SIST EN 17397-1:2021
(Main)Railway applications - Rail defects - Part 1: Rail defect management
Railway applications - Rail defects - Part 1: Rail defect management
This Standard specifies the defect management system the infrastructure manager uses to control the risk of severe accidents due to degradation of internal or surface defects on rails complying with EN 13674-1, EN 13674-2, EN 13674-4 and EN 15689 (excluding grooved rails EN 14811 - which need alternative systems).
Bahnanwendungen - Schienenfehler - Teil 1: Handhabung von Schienenfehlern
Dieses Dokument legt das Fehlermanagementsystem fest, das Infrastrukturmanager verwenden, um das Risiko schwerer Unfälle aufgrund der Verschlimmerung von inneren oder Oberflächenfehlern an Schienen nach EN 13674 1, EN 13674 2, EN 13674 4 und EN 15689:2009 (mit Ausnahme von Rillenschienen nach EN 14811, die alternative Systeme benötigen) zu kontrollieren.
Applications ferroviaires - Défauts de rails - Partie 1 : Gestion des défauts de rails
Le présent document spécifie le système de gestion des défauts que le gestionnaire d'infrastructure utilise pour maîtriser le risque d'accidents graves dus à la dégradation des défauts internes ou de surface des rails conformes aux normes EN 13674 1, EN 13674 2, EN 13674 4 et EN 15689:2009 (à l'exception des rails à gorge EN 14811 — qui nécessitent d'autres systèmes).
Železniške naprave - Napake na progi - 1. del: Upravljanje železniških napak
General Information
Standards Content (Sample)
SLOVENSKI STANDARD
SIST EN 17397-1:2021
01-januar-2021
Železniške naprave - Napake na progi - 1. del: Upravljanje železniških napak
Railway applications - Rail defects - Part 1: Rail defect management
Bahnanwendungen - Schienenfehler - Teil 1: Handhabung von Schienenfehlern
Applications ferroviaires - Défauts de rails - Partie 1 : Gestion des défauts de rails
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN 17397-1:2020
ICS:
93.100 Gradnja železnic Construction of railways
SIST EN 17397-1:2021 en,fr,de
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.
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SIST EN 17397-1:2021
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SIST EN 17397-1:2021
EN 17397-1
EUROPEAN STANDARD
NORME EUROPÉENNE
November 2020
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
ICS 93.100
English Version
Railway applications - Rail defects - Part 1: Rail defect
management
Applications ferroviaires - Défauts de rails - Partie 1 : Bahnanwendungen - Schienenfehler - Teil 1:
Gestion des défauts de rails Handhabung von Schienenfehlern
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 28 September 2020.
CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this
European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references
concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN
member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by
translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management
Centre has the same status as the official versions.
CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and
United Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION
EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG
CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2020 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN 17397-1:2020 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.
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SIST EN 17397-1:2021
EN 17397-1:2020 (E)
Contents Page
European foreword . 3
1 Scope . 4
2 Normative references . 4
3 Terms and definitions . 4
4 Abbreviations . 7
5 Defect management system . 7
5.1 General . 7
5.2 Defect types . 7
5.3 NDT inspection of rails . 7
5.4 Management of NDT inspection results . 8
6 Limits of rail condition . 8
6.1 General . 8
6.2 Definition of limits . 8
6.3 Rail defect immediate action limits L . 10
IA
7 Risk mitigation . 10
Annex A (informative) Description of rail defects . 11
A.1 Definition and description of rail defects . 11
A.2 Characterization of rail defects . 15
A.2.1 Transverse cracking . 15
A.2.2 Horizontal cracking . 19
A.2.3 Longitudinal vertical cracking . 25
A.2.4 Squat . 29
A.2.5 Head checks . 33
A.2.6 Other rail head surface conditions . 35
A.2.7 Corrosion . 50
A.2.8 Wear . 54
A.2.9 Other rail defects . 59
Annex B (informative) Immediate action limits L . 67
IA
Bibliography . 69
2
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EN 17397-1:2020 (E)
European foreword
This document (EN 17397-1:2020) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 256 “Railway
applications”, the secretariat of which is held by DIN.
This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an
identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by May 2021, and conflicting national standards shall be
withdrawn at the latest by May 2021.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organisations of the
following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland,
Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of
North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the
United Kingdom.
3
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EN 17397-1:2020 (E)
1 Scope
This document specifies the defect management system the infrastructure manager uses to control the
risk of severe accidents due to degradation of internal or surface defects on rails complying with
EN 13674-1, EN 13674-2, EN 13674-4 and EN 15689:2009 (excluding grooved rails EN 14811 — which
need alternative systems).
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
EN 16729-3:2018, Railway applications - Infrastructure - Non-destructive testing on rails in track - Part 3:
Requirements for identifying internal and surface rail defects
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— IEC Electropedia: available at http://www.electropedia.org/
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://www.iso.org/obp
3.1
plain rail
zone comprising all parts of the rail located away from the rail ends and the welding zones
3.2
rail end
part of the rail located within the length of the fishplates
3.3
welding zone
weld material itself plus 20 mm from each end of the weld collar (for aluminothermic welding and
electric arc welding) or upset (flash-butt welding)
Note 1 to entry: Any defect occurring in this zone is classified as a welding defect.
3.4
defective rail
rail which, for reasons of integrity or profile (including wear), requires management (examples in
Annex A)
3.5
damaged rail
rail which is neither cracked nor broken, but which has other defects
3.6
cracked area
part of the rail with a localized material discontinuity
4
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3.7
broken rail
rail which has separated into two or more pieces (see Figure 1 and Figure 2) or any rail from which a
piece of metal becomes detached from the rail head, with a gap of more than 50 mm in length and more
than 10 mm in depth resulting in a running band less than 30 mm in width (see Figure 3)
Figure 1 — Example of a broken rail separated in two pieces
Key
l horizontal length
Figure 2 — Example of a broken rail with a gap at the rail end
Key
a vertical depth
l horizontal length
c non-cracked area
Figure 3 — Example of a broken rail with a gap
5
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3.8
rail surface defect
defect which initiates on any of the surfaces of the rail
3.9
rail head surface defect
defect which initiates on or within 5 mm from the running surface of the rail
3.10
rail internal defect
defect which initiates from within the rail section but may grow to become visible on the rail surface
3.11
NDT Method
discipline applying a physical principle in non-destructive testing
[SOURCE: EN 13938-5:2004, definition 3.2]
EXAMPLE: Ultrasonic testing.
3.12
wheel/rail interaction
effect of rolling and sliding contact and direct forces from the vehicle wheels which can cause damage to
the rail
3.13
environmental degradation
damage to the rail caused by external environmental factors
3.14
geometrical planes of the rail
see EN 16729-3:2018, 3.10, Figure 4
3.15
infrastructure manager [IM]
body or organisation responsible in particular for establishing and maintaining railway infrastructure,
as well as for operating the control and safety systems
3.16
track maintenance engineer [TME]
engineer with “safety of line” responsibility for a defined track area
6
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4 Abbreviations
For the purposes of this document, the following abbreviations apply.
Abbreviation Definition
RDM rail defect management
S&C switches and crossings
TME track maintenance engineer
IM infrastructure manager
NDT non-destructive testing
CWR continuously welded rail
RAMS reliability, availability, maintainability, safety
LCC life cycle costs
5 Defect management system
5.1 General
An infrastructure manager shall put a framework in place to monitor the condition of its assets. If the
infrastructure becomes deteriorated, it needs to be renewed or repaired. This can be for economic
reasons or, typically at a later state in the development and propagation of the defect, due to safety
reasons.
5.2 Defect types
There are a wide variety of rail defects that lead to damaged or defective rail. These defects can be
grouped and categorized by a system.
The classification of the defect types along with the internationally widely used numbering scheme can
be found in the Annex A of this document.
5.3 NDT inspection of rails
The IM shall implement a testing framework (appropriate NDT methods and inspection frequencies) to
inspect rail to detect the defects considered relevant by the IM. The testing frequency should be
designed to mitigate the risk that a detectable defect propagates to a critical size leading to failure.
The standard EN 16729-3:2018 describes how several of the most relevant defects can be detected
using various methods of NDT.
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5.4 Management of NDT inspection results
Actions shall be taken depending on the results of the inspection. Several limits can exist that lead to
different actions. Immediate action has to be taken, if the defect has reached a safety critical size.
Smaller detected defects shall be managed (by repair or removal) to prevent them from reaching a
safety critical size.
The infrastructure manager shall record the lifecycle of each defect from detection, monitoring, to
removal.
6 Limits of rail condition
6.1 General
A methodology to analyse rail condition should take into account the economic optimum of reliability,
availability, maintainability, safety (RAMS) and life cycle costs (LCC). Different infrastructure managers
have different limits for these economic factors, based on various boundary conditions.
The larger a defect grows, the greater becomes the safety risk and this has to be balanced against the
economic limits. The urgent removal of a safety critical defect is usually not the most cost-effective
action with regards to LCC.
6.2 Definition of limits
A typical degradation curve is shown in Figure 4, together with an example of various limits for
intervention.
8
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Key
C Current condition of the rail
C0 Basic condition, this is the condition at which new rail is accepted after the installation in track. Due to
the constant usage of the rail, the condition starts to deteriorate.
L Start of economic maintenance limit, when reaching or exceeding the limit L actions such as rail
E_start E_start
reprofiling or repair welding can be considered to improve the condition of the rail and extend its
service live.
LE_end End of economic maintenance limit, at this condition the economic maintenance of the rail has been
expended. Actions to improve the condition of the rail are no longer feasible. Further use of the rail is
possible. Planning of rail replacement is advised to avoid that the rail reaches a critical condition.
LI Intervention limit, intervention limit refers to the value which, if exceeded, requires corrective
maintenance in order that the immediate action limit shall not be reached before the next inspection.
L Immediate action limit, the condition of the rail has reached the limit of concern with regard to the
IA
structural integrity of the rail. The condition considers an operational risk and the rail does no longer
allow for safe and unlimited traffic. Corrective maintenance actions shall be executed as soon as
practical, normally within a fixed time limit set by the IM. In the meantime, temporary measures shall
be considered to mitigate the risks until the rail can be replaced.
LC Critical limit, rail of this condition is a high risk and rail traffic shall be suspended immediately until a
full risk assessment has been undertaken by the track maintenance engineer or the rail has been
repaired or replaced.
F Failure of the rail (e.g. rupture)
AE Area of economic maintenance
t Time
Figure 4 — Degradation curve of the rail over the service life
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6.3 Rail defect immediate action limits L
IA
Informative immediate action limits L for the most common types of rail defects can be found in
IA
Annex B. The IM may define more stringent limits based upon performance and overall risk
management of the infrastructure.
Some defect types do not directly lead to cracks growing in the rail, but will affect the performance of
the track system and need to be removed. For these defect types, end of economic maintenance limits
L is typically used. One example is corrugation, where the values presented in EN 13231-5:2018
E_end
represent end of economic maintenance limits L .
E_end
7 Risk mitigation
Risk management starts with the implementation of the track-testing framework, develops on the
detection of a defect and ends with the actual removal of the defect. Upon detecting a rail defect and
based on the actual circumstances in the track, a variety of measures should be considered in order to
mitigate the risk of failure before the rail can be changed:
— reducing line speed;
— mounting fishplates, if feasible for that type of defect;
— increase the frequency of inspection, up to constant surveillance;
— restriction of the use for special types of railway vehicles;
— closing the track.
Several factors other than defect type and size shall be taken into account when assessing the risks that
defects have on the structural integrity of the rail:
— line speed, category and type of traffic;
— multiple isolated defects within a short distance or cluster density of defects over longer length;
— expected crack growth until removal;
— location of the defect site in the track;
— track condition including geometry;
— rail profile and current condition such as wear and corrosion;
— steel grade;
— manufacturing process;
— accumulated tonnage;
— site history;
— low rail temperatures causing tensile stress in the rail of continuously welded track.
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Annex A
(informative)
Description of rail defects
A.1 Definition and description of rail defects
The general coding system for rail defects and the classification of the different types of defect are
shown in Table A.1.
The codes in Table A.1 apply to vignole rail only.
Table A.1 — Rail defect coding system
1st digit 2nd digit 3rd digit 4th digit
Situation Location Pattern, nature
0. Unknown origin
1. Transverse
2. Horizontal
0. Full section
3. Longitudinal vertical
1. Rail head
4. Corrosion
3. Web
5. Passing through a
5. Foot hole
6. Not passing through
Additional
a hole
characteristics and
9. Lap
1. Rail ends
differentiations
0. Wear
2. Plain rails
1. Rolling Surface
defects
2. Gauge corner defects
3. Crushing
2. Surface of rail head
4. Local batter
5. Wheel burns
7. Cracking and local
subsidence of the
running surface
8. Dripping water
Situation Location Origin, cause (No 4th digit)
1. Bruising
3. Defects caused by
2. Faulty machining
0. Full section
damage to rail
3. Permanent
deformation
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1st digit 2nd digit 3rd digit 4th digit
Situation Welding method Pattern, nature
1. Electric flash-butt
welding
2. Aluminothermic
welding
1. Transverse
3. Electric arc welding
2. Horizontal or Additional
4. Welding and 4. Oxyacetylene shelling
characteristics
resurfacing (autogenous) welding
5. Wheel burns
and differentiations
defects 5. Pressurized gas
7. Cracking and local
welding
subsidence of the
6. Induction welding running surface
7. Resurfacing
8. Other welding
methods
Numbering of rail defects.
Each rail defect is assigned a number shown in Table A.2.
Table A.2 — Numbering of rail defects
1 Defects in rail ends
11/12 Head
111 Transverse cracking
112 Horizontal cracking
113 Longitudinal vertical cracking
114 Corrosion
121 Surface defects
1211 Spalling
1212 Long groove
1213 Rolling lap
122 Shelling of running surface
1221 Flaking
1222 Shelling
1223 Head checking
123 Crushing
124 Local batter of running surface
125 Isolated wheel burn
127 Squat, cracking and local depression of the running surface
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13 Web
132 Horizontal cracking
1321 at the web-head fillet radius
1322 at the web-foot fillet radius
133 Longitudinal vertical cracking (piping)
134 Corrosion
135 Cracking of fishbolt holes
139 Lap
15 Foot
153 Longitudinal vertical cracking
154 Corrosion
2 Defects in plain rails
20 Full section
200 Transverse break without identified origin
21/22 Head
211 Transverse cracking
212 Horizontal cracking
213 Longitudinal vertical cracking
214 Corrosion
220 Wear
2201 Short-pitch corrugation
2202 Short-wave and long-wave corrugation
2203 Excessive lateral wear
2204 Excessive vertical wear
221 Running surface defects
2211 Spalling
2212 Long groove
2213 Rolling lap
222 Gauge corner defects
2221 Flaking
2222 Shelling
2223 Head checking
223 Crushing
224 Local batter of the running surface
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225 Wheelburn
2251 Isolated wheelburn
2252 Multiple wheelburns
227 Squat, cracking and local depression of the running surface
Local depression of the running surface caused by dripping water in
228
tunnels
23 Web
232 Horizontal cracking
2321 at the web-head fillet radius
2322 at the web-foot fillet radius
233 Longitudinal vertical cracking (piping)
234 Corrosion
235 Cracking around holes other than fishbolt holes
236 Diagonal cracking
239 Lap
25 Foot
251 Transverse fracture of machined rail
253 Longitudinal vertical cracking
254 Corrosion
3 Defects caused by damage to the rail
30 Full section
301 Bruising
302 Faulty machining
303 Permanent deformation
4 Welding and resurfacing defects
41 Electric flash-butt welding
411 Transverse cracking of the profile
412 Horizontal cracking of the web
417 Squat, cracking and local depression of the running surface
42 Alumino-thermic welding
421 Transverse cracking of the profile
422 Horizontal cracking of the web
427 Squat, cracking and local depression of the running surface
43 Electric arc welding
431 Transverse cracking of the profile
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432 Horizontal cracking of the web
437 Squat, cracking and local depression of the running surface
47 Resurfacing
471 Transverse cracking of the rail head
472 Detachment or shelling of the resurfaced portion
48 Other welding methods
481 Transverse cracking in rail from electrical connection
A.2 Characterization of rail defects
A.2.1 Transverse cracking
A.2.1.1 General
Table A.3 — Transverse cracking
Defect type
Transverse cracking
Code-numbers and names
111 Transverse cracking
211 Transverse cracking
411 Transverse cracking in electric flash-butt welds
421 Transverse cracking in alumino-thermic welds
431 Transverse cracking in electric arc welds
A.2.1.2 Appearance, causes and location - Transverse cracking
Table A.4 — Transverse cracking
Transverse cracking (111 / 211)
Transverse cracking initiates in the central of the rail head or in the gauge corner area.
It is a manufacturing defect caused by internal inclusions or hydrogen micro cracks. Impact loads are
crack developing factors.
When a rail break occurs before the defect becomes visible, a smooth, shiny kidney-shaped patch can
be observed.
When the crack reaches the surface of the railhead the surface of the crack starts to oxidize. Railbreak
is imminent at this stage.
Not to be confused with transverse cracking from the rail head surface, e.g. head checks or shelling, or
with transverse cracking under resurfacing (471), or with transverse crack on welds (411).
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Figure A.1 — 211 – Central origin
Figure A.2 — 211 – Origin in the gauge corner area
Table A.5 — Transverse cracking in welds
Transverse cracking in welds (411 / 421 / 431)
Transverse cracking in welds initiates in electric flash-butt welds, in aluminothermic welds and
electric arc welds.
It is a manufacturing defect caused by welding design and process or by internal inclusions.
Not to be confused with sudden arcing near the weld, e.g. bruising (301).
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Figure A.3 — 411 – Internal defect of the head in the weld
Figure A.4 — 421 – Internal defect of the foot in the weld
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Figure A.5 — 421 – Crack located largely in the vertical plane
Figure A.6 — 421 – Break from crack in the vertical plane in the weld
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Figure A.7 — 431 – Transverse cracking of the profile in electric arc joint weld
A.2.2 Horizontal cracking
A.2.2.1 General
Table A.6 —Horizontal cracking
Defect type
Horizontal cracking
Code-numbers and names
112 Horizontal cracking in the head at rail end
132 Horizontal cracking in the web at rail end
1321 Horizontal cracking in the web-head fillet radius at rail end
1322 Horizontal cracking in the web-foot fillet radius at rail end
212 Horizontal cracking in the head in plain rail
232 Horizontal cracking in the web in plain rail
2321 Horizontal cracking in the web-head fillet radius in plain rail
2322 Horizontal cracking in the web-foot fillet radius in plain rail
412 Horizontal cracking in the web in electric flash-butt weld
422 Horizontal cracking in the web in alumino-thermic weld
432 Horizontal cracking in the web in electric arc weld
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A.2.2.2 Appearance, causes and location
A.2.2.2.1 Horizontal cracking in the head
Table A.7 — Horizontal cracking in the head
Horizontal cracking in the head (112 / 212)
Horizontal cracking in the head initiates in the railhead and progresses parallel to the running
surface.
Development is accelerated by impact loads at joints of poor conditions.
It may result in local depression of the running surface, which may be characterized by a dark patch
contrasting with the shiny surface of the running band.
A small crack appears on one or both faces of the head and on the end face in the gap of the expansion
joint.
It may be accompanied by a vertical crack or progress into a transverse crack. At a later stage, a piece
of metal may break away.
Not to be confused with longitudinal vertical cracking or with shelling (2222) of running surface.
Figure A.8 — 212 – Horizontal cracking in the head of plain rails
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Figure A.9 — 212 – Horizontal cracking in the head of plain rails with a transverse crack growth
Figure A.10 — 212 – Horizontal cracking in the head in plain rail
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A.2.2.2.2 Horizontal cracking in the web
Table A.8 — Horizontal cracking in the web
Horizontal cracking in the web (132 / 1321 / 1322 / 232 / 2321 / 2322)
Horizontal cracking in the web initiates at any position of the web.
It is a manufacturing defect if initiation in plain rail.
Initiation at rail end is caused by stresses between the fishplate and the rail due to the vertical
movement of the joint under passing trains caused by poor track geometry, joint quality or incorrect
fish plating and will separate the head or the foot from the web.
It progresses parallel to the running surface and may curve either upwards or downwards caus
...
SLOVENSKI STANDARD
oSIST prEN 17397-1:2019
01-september-2019
Železniške naprave - Napake na progi - 1. del: Upravljanje železniških napak
Railway applications - Rail defects - Part 1: Rail defect management
Bahnanwendungen - Schienenfehler - Teil 1: Handhabung von Schienenfehlern
Applications ferroviaires - Défauts de rails - Partie 1 : Gestion des défauts de rails
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: prEN 17397-1
ICS:
93.100 Gradnja železnic Construction of railways
oSIST prEN 17397-1:2019 en,fr,de
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.
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oSIST prEN 17397-1:2019
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oSIST prEN 17397-1:2019
DRAFT
EUROPEAN STANDARD
prEN 17397-1
NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
June 2019
ICS 93.100
English Version
Railway applications - Rail defects - Part 1: Rail defect
management
Applications ferroviaires - Défauts de rails - Partie 1 : Bahnanwendungen - Schienenfehler - Teil 1:
Gestion des défauts de rails Handhabung von Schienenfehlern
This draft European Standard is submitted to CEN members for enquiry. It has been drawn up by the Technical Committee
CEN/TC 256.
If this draft becomes a European Standard, CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations
which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration.
This draft European Standard was established by CEN in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other
language made by translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC
Management Centre has the same status as the official versions.
CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
Turkey and United Kingdom.
Recipients of this draft are invited to submit, with their comments, notification of any relevant patent rights of which they are
aware and to provide supporting documentation.
Warning : This document is not a European Standard. It is distributed for review and comments. It is subject to change without
notice and shall not be referred to as a European Standard.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION
EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG
CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2019 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. prEN 17397-1:2019 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.
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Contents Page
European foreword . 4
1 Scope . 5
2 Normative references . 5
3 Terms and definitions . 5
4 Symbols and abbreviations . 8
5 Defect management system . 8
5.1 General . 8
5.2 Defect types . 8
5.3 NDT inspection of rails . 8
5.4 Management of NDT inspection results . 8
6 Limits of rail condition . 9
6.1 General . 9
6.2 Definition of limits . 9
6.3 Rail defect immediate action limits L . 10
IA
7 Risk mitigation . 11
Annex A (informative) Description of rail defects . 12
A.1 Definition and description of rail defects . 12
A.2 Characterization of rail defects . 16
A.2.1 Transverse Cracking . 16
A.2.1.1 General . 16
A.2.1.2 Appearance, Causes and Location - Transverse cracking . 16
A.2.2 Horizontal Cracking . 20
A.2.2.1 General . 20
A.2.2.2 Appearance, Causes and Location . 21
A.2.2.2.1 Horizontal cracking in the head . 21
A.2.2.2.2 Horizontal cracking in the web . 22
A.2.2.2.3 Horizontal cracking of the web in welds . 24
A.2.3 Longitudinal vertical cracking . 26
A.2.4 Squat . 28
A.2.5 Head checks . 33
A.2.6 Other rail head surface conditions . 36
A.2.6.1 General . 36
A.2.6.2 Appearance, Causes and Location . 37
A.2.6.2.1 Surface defects in the head of rail ends . 37
A.2.6.2.1.1 Spalling . 37
A.2.6.2.1.2 Long groove . 39
A.2.6.2.1.3 Rolling Lap . 40
A.2.6.2.2 Gauge corner defects . 41
A.2.6.2.2.1 Flaking . 41
A.2.6.2.2.2 Shelling . 42
A.2.6.2.2.3 Crushing . 44
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A.2.6.2.3 Local batter of the running surface . 46
A.2.6.2.4 Wheelburn . 47
A.2.6.2.5 Bruising . 48
A.2.6.2.6 Faulty machining . 50
A.2.6.2.7 Permanent deformation . 51
A.2.6.2.8 Detachment or shelling of the resurfaced portion . 51
A.2.7 Corrosion . 52
A.2.7.1 General . 52
A.2.7.2 Appearance, Causes and Location . 52
A.2.7.2.1 Corrosion of the rail head . 52
A.2.7.2.2 Corrosion of the rail web . 53
A.2.7.2.3 Corrosion of the rail foot. 53
A.2.8 Wear . 57
A.2.8.1 General . 57
A.2.8.2 Appearance, Causes and Location . 59
A.2.8.2.1 Short-pitch corrugation . 59
A.2.8.2.2 Long-pitch corrugation . 60
A.2.8.2.3 Excessive lateral wear (side wear) . 61
A.2.8.2.4 Excessive vertical wear . 62
A.2.9 Other rail defects . 62
A.2.9.1 Appearance, Causes and Location . 63
A.2.9.1.1 Longitudinal vertical cracking . 63
A.2.9.1.2 Cracking of fishbolt holes in the web . 65
A.2.9.2 Lap . 66
A.2.9.3 Longitudinal vertical cracking in the foot. 67
A.2.9.4 Transverse break without identified origin . 68
A.2.9.5 Horizontal cracking at the web-head fillet radius . 69
A.2.9.6 Diagonal cracking . 69
A.2.9.7 Transversal fracture of machined rail . 70
A.2.9.8 Transverse cracking in the resurfaced area of the rail head . 73
A.2.9.9 Transverse cracking under electrical connection . 74
Annex B (informative) Immediate action limits L . 76
IA
Bibliography . 78
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European foreword
This document (prEN 17397-1:2019) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 256 “Railway
applications”, the secretariat of which is held by DIN.
This document is currently submitted to the CEN Enquiry.
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1 Scope
This document specifies the defect management system the infrastructure manager uses to control the
risk of severe accidents due to degradation of internal or surface defects on rails complying with
EN 13674-1, EN 13674-2, EN 13674-4 and EN 15689:2009 (excluding grooved rails EN 14811 — which
need alternative systems).
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
EN 16729-3:2018, Railway applications - Infrastructure - Non-destructive testing on rails in track - Part 3:
Requirements for identifying internal and surface rail defects
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— IEC Electropedia: available at http://www.electropedia.org/
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp
3.1
plain rail
zone comprising all part of the rail located away from the rail ends and the welding zones
3.2
rail end
part of the rail located within the length of the fishplates
3.3
welding zone
weld material itself plus 20 mm from each end of the weld collar (for aluminothermic welding) or upset
(flash-butt welding). Any defect occurring in this zone shall be classified as a welding defect
3.4
defective rail
rail that, for reasons of profile (including wear) or integrity, requires management (examples in
Annex A)
3.5
damaged rail
rail which is neither cracked nor broken, but which has other defects
3.6
cracked area
part of the rail with a localized discontinuity of material
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3.7
broken rail
rail which has separated into two or more pieces (see Figure 1 and Figure 2) or any rail from which a
piece of metal becomes detached from the rail head, with a gap of more than 50 mm in length and more
than 10 mm in depth resulting in a running band less than 30 mm in width (see Figure 3)
Figure 1 — Broken rail
Key
l horizontal length
Figure 2 — Example of a broken rail with a gap at the rail end
Key
a vertical depth
l horizontal length
c non-cracked area
Figure 3 — Example of a broken rail with a gap
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3.8
rail surface defect
defect which initiates on any of the surfaces of the rail
3.9
rail head surface defect
defect that initiates on or close (within 5 mm) to the running surface of the rail
3.10
rail internal defect
defect which initiates from within the rail section but may grow to become visible on the rail surface
3.11
NDT Method
discipline applying a physical principle in Non-Destructive Testing
[SOURCE: EN 13938-5:2004, 08, definition 3.2]
EXAMPLE: Ultrasonic testing.
3.12
wheel/rail interaction
effect of rolling and sliding contact and direct forces from the vehicle wheels which can cause damage to
the rail
3.13
environmental degradation
damage to the rail caused by external environmental factors
3.14
geometrical planes of the rail
see EN 16729-3:2018, 3.10, Figure 4
3.15
rail defect management [RDM]
process for the management of defective rails, including defects in switches and crossings, found as a
result of inspections or reports
3.16
rail defect management framework
principles outlining and specifying methods to use when assessing and managing defective rails
3.17
rail defect management strategy
railway organisations approach to the management of defective rails
3.18
infrastructure manager [IM]
public body or undertaking responsible in particular for establishing and maintaining railway
infrastructure, as well as for operating the control and safety systems
3.19
track maintenance engineer [TME]
engineer with “safety of line” responsibility for a defined track area
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4 Symbols and abbreviations
For the purposes of this document, the following symbols and abbreviations apply.
Symbol Definition
RDM Rail defect management
S&C Switches and Crossings
TME Track maintenance engineer
IM Infrastructure manager
NDT Non-destructive testing
CWR Continuously welded rail
RAMS Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, Safety
LCC Life Cycle Costs
5 Defect management system
5.1 General
An infrastructure manager shall put a framework in place to monitor the condition of its assets. If the
infrastructure becomes deteriorated, it needs to be renewed or repaired. This can be for economic
reasons or, typically at a later state, due to safety reasons.
5.2 Defect types
There are a wide variety of rail defects that lead to damaged or defective rail. These defects can be
grouped and categorized by a system.
The classification of the defect types along with the internationally widely used numbering scheme can
be found in the annex of this standard.
5.3 NDT inspection of rails
The IM shall implement a testing framework (appropriate NDT methods and inspection frequencies) to
inspect rail to detect the defects considered relevant by the IM. The testing frequency should be
designed to mitigate the risk that a detectable defect propagates to a critical size leading to failure.
The standard EN 16729-3:2018 describes how several of the most relevant defects can be detected
using various methods of NDT.
5.4 Management of NDT inspection results
Actions shall be taken depending on the results of the inspection. Several limits can exist that lead to
different actions. Immediate action has to be taken, if the defect has reached a safety critical size.
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Smaller detected defects shall be managed (by repair or removal) to prevent them from reaching a
safety critical size.
The infrastructure manager shall record the lifecycle of each defect from detection, monitoring, to
removal.
6 Limits of rail condition
6.1 General
A methodology to analyse rail condition should take into account the economic optimum of Reliability,
Availability, Maintainability, Safety (RAMS) and Life Cycle Costs (LCC). Different infrastructure
managers have different limits for these economic factors, based on various boundary conditions.
The larger a defect grows, the greater becomes the safety risks and this has to be balanced against the
economic limits. The urgent removal of a safety critical defect is usually not the most cost-effective
action with regards to LCC.
6.2 Definition of limits
A typical degradation curve is shown in Figure 4, together with an example of various limits for
intervention.
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Key
C Current condition of the rail
C0 Basic condition, this is the condition at which new rail is accepted after the installation in track. Due to
the constant usage of the rail, the condition starts to deteriorate.
L Start of economic maintenance limit, when reaching or exceeding the limit L interventions such as
E_start E_start
rail reprofiling or repair welding can be considered to improve the condition of the rail and extend its
service live.
LE_end End of economic maintenance limit, at this condition the economic maintenance of the rail has been
expended. Actions to improve the condition of the rail are no longer feasible. Further use of the rail is
possible. Planning of rail replacement is advised to avoid that the rail reaches a critical condition.
L Intervention limit, intervention limit refers to the value which, if exceeded, requires corrective
I
maintenance in order that the immediate action limit shall not be reached before the next inspection.
LIA Immediate action limit, the condition of the rail has reached the limit of concern with regard to the
structural integrity of the rail. The condition considers an operational risk and the rail does no longer
allow for safe and unlimited traffic. Corrective maintenance actions shall be executed as soon as
practical, normally within a fixed time limit set by the IM. In the meantime, temporary measures shall
be considered to mitigate the risks until the rail can be replaced.
LC Critical limit, rail of this condition is a high risk and rail traffic shall be suspended immediately until a
full risk assessment has been undertaken by the track maintenance engineer or the rail has been
repaired or replaced.
F Failure of the rail (e.g. rupture)
A Area of economic maintenance
E
t Time
Figure 4 — Degradation curve of the rail over the service life
6.3 Rail defect immediate action limits LIA
Informative immediate action limits L for the most common types of rail defects can be found in
IA
Annex B. The IM may define more stringent limits based upon performance and overall risk
management of the infrastructure.
Some defect types do not directly lead to cracks growing in the rail, but will affect the performance of
the track system and need to be removed. For these defect types, end of economic maintenance limits
L is typically used. One example is corrugation, where the values presented in EN 13231-5:2018
E_end
represent end of economic maintenance limits L .
E_end
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7 Risk mitigation
Risk management starts with the implementation of the track-testing framework, develops on the
detection of a defect and ends with the actual removal of the defect. Upon detecting a rail defect and
based on the actual circumstances in the track, a variety of measures should be considered in order to
mitigate the risk of failure before the rail can be changed:
— reducing line speed;
— mounting fishplates, if feasible for that type of defect;
— increase the frequency of inspection, up to constant surveillance;
— closing the track;
— restriction of the use of certain types of rolling stock.
Several factors other than defect type and size shall be taken into account when assessing the risks that
defects have on the structural integrity of the rail:
— line speed, category and type of traffic;
— multiple isolated defects within a short distance or cluster density of defects over longer length;
— expected crack growth until removal;
— location of the defect site in the track;
— track condition including geometry;
— rail profile and current condition such as wear and corrosion;
— steel grade;
— manufacturing process;
— accumulated tonnage;
— site history;
— low rail temperatures causing tensile stress in the rail of continuously welded track.
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Annex A
(informative)
Description of rail defects
A.1 Definition and description of rail defects
The general coding system for rail defects and the classification of the different types of defect are
shown in Table A.1.
The codes in Table A.1 apply to Vignole rail only.
Table A.1 — Rail defect coding system
1st digit 2nd digit 3rd digit 4th digit
Situation Location Pattern, nature
0. Unknown origin
1. Transverse
2. Horizontal
0. Full section
3. Longitudinal vertical
1. Rail head
4. Corrosion
3. Web
5. Passing through a
5. Foot hole
6. Not passing through
Additional
a hole
characteristics and
1. Rail ends 9. Lap
differentiations
2. Plain rails
0. Wear
1. Rolling Surface
defects
2. Gauge corner defects
3. Crushing
2. Surface of rail head
4. Local batter
5. Wheel burns
7. Cracking and local
subsidence of the
running surface
Situation Location Origin, cause (No 4th digit)
1. Bruising
3. Defects caused by
2. Faulty machining
0. Full section
damage to rail
3. Permanent
deformation
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1st digit 2nd digit 3rd digit 4th digit
Situation Welding method Pattern, nature
1. Electric flash-butt
welding
2. Thermit welding
1. Transverse
3. Electric arc welding
2. Horizontal or Additional
4. Oxyacetylene
4. Welding and shelling
characteristics
(autogenous) welding
resurfacing
5. Wheel burns
and differentiations
5. Pressurized gas
defects
7. Cracking and local
welding
subsidence of the
6. Induction welding
running surface
7. Resurfacing
8. Other welding
methods
Numbering of rail defects.
Each rail defect is assigned a number shown in Table A.2.
Table A.2 — Numbering of rail defects
1 Defects in rail ends
11/12 Head
111 Transverse cracking
112 Horizontal cracking
113 Longitudinal vertical cracking
114 Corrosion
121 Surface defects
1211 Spalling
1212 Long groove
1213 Rolling lap
122 Shelling of running surface
1221 Flaking
1222 Shelling
1223 Head Checking
123 Crushing
124 Local batter of running surface
125 Isolated wheel burn
127 Squat. Cracking and local depression of the running surface
13 Web
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132 Horizontal cracking
1321 at the web-head fillet radius
1322 at the web-foot fillet radius
133 Longitudinal vertical cracking (piping)
134 Corrosion
135 Cracking of fishbolt holes
139 Lap
15 Foot
153 Longitudinal vertical cracking
154 Corrosion
2 Defects in plain rails
20 Full section
200 Transverse break without identified origin
21/22 Head
211 Transverse cracking
212 Horizontal cracking
213 Longitudinal vertical cracking
214 Corrosion
220 Wear
2201 Short-pitch corrugation
2202 Long-pitch corrugation
2203 Abnormal wear of the side of the rail head
2204 Excessive vertical wear
221 Running surface defects
2211 Spalling
2212 Long groove
2213 Rolling lap
222 Gauge corner defects
2221 Flaking
2222 Shelling
2223 Head Checking
223 Crushing
224 Local batter of the running surface
225 Wheelburn
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