Understand the importance of railroad maintenance

The full functioning of a railroad depends on several factors. Among them, railroad maintenance is one of the main ones. This maintenance refers to the routine care that the companies that manage the lines must have in relation to the tracks and also to the quality of the trains that will move on these railroads. 

Railroad maintenance is carried out by railroad maintenance technicians, with the help of various technologies, in order to eliminate or repair possible defects in the structure of the tracks, many due to the natural wear and tear these structures suffer from the constant friction of the train wheels. In addition, it is important to change some structural components regularly, such as screws, nuts and washers, thus ensuring greater safety for the long journeys that trains constantly make.

In the last decades, mainly in the middle of the last century, until today, the railroad sector has suffered a lot from the neglect in relation to the care of the railroads. Due to the prioritization of investments in the road sector, the railroads were scrapped and some abandoned. 

With the change in the regulation of the concession model, established in the 1990s, private companies began to manage the railroads and, with this, new investments arose, both in the creation of new railroad lines and in the revitalization of abandoned lines.

In order for the lines to have sufficient production capacity to meet market demand, railroad maintenance of both abandoned and newer lines is essential, since it is this process that ensures that rails and trains will always be in a position to carry out transportation. of cargo in a safe and efficient manner.

Importance of railroad maintenance to prevent wear

Railroad wear and tear is one of the main problems affecting the structure of railroad lines. railroad maintenance exists precisely to prevent the wear of the train tracks from interfering with transportation on several Brazilian railroad lines.

There are different types of wear that can affect the train tracks. Each of them requires specific maintenance, according to the problem encountered. The main wear and tear are:

• Side wear;
• Wave wear;
• Vertical wear;
• Billet wear.

To find out more about the types of recurrent wear on the rail track and where rail maintenance is required regularly, clique aqui.

Well, these different types of wear can cause a series of problems that hinder the operation of the railroad and can generate losses for the company that manages the line.

The billet, for example, is the upper part of the track composition, and is the surface that comes in direct contact with the movement of the train wheels. As it is an essential structure for the trajectory of the line, the wear of the billet can directly affect the quality of the wheel. 

If the train wheels do not find a linear and well-structured surface, they can suffer displacement, even causing the train to derail. In addition to the countless losses for the company, which can lose their loads, the safety of train operators is put at risk on this type of occasion. 

In less drastic cases, the wear on the rails can “just” hinder the dynamic flow of cargo transport. If in the middle of the journey, the operators identify apparent problems on the roads due to these wear and tear, they can see the need for railroad maintenance outside the determined hours, that is, in full working hours.

In this case, the company's transportation logistics may suffer from delays, making the cargo take longer to be delivered to the planned destinations. Precisely due to factors such as those mentioned, the execution of railroad maintenance in the planned periods is so fundamental.

Regulation of railroad scales

On every railroad line there is a maximum weight that can be carried during a journey. In the weighing process, the weight of the wagon structure and the load carried by them are considered. The maximum allowed value is determined according to the type of train track on the track.

As you can see here, the train tracks are classified by the weight per meter of each bar. That is, a track that is named TR 45, weighs 45 kg per meter. This classification is essential to determine the supported weights for each type of rail.

The weighing of wagons and cargo transported on a journey is carried out by railroad scales. There are two main types of railroad scales: static and dynamic scales. The static, as the name already delivers, weighs the wagons and loads with the trains stopped. The dynamics, in turn, manage to calculate the structural weight of the trains even when they are in motion.

The quality and operation of a railroad scale is essential to avoid wear on the railroad tracks and, therefore, is of paramount importance in the area of railroad maintenance.

The operation of the scales is simple: the wagon is positioned on them, which, through computerized systems, carry out the weighing and send the results to a specialized control center.

Obtaining these results is essential to determine the following actions, because, for example, if the train carries a weight greater than the maximum stipulated, it is natural that the tracks suffer from structural problems due to this overload, making maintenance even more fundamental. railroad on the track.

Precisely because of this relevance that railroad scales have, it is essential that they are regulated, that is, they need to calculate precisely the weights of the wagons that are positioned on them.

The regulation of the railroad scales is part of the railroad maintenance processes, since the precision in measuring makes the rails suffer less from overweight loads during trips.

Technical assistance of Massa Pesagem

If it is quality and efficiency in technical assistance for the railroad scale of your company that you want, Massa Pesagem e Automação Industrial has the best service on the market to offer. 

We have qualified professionals, state-of-the-art technology and a strict policy on the quality control of our services, which offer you complete technical assistance on railroad scales, guaranteeing the efficiency of the equipment and always assertive weighing calculations.

In order to avoid the occurrence of structural problems and railroad maintenance out of hours, as well as logistical losses during transport, Massa Pesagem guarantees for your company a qualified service in calibrating the scales, in addition to structural repairs that reduce the risks of breakdown or lack of precision in weighing wagons. 

Conclusion on railroad maintenance

We can conclude with the article that railroad maintenance is a fundamental aspect for the quality of any railroad line. The assertive planning and the practical execution of the maintenance guarantees the full functioning of the line, avoiding expressive wear on the railroad tracks. In addition, railroad scales play a fundamental role in the quality and durability of the tracks, and it is through the technical assistance of companies such as Massa Pesagem that the railroad scales will always be calibrated and in ideal conditions for weighing. 

Fontes ?
https://www.mecanicaindustrial.com.br/842-manutencao-ferroviaria/

https://www.mt.com/br/pt/home/library/FAQ/laboratory-weighing/Balance-Scale-Service-Calibration.html
https://massa.ind.br/balanca-ferroviaria/

https://www.balancasprecisa.com.br/manutencao-balanca-ferroviaria.html
https://blog.knwaagen.com.br/dicas-para-acompanhar-calibracao-de-balancas/