recently developed Reduced Augmentation Implicit Low-rank (RAIL) integrator is extended from two-dimensional matrix solutions to three-dimensional tensor solutions stored in a Tucker te...

Detecting surface defects on unused rails is crucial for evaluating rail quality and durability to ensure the safety of rail transportation. However, existing detection methods often struggle with challenges such as complex defect morphology, texture similarity, and fuzzy edges, leading to poor accuracy and missed detections. In order to resolve th...

Efficient foreign body detection algorithms on railway tracks are an important prerequisite for the safe operation of trains. So, this paper proposes an improved multi-category rail foreign body detection algorithm, aiming to improve the algorithm’s ability to handle complex information. First, the conventional convolution of the YOLOv8 backbone ne...

Citation: Teixeira, M.A.d.; Santos, W.W.d.; Coelho, L.M.; Santana, L.H.d.S.; Ávila, F.G.d.; Monteiro, S.N.; Guimarães, A.C.R. Influence of Ballast and Sub-Ballast Thickness on Structural Behavior of Heavy-Haul Railway Platform Determined by Finite Element Modeling. Constr. Mater. 2025, 5, 13. https://doi. Abstract: This study investigates the influ...

Following COVID-19 and a multitude of geopolitical tensions, governments across advanced economies have demonstrated renewed enthusiasm for the onshoring of manufacturing activities via public procurement contracts. Whether this represents financial value for taxpayers is less clear. This paper addresses this question by operationalising a framewor...

ECR is a crucial strategy for enhancing the overall carrying capacity of rail transportation. However, the operational cost is significantly affected by the arrival time of empty containers. When empty containers arrive too early, additional inventory costs are incurred due to idle storage, whereas late arrivals result in opportunity losses. To imp...

Pollutant emission measurements under real operating conditions using Portable Emission Measurement Systems (PEMS) have been conducted for various groups of vehicles and machinery for many years. Since 2014, Real Driving Emissions (RDE) procedures were defined and implemented in homologation testing for Heavy Duty Vehicles (HDVs) and for Passenger...

This paper revisits the concept of air/high-speed rail (HSR) integration in the specific case of congested airports, in which airport slots for (super) short-haul flights are freed by replacing them with high-speed trains. Freed slots are then likely allocated to longer flights, which leads to an increase in GHG emissions induced by flights from/to...

This paper presents the results of the study of vanadium extraction process in alunite processing, as well as modeling and finding the optimal reaction conditions. Vanadium is widely used mainly in ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgical alloys. Alloys of vanadium with iron, titanium, nickel, aluminum, chromium and other metals are used as catalysts...

The overall level of transportation infrastructure and the level of new urbanization are two coupled systems that complement each other. The balanced development of a region benefits from the efficient synergy of these two systems. Using methods such as the Gini coefficient and Lorenz curve, spatial autocorrelation and hotspot analysis, and models...

Lateral track resistance is essential for assessing rail track stability and the operational safety of railway lines. This contribution addresses the experimental investigation of lateral track resistance on railway bridges subjected to dynamic loads. The experiments are carried out using a large-scale test facility, replicating a representative se...

Wheel-rail force identification is one of the most challenging issues in the railway industry, which can provide real-time safety evaluation and fault diagnosis for railway vehciles in operation. A new real-time polygonal wheel-rail force identification method is proposed. Firstly, aiming at the characteristic of high-order polygon feature frequenc...