Exploring critical failure modes in the rail environment and the consequential costs of unplanned maintenance

This study explores in-service failure modes for rolling stock in the rail environment, identifies the most critical failures and explores the consequential cost of these failure modes. Rolling stock is maintained according to maintenance plans with a major goal being the prevention of in-service failures, but due to the nature of the equipment not all failures can be prevented. In-service failures normally result in train delays or the cancellations of trains not only disrupting commuter services but also causing financial losses. The typical failures of rolling stock are analysed using data from the facility maintenance management system. The critical failure modes are identified and classified according to cause, severity, consequence and frequency parameters. A decision model is employed to classify the criticality of the failure modes. The most prominent critical failure modes are analysed to determine root causes, to conclude the investigation. Areas are identified where the focus of future investigation and planned maintenance will have the most significant impact