Presentations and Papers
Summary - QR's Stoneblower Investment for the Future
Presenter: Kevin Cullen
QR Ltd’s heavy-haul network continues to be placed under significant pressure from an ever increasing growth in traffic task. Ongoing active management of the infrastructure is required to keep speed restrictions from impacting train cycle times and the performance of the coal supply chain.
Stoneblower technology is an alternative resurfacing method that promises to extend the intervals between maintenance interventions. While in active use in Great Britain, use outside that environment has been very limited. If the UK experience were transferable to QR’s heavy-haul environment, the benefits could be significant in reduced resurfacing costs, extended ballast cleaning cycles and improved network availability.
The paper describes the lessons learned during commissioning and implementation of a stoneblowing machine in QR. The benefits and the experienced limitations in operating the stoneblower in Queensland are discussed, and early results of the long-term performance of the method are presented.
While insufficient time has elapsed to be conclusive about the long-term benefits of stoneblowing in QR, the early results are promising.
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