Railway Component Inspections

Business Challenge

The identification of defects in rail components has played an important role in the Railway Industry. Worn out rails, weld problems, internal defects, cracks and other issues can all lead to breaks and derailments. The challenge faced by clients is when to conduct inspections to identify these potential risks and how to develop the necessary steps for maintenance and prevention.

The coordination and facilitation of global Quality Assurance activities requires a firm with unique domestic and international networks. Bureau Veritas’ coordinators have established procedures, whereby, regardless the geographic location, our clients can expect a uniform level of Quality Assurance.

Solution

What are Railway Component Inspections?

The Inspection of Railway Components consists of providing independent quality reviews and “hands on” activities of inspectors from the specification stage through final production. Our inspectors monitor the production processes (including control of materials, subassemblies and final assembly), non-destructive weld evaluations, dimensional conformance reviews, and protective coating inspections. In-service inspections include damage verification, post repair, on-hire, off-hire as well as repair shop audits and evaluations to reduce non-physical errors in the fabrication process.

 

Bureau Veritas’ contemporary experience includes inspections during the fabrication of Special Trackwork including Turnouts and their components such as: Switch Points, Frogs, Guard Rails, Tie Plates, Gauge Rod, and Concrete and Timber Ties. Our team is skilled with New Construction and In-Service inspections of owned and leased Locomotives, both Passenger and Freight Railcars, and their components such as: Axles, Wheels,  couplers, cushioning units, air brakes, Trucks, Traction Motors, Lighting, Doors, Brakes, Seats, Pantographs and AC Systems.

 

Our staff is equally experienced with the provision of Quality Assurance services associated with the procurement of Stock Rail. Our staff routinely evaluates the conformance of New Rail to both industry and customer specifications, performs non-destructive evaluation of Continuous Welded Rail in-shop and Thermite Welds in the field, and classifies Used Rail.

 

Further illustrating the comprehensive nature of our Quality Assurance services, Bureau Veritas offers our clients the expertise of our staff in matters regarding the Condition Assessment of in-place passenger railcars.  These services typically involve an evaluation of both the car’s interior, from a health and safety perspective, as well as the car’s exterior, from the wear-and-tear perspective.

Why Choose Bureau Veritas?

Knowledge and Expertise

Our qualified representatives are extremely well educated in the applicable inspection codes and guidelines such as AREMA, with specific knowledge in Manual for Railway Engineering, “Specifications for Steel Rail; Fabrication of Continuous Rail; Thermite Welding”; American Welding Society (AWS) D1.1 and D1.5; AASHTO; ASTM Standards E10, E142, E164 and E709; AISI; and SSPC.

 

Network

With more than 40,000 employees in 900 offices and laboratories covering 140 countries, Bureau Veritas is able to act quickly on its clients' behalf anywhere in the world.

 

FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

• If my equipment is manufactured oversees how does communication work?

  Bureau Veritas would assign a primary office in the US to be in contact with the overseas locations. The primary US office would be responsible for the international communications and coordination; the client would only need to speak with one local office.