expertise in action

Rail

With the increasing growth of rail freight and passenger services throughout Australia, rail safety is of paramount importance to government regulators (ATSB, ONRSR, RISSB) and private owners/operators.  Safety of railroad infrastructure including tracks, bridges, passenger rail vehicles and freight rolling stock is ensured through detailed engineering analyses, testing and maintenance.

Engagement of an independent expert for engineering and testing services provides peace of mind, ensuring the safety of your passengers and reliability of your assets. HRL has been a service provider to Australia’s rail infrastructure for over 30 years.  We have ridden your trains and trams all over Australia performing ride testing to track testing to laboratory fatigue testing and material examinations.

HRL provides the following independent services to the rail industry:

  • Experimental Stress Analysis (Strain Gauge surveys) of rail vehicles
  • Theoretical Stress Analysis (Finite Element Analysis) of rail vehicles and components
  • Compliance Testing to Rail Standards (Ride index testing and vibration measurements)
  • Fatigue Life Assessment of rail vehicles and components (Experimental or Theoretical)
  • Inspection Services - NDT and visual inspection
  • Defect Tolerance Assessment (Assessment of defects when found during inspections)
  • Fitness for service assessment (Assessment of defects when found during inspections)
  • Pressure Vessel Design Verification (inspection and assessment of rail pressure equipment)
  • Failure Analysis (material investigation services, PMI, UTT, failure examinations).

HRL assists the rail industry to face its many challenges including:

  • Safety requirements and demonstration thereof
  • Regulatory requirements
  • Government requirements
  • Aging assets
  • Unproven designs
  • Breakdown maintenance (unscheduled maintenance requirements affecting supply)
  • Penalties arising from not meeting supply demand
  • Time restrictions due to unscheduled servicing requirements.

Solutions HRL provides include:

  • Train testing to verify design complies with safety requirements
  • Train and track testing to verify condition complies with regulatory requirements
  • Train and track testing to verify design and condition complies with government requirements
  • Testing using Strain Gauges to prove FEA Analysis
  • Stress testing to determine stresses to verify compliance with design limits through physical testing
  • Vibration/Ontrack Testing
  • Stresses used to determine Asset Life (Fatigue Life Assessment)
  • Testing to provide data knowledge to the asset owner to facilitate, run, replace, repair decisions
  • Engineering assessments to code requirements for trail and rail equipment
  • Inspection to identify presence of defects or cracking
  • Failure analysis to determine cause of failures

Click here to download our Rail Services flyer


Here are the links to our Rail Services case studies


HRL provides valuable insight into the redesign of traction motor trolleys through stress analysis testing using FEA

HRL assesses the performance of a train under various loads and conditions through static structural testing

HRL helps prevent safety issues in rail headstock with strain gauge survey for fatigue analysis

Meet the expert

JAMES TAYLOR

Thirty years' experience in engineering consultancy of mining plant, rail track, rail passenger vehicles and rolling stock, transport vehicles, petrochemical and power plant. Specialising in pressure equipment (vessels and piping).  Company signatory for pressure vessel design verification. Fitness for purpose analysis including product integrity assessments. Australian Standards compliance testing.

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What Our Clients Say

"Knowledgeable and use this to help guide client into the best solution to solve the task/problem."

Robert Schiller
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Ready to transform your business performance?

Contact our technical consultants on -
+61 3 9565 9888
or
info@hrl.com.au to get started today.

Our Certifications

NATA

NATA accredited AtS/NZS ISO 17025, AS/NZS ISO 17020NATA Accredited Laboratories number 561

ISO 9001 Quality Management

ISO 9001 Quality Management certified by BSI under certificate number FS605116.