Abstract
Rail transport is considered among users as the most efficient and cost-effective mode of transport. The rail sector also provides the world with environmental and social benefits by improving travel efficiency, accessibility, air quality and resilience, and reduces the number of injuries, greenhouse gases and noise pollution. The shift from road to rail means there is increasing demand for rail transportation and with this comes degradation of the rail network, thus compromising its reliability, safety and availability. The safe operation and optimized capacity of railroads is dependent on reliable, available, maintainable and safe use of railway signalling systems. In the past, rail operators have been faced with a challenge of an increasing failure rate in railway signalling systems. These failures not only decrease the capacity of the rail network but also expose the network to more safety related incidents. The deteriorating signalling infrastructure conditions, paired with ageing rolling stock have a direct effect on rail operators’ ability to deliver an efficient, safe and reliable service. A case study of operations and maintenance strategies for a leading heavy haul rail operator in South Africa was reviewed; in order to identify factors that cause reduced reliability in railway signalling systems, to recommend reliable improvement strategies, and, in turn, improve the availability of railway services. Pareto analysis was used to narrow down the dominating 20 percent subsystem failures that result in 80 percent of disruptions; and these were found to be track circuits, points, signals and axle counters. The dominating causes of these failures were ageing, component failures, theft, human error, substandard maintenance and substandard design or manufacturing. Maintenance findings revealed that there was an intervention to maintain these subsystems, however maintenance is often deferred. The survey results revealed that the organization did not have adequate systems in place to identify faults before they occurred and did not employ enough strategies to prevent failures from reoccurring. In accordance with the case study, it is recommended that the organization amends its maintenance approach by adopting a continuous improvement-based regime such iv as reliability centred maintenance and employs continuous stakeholder engagement sessions.
M.Phil. (Engineering Management)