Rail Transport

While the future for the rail transport sector is bright, the pressures for cost reduction, capacity growth and the reliable operation of ever-ageing assets remain as strong as ever.

TWI provides advice, consultancy, training and research and development to businesses throughout the rail and rolling stock supply chain, including train and railway operating companies; station, track and freight owners; inspection and maintenance companies; and component manufacturers.

Structural integrity and fabrication technologies are vital to the safety and success of the sector. At TWI, we use our understanding of technical requirements to help Member companies meet the challenges of today and tomorrow by providing an ever-broadening range of support services, from initial design issues to through-life issues, including failure analyses.

Over our long association with the rail transport industry, TWI's multi-disciplinary team of experts has assisted the industry in areas including:

Examples of recent work include:

Providing support on welding and design technology, including weight reduction in rolling stock
Applying new technologies to the construction of new trains
Developing improved techniques for non-destructive testing (NDT) of track and rail components
Assisting in the assessment of the structural integrity of ageing assets
Auditing manufacturers
Providing failure analyses
Assisting with safety cases
Establishing and assessing welding competency
Coatings for the prevention of corrosion and erosion
Improving the safety and performance of components ranging from axle/bearing housings, wheels, gears, braking systems and engine mountings, to bogie frames, shoe brackets, pistons and solebars.

In addition, TWI manages the Institute of Rail Welding, which covers all aspects of joining and repairing rail track.

For more information about our engineering consultancy and support services to the rail industry, please email contactus@twi.co.uk.

Rail Infrastructure

Maintaining rail infrastructure using risk-based asset management.

Rail Track

Non-destructive testing (NDT) and condition monitoring to detect defects in track, track joining and repair technologies and root cause failure analyses.

Rail Vehicles

How TWI assists with new build fabrication and strategies to achieve low-cost life-long reliability for rail vehicles.

For more information please email:

contactus@twi.co.uk