2017 Volume 58 Issue 3 Pages 177-181
Maintenance of ground facilities account for approximately half the running costs of local railway companies. Moreover, as measures are taken to cut the workforce in these companies, this ratio is rising. There is therefore a general consensus that the cost of the ground facility maintenance is the main factor causing financial difficulties for local railway companies. This paper presents recent RTRI R&D into cutting the cost of local track maintenance, which can contribute to alleviating the financial burden on local railway companies.