PurposeThis paper presents an integrated technical and economic assessment of hot axle box detectors (HABD) and hot wheel detectors (HWD) important components of derailment prevention strategies, whose role extends beyond auxiliary monitoring to become cornerstones of derailment prevention and operational resilience. Building upon the International Union of Railways (UIC) Network Monitor Phases 1–3, the study synthesises international benchmarking evidence, cost–benefit analysis and operational practice to provide a coherent framework for decision-making, deployment and harmonisation.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology combines three layers: (1) international benchmarking of national rules, detector spacing and alarm thresholds across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia; (2) a cost–benefit model based on avoided accidents, fatalities and disruption, tested through sensitivity analyses of detector density and false-alarm rates; and (3) operational doctrines covering alarm logic, reliability, availability, maintainability and safety requirements, operations control centre integration and lifecycle maintenance. The findings are aligned with European Union Agency for Railways guidance, UIC International Railway Solution (IRS) 70729 and lessons from Demonstration of Railway Infrastructure Reliability and Sustainable Railway projects.FindingsFindings confirm that HABD/HWD systems provide significant safety and economic value when integrated into operational rulebooks, maintenance workflows and digital platforms. Multi-sensor and AI-enabled detectors reduce false positives and enhance early detection, while international harmonisation efforts (e.g. IRS 70729 and EHMS) support cross-border interoperability. This study provides evidence-based guidance for risk-based deployment and lifecycle optimisation within modern railway safety frameworks.Originality/valueThis paper provides a comprehensive international synthesis that connects benchmarking, cost–benefit and operational safety frameworks into a structured doctrine for HABD/HWD deployment. It provides infrastructure managers and railway undertakings with evidence-based guidance on risk-based siting, lifecycle optimisation and international harmonisation. The work also contributes to the forthcoming UIC IRS, positioning HABD/HWD as globally relevant digital safety assets within the broader agenda of railway innovation, digitalisation and socio-economic resilience.
Transportation engineering, Railroad engineering and operation
The railway car body is made of aluminium extrusion comprising various rib shapes. The ribs are designed to enhance the stiffness of the car structure. Although the ribs are intended to support large panels of the aluminium extrusion, they can degrade the noise reduction effect owing to multiple resonant vibrations at high frequencies. Therefore, a scientific attempt was made to improve the railway frame by using ribless panels. First, a structural analysis of the original aluminium extrusion was conducted using computer simulation. The simulation results revealed that the ribs of the frames transmitted noise owing to their resonance in the high-frequency range. Therefore, a new railway frame model, named the ribless panel, was developed in this study. Vibration simulations indicated that the ribless panel was effective in reducing noise and vibrations in the high-frequency range. Furthermore, the ribless panel was reinforced with acrylic plastic to reduce the resonant vibrations of the plates. After examining the transmission loss in cross-sectional railway frames, a comparative test of the noise reduction performance was conducted in the reverberation chamber. The results indicated that the reinforced ribless panel improved the transmission loss in the overall high-frequency range. Specifically, 6.7 dB of transmitted noise was reduced using the new panel suggested in this research.
Quantum Machine Learning (QML) is increasingly attracting attention as a potential solution to improve computational performance, especially in handling complex and big data-driven classification tasks. In this study, the Quantum Support Vector Machine (QSVM) algorithm is applied to prostate cancer classification, with the results compared to the classical Support Vector Machine (SVM) model. QSVM shows superiority in accuracy, reaching 0.93, compared to the classical SVM which has an accuracy of 0.91. In addition, QSVM produces precision, recall, and F1-score values of 0.83, 0.95, and 0.88, respectively, higher than the precision of 0.82, recall of 0.93, and F1-score of 0.87 of the classical SVM. These findings indicate that QSVM is more effective in handling high-dimensional data and complex classification, thus demonstrating the great potential of QML in medical applications, especially in cancer classification and biomarker discovery.Keywords: Quantum Machine Learning, Quantum Support Vector Machine, Klasifikasi, Kanker Prostat
In order to adapt to the continuous growth of freight traffic volume, the heavy haul railways have undergone the transportation capacity upgrading and transformation. The co-phase and bilateral power supply technologies can be adopted to cancel the phase breaks along the line and effectively improve the traction power supply capacity. A power supply transformation scheme suitable for the interconnected co-phase power supply traction network of heavy haul railway was put forward in this paper, and such a scheme can meet the needs of grid-based power supply of the traction network and continuous operation of the locomotive. Moreover, due to the fact that the existing protection and tripping/reclosing scheme could not satisfy the safety requirements for the interconnected co-phase power supply system, based on the operation characteristics of the interconnected co-phase traction network and the locomotive, the sectionalized protection and fault self-recovery strategies for traction network were proposed to realize the fault-oriented safety of traction network and ensure the minimum outage interval of traction network with fault. Finally, the simulation results verified the accuracy and effectiveness of the scheme. This scheme can provide important support for the interconnected co-phase power supply transformation for heavy haul railway, and plays a positive role in ensuring the safe transportation of goods.
In order to improve the safety and comfort level of rail vehicles, a control scheme of vehicle grille was presented. When a fire occurred in a train, the spread of flame and poison gas could be prevented and the poison gas discharge could be promoted by opening and closing the air return grille of partition door, air supply grille of driver's cab wind crossing, inlet valve of air conditioning fresh air device and exhaust valve of waste discharge device, so the life safety of passengers and drivers could be protected maximum; When the external pressure of the train fluctuated violently, while the internal space completely was isolated from the external environment, and the driver's cab was also separated from the passenger compartment, if the total pressure decompression time of driver's cab part component was greater than the total pressure decompression time of passenger compartment part component at this time under certain conditions, the fluctuation of the air pressure driver's cab could be reduced and comfort level of driver's cab could be improved, at the same time, the calculation and verification were carried out. The research provides a reference for safety and comfort design of rail vehicles.
Aiming at the problem that the junction temperature of IGBT chip is difficult to measure directly, a calculation method of IGBT junction temperature based on heat conduction model was proposed. The heat conduction model of the converter was established based on the classic Cauer RC network structure; the parameter identification of the heat conduction model of the converter was completed by combining the concept of transfer function and the structure of heat conduction model; the real-time power loss of the IGBT was calculated by consulting the IGBT product manual and the actual working conditions; finally, the simulation calculation was carried out by MATLAB/Simulink, and the real-time junction temperature of IGBT chip on the converter was obtained. This method realizes the fast calculation of IGBT chip junction temperature, provides important data support for IGBT reliability and life evaluation, and provides a new scientific basis for the design and development of power modules and converters.
<p>This thesis will explore the development and design opportunities related to the retrofitting of abandoned railroad corridors in post industrial cities. These lines of infrastructure will be viewed as the lifelines of the city whereby, the ramifications of main transportation arteries will impact the urban network through connectivity and the creation of public open space. This thesis will look at obsolete public railroad infrastructure, as an important fragment of the collective memory of a post-industrial city that can be reactivated to connect back into the transportation urban network. These structures will be identified as landmarks that must be preserved and incorporated into public space and amenity. The reestablishment of the railroad in this context will result in the connection of the contemporary to its past, creating more meaningful and resonant spaces. These transportation corridors will be addressed as part of expanding ecological and man-made systems, thus becoming lifelines of the city, expanding their arteries to feed life into the urban fabric. The natural areas affected by these railroads will be treated as the lungs of the city and made more accessible to the public in order to raise ecological awareness. The railroad thus creates permeability, linking urban and natural areas and reviving its former function of connectivity by re-stitching the urban fabric.</p>
In recent years, Kiss & Ride car parks have appeared in Polish cities. The idea of the car park is to transfer the passenger to the transfer node, so that the rest of the journey can be done by public transport. Car parks of this type are also located near other places, where it is necessary to lift or pick up another person (for example, near schools, hotels). The article presents marking of Kiss & Ride car parks in Polish cities. The parking analysis was carried out on four car parks of this type in Wrocław during morning peak and during afternoon peak. The stopping time and purpose of parking were determined. Keywords: Car park; Kiss & Ride; Wrocław
Highway engineering. Roads and pavements, Bridge engineering
The actual load rate of railway traction transformer is mostly below 0.3, far below the normal load rate standard of 0.5 and above, which is called low load operation condition. By analyzing the overload capacity of four typical traction load curves under normal load rate and low load rate, it was proved that traction transformers had higher overload capacity under low load rate operation, but for different load curves, their overload capacity varies greatly. Curve 1 and curve 3 could be increased to 1.25 to 1.56 times of normal overload capacity, while curve 2 and curve 4 could not obviously improved, which provides a reference basis for reasonable selection of installed capacity of traction transformers.
Aiming at the application of independent wheelset in light rail vehicles, a new structure of independent wheelset, which combined planetary differential and lower axle, was studied. The structure could improve the steering ability of independent wheelset.Through the analysis of several mainstream LRV structures, it was shown that reasonable vehicle structure types could improve the curve passing performance of vehicles, among which the float type bogie steering was the most flexible and the bogie could cross the curve radially, which was conducive to reducing wheel-rail abrasion and noise. At the same time, the bogie types of low floor light rail vehicles at home and abroad were studied. It was found that the use of independent wheelset bogies could easily meet the 100% low floor rate of light rail vehicles. The simulation results showed that the independent wheelset with active control could pass through the small radius curve radially.
Good technical condition of rolling stock is an important consideration for increasing safety in train traffi c. Safety is the state’s priority in the development and modernization of the railroad industry. The goal of this study is to develop an onboard monitoring device for a freight car’s shock-absorbing device’s technical condition. This justifi es the need to control the serviceability of the unit and the urgency to equip freight cars with onboard monitoring systems. The following tasks were set and resolved: collection and analysis of information on the dynamics of changes in the number of faults of freight cars serviced at the sites of the current uncoupling repair of Russian companies from 2008 to 2018; study the expediency of the primary control of serviceability of different units of the freight car; collection and analysis of information including statistical data, scientifi c publications, and thesis on the effect of a failed shock-absorbing device on other units of the freight car and reduction of the train’s overall traffi c safety. The study enabled development and manufacturing of a mockup onboard monitoring device freight car shock-absorbing device’s technical condition, with its functional capabilities described. To increase the diagnostics accuracy, technology defi ning failure criteria of the controlled unit and reduction of its operation effectiveness is developed. The main recommendations for using the proposed onboard device are also provided. The principal advantages of the device are underlined and reasons for freight rolling stock owners to equip their cars with the developed system are advanced.
The development of PHM (prognostics and health management) was introduced. The PHM technology system and system architecture for EMUs were put foward based on the research of the functional structure as well as operation and maintenance of EMUs. Based on PHM technology, the EMUs PHM system function and technical solution were expounded. The prognostics of wheel polygonization and traction motor ventilating device on-condition maintenance were introduced as the successful examples of the EMUs PHM system,the application results of some functional modules were briefly described.
In order to study the crashworthiness and occupant-protecting ability of tram car under side impact accident, a 5-module 100% low-floor tram car with dummy and a 6120 bus FEM models were established. By designing the impact scenario that a low-floor tram car parking on the rail impacted perpendicularly on the side faces of floating module by a bus with the velocity of 30 km/h and simulating the whole process of crash in LS-DYNA. It was shown that deformation was generated and occupant on the impacted side was pushed off the chair in designed scenario due to the impact force, which also caused the whiplash injury of occupant without neck protection. Designing guard bar in sidewall, separate seat from sidewall and install headrest and seatbelt will improve the crashworthiness of tram car and decrease injury criterion and provide occupants a safer ride environment.
The aim of the article is to experimentally evaluate the contact area and to compare the measured results with different contact model theories. The experiment takes advantage of the electrical contact resistivity principle in a dry piston/cylinder liner test rig assembly. Analytical contact models are implemented into the computational simulation. The calculated contact area depends on the dynamics and precomputed database of contact pressure and contact area in relation to the separation distance of surfaces.
Railroad engineering and operation, Industrial engineering. Management engineering
This article deals about modified way of switch area capacity assessment in a railway station and about the software tool that realize the calculation. The procedure of calculation originates from the leaflet UIC 406. Original methodology that is described in the leaflet is based on the knowledge of a switch area (only some parts of it) exclusion times because of occupancy by individual trains. In some cases it might be problem to get input data in needed format. There are some simulation tools that provide occupancy times it different format and to convert the data to a needed format is not easy to do. Due to this reason there was designed alternative way how to assess capacity of switch area that use data from simulation tools. To assess the capacity there was developed software tool that follow rules from the leaflet UIC 406 so the results that it provides are equal to original methodology.
Railroad engineering and operation, Industrial engineering. Management engineering
The design idea, system structure, main function and characteristics of TCMS on intercity EMUs; were introduced. The typical application showed that TCMS using the two-level network structure for communication and control, achieved the optimal state of the train control through the mutual cooperation of the network, and provided important guarantee for the development and application of TCMS technology.
According to the problem of EMI source hard positioning in EMI test, a near-field diagnostic test systems was presented with different dimension and type near-field probe to position larger radiation point accurately, which provided a fast and effective positioning method to complete radiation EMI fault diagnostic and guided practical application.
At the present time, there is the effort to replace the established airways for flying by direct lines. This style of operation is called free route airspace concept. On the following pages we will focus on problems and solutions associated with this concept and examples of FRA implementation in Europe.
Railroad engineering and operation, Industrial engineering. Management engineering
Outsourcing je jeden z účinných nástrojov riadenia zmien v podniku. Dokáže v podniku uvoľniť potenciál viazaný v oblastiach, ktoré nepatria medzi kľúčové, na druhej strane vhodnou voľbou spôsobu použitia a správnym výberom partnera posilní kľúčové spôsobilosti podniku a jeho konkurenčné výhody. Začali ho využívať i železničné podniky SR s cieľom zefektívniť svoju činnosť.
Railroad engineering and operation, Industrial engineering. Management engineering