The rail industry in South Africa is crucial to the nation's economy. During apartheid, passenger rail trains
were essential as they provided a means of transportation for black South Africans who were restricted
from owning cars or travelling by plane. Today, millions of people rely on trains for their daily commute,
inspiring the need for regular maintenance to ensure that passenger rail trains remain available and
accessible to the public.
The state of railway infrastructure remains the most obvious and widely discussed reason for train
unavailability/reliability. However, some research has examined the impact of failures in
components/subsystems on the reliability of these trains. The assessment of the reliability of passenger rail
was based on their availability (whether they can provide service to the public) or their health (whether they
are operational and can be used to provide a service). This study investigated how component/subsystem
failures affected the reliability of passenger rail trains. A Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) was
conducted to achieve this investigative goal.
Raw data was acquired from a relevant company, converted into a usable form (wrangled), and analyzed
via a Failure Mode and Effects Analysis. FMEA required Severity (S), Occurrence (O), and Detectability
(D) to be computed to calculate the Risk Priority Number (RPN). To allocate values to S, O, and D, the
requirements for a train to enter service and the requirements for it to remain in service were considered.
From the FMEA, it became apparent that the failure of different components/subsystems had various effects
on the operation of the passenger rail trains. The criticality of the failure was inversely proportional to the
reliability of the train; the higher the criticality of the failure, the lower the reliability of the train.
After conducting an FMEA and analyzing the failures, it was evident that the data collected from the
passenger rail train had great potential. The study considered various components/subsystems, and the
results had the capacity to influence maintenance decisions. A general belief is that an FMEA can help
determine the preventive measures necessary to maintain assets in good working order. Throughout the
data analysis section, multiple recommendations were made on mitigating failures or minimizing downtime
by implementing solutions that align with the findings of the FMEA.
- The reliability of passenger rail trains : a case study on critical components/subsystems
- Mpendulo Ndelane
- Jan-Harm Christiaan Pretorius
- University of Johannesburg; MPhil
- MPhil, University of Johannesburg
- 9951505107691
- University of Johannesburg
- Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment; Post Graduate School of Engineering Management; University of Johannesburg
- English
- Thesis