Environmental Management of Rail Track Maintenance Based on Track Degradation Rate

The high quality of the rail track is ensured by adequate construction methods, but also by frequent and correct maintenance interventions, particularly on the ballast. Indeed, the unbound nature of this layer, which allows it to fulfill its main functions, due to its settlement, is also responsible for the reduction of the geometric quality of the track, thereby compromising safety and ride comfort. The interventions on the railway lines produce, aside from traffic delays and disturbances, also environmental impacts arising from the use of natural resources and equipment operation. Alongside alternative techniques and materials that allow maintenance works to be delayed, there are approaches aimed at the better management and planning of such interventions. When maintenance is carried out in a rational and planned manner, the number of the interventions during the service life can be reduced and, consequently, greater environmental and economic benefits can be achieved. In this work, the results of a study on track degradation carried out on the railway section Rosarno–Palmi, belonging to the line Battipaglia–Reggio Calabria, are reported and discussed. The results highlight that the knowledge and an in-depth analysis of the degradation process of track geometry result in an efficient and sustainable predictive maintenance. This approach makes possible to intervene on the railway infrastructure in well identified critical points and before the formation of major defects which could reduce the functionality and safety of the line and require economically and environmentally more expensive interventions.