February_2022 - 14

Vancouver, B.C.
and hard-won development of
innovative rail profile grinding
and wheel re-truing programs,
along with the introduction of
newly developed friction modifiers,
normalized wear and stabilized
the system. All was good.
Unfortunately, as often happens
on transit systems, competing
priorities and cost reductions led
to a lapse in SkyTrain's focus on
rail maintenance practices.
SkyTrain is maintained and operated
by British Columbia Rapid
Transit Company (BCRTC) as part
of TransLink, Metro Vancouver's
transportation authority, and is relatively
new as urban transit systems
go. The 30-km (18.6-mile) Expo
Line opened in 1986 and added
extensions in the 1990s. The 20-km
(12.4-mile) Millennium Line was
added in 2002 and the 11-km (6.8mile)
Evergreen extension in 2016.
All told, the system is comprised
of 121 kilometers (75.2 miles) of
standard-gauge, double-track utilizing
115-pound rail with an assortment
of resilient rail fasteners
on concrete slab track and fully automated
train control (GoA4). The
system has 39 stations and operates
up to 21 hours per day, seven days
a week. Most of the system is built
on elevated guideway - hence the
name SkyTrain - but there are also
approximately 18 kilometers (11.2
miles) of underground and at-grade
track. The maximum normal operating
speed is 80 km/h (approximately
50 mph).
Three generations of rolling
stock - MK I vehicles built by
Urban Transportation Development
Corporation Ltd. (UTDC)
and MK II and MK III vehicles
built by Bombardier (before it
was acquired by Alstom) - operate
in two-, four- and six-car sets,
depending on the line. Vehicles
are driven by a linear induction
propulsion system with two linear
induction motors mounted on the
underside of each vehicle 10 mm
above the reaction rail, which is installed
between the running rails.
The wheels do not generate tractive
By 2014, the wear and tear from
millions of service kilometers manifested
itself in rail surface shelling
and spalling, noise-generating corrugation
and, more significantly,
a couple " reportable " rail defects
that required intervention - clear
indications to management that it
was losing the fight.
" The system was degrading
quicker than we could maintain
it, " Doyle said.
Concerned that further degradation
of the rail surface could lead
to replacing significant amounts of
rail if this trend wasn't addressed
more effectively, Doyle, who was
BCTRC's director of railway infrastructure
at the time, brought
in Advanced Rail Management
(ARM) to conduct a comprehensive
assessment of rail and wheel
conditions throughout the system.
Immediately evident during
TransLink
SKYTRAIN'S
CLOSE proximity
to Vancouver's
densely
populated
residential
communities
makes wheel/
rail-generated
noise an ongoing
problem.
effort. Electricity for the propulsion
system is delivered via power
rails mounted on the inside of the
guideway parapet walls. Solid steel,
high-conicity wheels are mounted
on self-steering bogies, which are
unique in North America.
" The
steerable
bogies
can
" We weren't
just investigating
a theory. We
collected data
from actual field
investigations
into each of these
measures to prove
that they were,
indeed, effective. "
- PEETER VESIK
handle very tight curvature with
minimal flange contact, so there is
very little gauge-face rail wear in
curves. This allows BCRTC to use
a single rail profile for tangents and
curves on the system, " said Matt
Doyle, TransLink director of project
management. " The downside is
that we see corrugation and related
noise and ride quality issues. "
In addition to corrugation,
wear-related issues resurfaced
with the capacity expansion for
the 2010 Winter Olympics. SkyTrain
added 48 new cars, representing
24 additional trains - a
20 percent increase in traffic - to
the system.
" I don't think we fully appreciated
the impact that the higher
frequency service would have on
the system, specifically its effect
on the rail, " Doyle said.
14 | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | FEBRUARY 2022
ARM's initial inspection and assessment
was a broad wheel/rail
contact band, indicting a high
degree of wheel/rail conformality
that contributed to the development
and growth of rolling contact
fatigue and corrugation. This
in turn led to further deterioration
and excessive wheel/rail-generated
noise on the system.
" The precise operation of SkyTrain's
Automated Train Operation
(ATO) system, which ensures
that trains accelerate and decelerate
at the exact same locations
when coming into and leaving
stations, tends to generate corrugation
on the system, especially
on the older, softer rail on the
original Expo Line, " said ARM
Director of Projects and Business
Development Mark Reimer.
The most significant type of
defect observed was the formation
of squats, which are created
by high wheel/rail creep forces
that stress the rail material just
below the
surface, producing
shelling that results in material
breaking out from the rail surface.
" A lot of damage occurred in
high-impact areas, such as turnouts, "
Reimer said.
http://www.MassTransitmag.com

February_2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February_2022

Editor’s Notebook
People & Places
SkyTrain
Bolstering the Mobility Toolbox
2022 Mobility Outlook
Outfitting Networks with Improved Connectivity to Create a Better Rider Experience
Products
February_2022 - 1
February_2022 - 2
February_2022 - 3
February_2022 - 4
February_2022 - 5
February_2022 - Editor’s Notebook
February_2022 - 7
February_2022 - People & Places
February_2022 - 9
February_2022 - 10
February_2022 - 11
February_2022 - SkyTrain
February_2022 - 13
February_2022 - 14
February_2022 - 15
February_2022 - 16
February_2022 - 17
February_2022 - 18
February_2022 - 19
February_2022 - Bolstering the Mobility Toolbox
February_2022 - 21
February_2022 - 22
February_2022 - 23
February_2022 - 24
February_2022 - 25
February_2022 - 2022 Mobility Outlook
February_2022 - 27
February_2022 - 28
February_2022 - 29
February_2022 - Outfitting Networks with Improved Connectivity to Create a Better Rider Experience
February_2022 - 31
February_2022 - 32
February_2022 - Products
February_2022 - 34
February_2022 - 35
February_2022 - 36
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https://www.nxtbook.com/endeavor/masstransit/march-april-2023
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https://www.nxtbook.com/endeavor/masstransit/december-2021-january-2022
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https://www.nxtbook.com/endeavor/masstransit/september-october_2021
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https://www.nxtbook.com/endeavor/masstransit/mass_transit_june_2021
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