Keywords: field experiments, switches and crossings, trend analysis.

Switch and Crossings (S&C, or Turnouts) are the weakest points in the rail infrastructure with a high rate of failure. The switch and crossing asset requires large investment to maintain and renew within the rail infrastructure. The maintenance strategy is usually devised routinely or as a reaction to repair failures or damages. This paper shows a trend analysis methodology through experimental monitoring of S&C. Several S&C units have been instrumented to follow the condition of the different components over time. The purpose of the investigation is to gain an understanding of the forces being exerted on the rail as a vehicle traverses the S&C. A design of experiment methodology is used to plan the experimental design and to execute the measurements. This paper shows the results from some of the instrumentation, specifically at the switch tips, in order to understand how the wheel transfers from the switch to the stock rail or vice versa through the complex geometry of switches, and how the assets respond to loading.

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