30 сент 2022 г. - (WORLD) Rail infrastructure managers are considering the benefits of repainting the rails in white to better withstand heat waves

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The long and intense periods of heat have forced the SNCF to slow down or even cancel trains this summer. "When their temperature exceeds 45 degrees (i.e. 35 degrees in the air), the rails can expand. As for the catenary, it can relax and to function properly, it must be perfectly taut," says Frédéric Didelot, an expert on seasonal plans at SNCF Réseau. If there is a risk, a surveillance plan is set in motion: "We increase the number of rounds on foot in the field. We use a tool to predict the temperature of the railways (based on forecasts from Weather France and a number of other parameters)," he continues. If there is an impact on the network, "the speed of the trains can then be reduced as a precaution, so as not to put more pressure on the infrastructure.

The prospect of more such heat waves in the future is leading to the study of new solutions. In particular, the whitening of rails and buildings, a technique used in various parts of the world (Milan, New York, Melbourne, etc.) to lighten buildings so that they store less heat.

The solution has also been tested by several European infrastructure managers in recent years. According to several studies conducted by Swiss Railways (SBB), Deutsche Bahn and Austrian Railways (ÖBB), bleaching the rails would reduce their temperature by about five degrees. But this result "is not enough to be considered an effective safety measure," says Frédéric Revaz, spokesman for the SBB. For its part, Infrabel, which covered about ten kilometers of rails with white paint at the beginning of the summer of 2020, recorded a decrease in temperature of four to five degrees.

https://www.ville-rail-transports.com/ferroviaire/apres-la-canicule-et-si-on-blanchissait-les-rails%E2%80%89/

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