THE Norwegian Railway Directorate launched a new joint rail research initiative with Sweden, the Arctic Test Arena, on November 4. It brings together Norwegian infrastructure manager Bane Nor, the Norwegian Transport Administration, Sintef Narvik, UiT The Arctic University of Norway and Luleå University of Technology’s Railway Research Centre (JVTC).
Sections of Norway’s Ofotbanen and Sweden’s Malmbanan lines will be used to test new railway technology and the partners say that one year’s testing in these very cold environments can be equivalent to up to 10 years of testing in southern Europe.
“Extreme weather is usually a challenge for the railway, but when we are testing new technology, large amounts of snow and Arctic cold are actually an advantage,” says Norwegian Railway Directorate’s acting railway director, Marit Rønning. “The Nordic region provides us with a unique testing arena.”
Projects currently underway at the Arctic Test Arena include:
- bridge monitoring with sensors
- digital condition monitoring of trains in service
- testing and development of a wheel profile measurement network
- detection of ground movement, landslides and rail defects
- monitoring of railway infrastructure with fibre optic systems
- measurement of track geometry, forces and wear, and
- testing of rail and sleepers under axleloads of up to 32.5 tonnes.
The Ofotbanen and Malmbanan lines are particularly well suited for testing heavy freight trains as they are already used by iron ore trains with an axleload of up to 31 tonnes, significantly higher than the maximum limit of 22.5 tonnes on large parts of the Norwegian national network.
