06.04.18
Funding given to suspension system to reduce track and wheel wear
Funding has been granted to Liebherr-Transportation Systems, Grand Central Rail and NewRail to develop a new suspension system for reducing wheel and track wear.
RSSB has provided funding for the Active Radial Suspension System (ARSS), which uses electro-hydraulic actuators originally developed for aerospace applications to actively steer wheels on rail vehicle bogies, thus preventing damage to the wheel or rail.
There is the potential to reduce track wear costs for train operators by helping to lower the variable usage charge paid to run trains on the UK rail infrastructure.
Firstly, the consortium will model the effects of retrofitting the Liebherr ARSS to an existing bogie design, the BT-10, and the next step will be installing the model on a trial vehicle for testing in the UK.
The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.
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