Editorial Special Issue: PHM for Railway Systems and Mass Transportation

• Published in: International Journal of Prognostics and Health Management
• Main Authors: John Andrews, Thomas Böhm, Pierre Dersin, Jörn C. Groos, René Schenkendorf
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Prognostics and Health Management Society 2017-12-01
• Subjects: condition based maintenance; railway systems; industrial analytics; railway infrastructure
• Online Access: https://papers.phmsociety.org/index.php/ijphm/article/view/2644

The railway and mass transportation system is composed of industrial goods with substantial capital investments and long life cycles. This applies to rolling stock like trains, locomotives, wagons, and even more to the infrastructure like signaling, catenary, tracks, bridges, and tunnels. The lifespan of rolling stock is 30 to 40 years while the infrastructure is used 30 to 60 years even more than 100 years in case of tunnels and bridges. As in other industrial goods, the cost drivers are determined in the early design phases but realized mainly during a long time of operation. Maintenance is one of the main cost drivers but essential to a reliable, capable, and – above all – safe operation.