REGISTER

Written by A.Baayens Technical Officer

Union Switch & Signa

Heavy Haul Railways are often owned and operated by bulk commodity producers. Their rail operators are focused mainly on production. Although profit, costs, growth and sustainability are important to the operators, they will be focused and measured daily on productivity which can be simply described as, the number of tonnes of product actually delivered versus the planned tonnes. In boom times operators will be striving to increase planned tonnes and to do this cycle times must be reduced or more train consists operated.

The railway is part of a production process. Although not productive in itself, it is necessary for the transport of the bulk product typically between the mine and port. Rail is usually the most efficient means of transporting bulk product over long distances.

The railway adds to the unit cost of the product. The factors that affect the unit cost of the product by rail are:

· Train crewing costs
· The distance required to transport the product
· Track gradient
· The effectiveness of motive power
· The efficiency of rolling stock used
· The varying cost of fuel or energy required for motive power
· The method of loading and unloading
· The maintenance and repair of railway infrastructure and rolling stock
· Capital costs
· Asset utilisation
· Delays in product delivery

As the railway adds cost to the production process it is continuously under scrutiny to minimise costs wherever possible.

Railways must minimise the cost of railing bulk product and safeguard production against delay and losses. It is vital for the production process to have a continuous flow of product for maximum efficiency and minimal cost. If the flow of traffic on a finely tuned railway is stopped an immediate loss is incurred. It is vital therefore to either anticipate and prevent the cause of disruption, or be able identify and respond immediately to the cause of the disruption.