Armenian Railways: Five Year Business Plan
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- 3.3.1Track and Roadway
- 3.3.2Electric Power, Signaling and Communications Systems
- 3.3.3Infrastructure Cost Reduction Opportunities
3.3Infrastructure ServicesThe Infrastructure CJSC is responsible for maintaining and renewing some 1,400 kilometers of track. Of this, about 750 kilometers are main line and about 200 kilometers are secondary mains (the remaining 450 kilometers are station and yard tracks). The railway generates a total of about 840 million tonne-kilometers, thus the mainline/secondary network averages less than 0.9 million-gross-tonnes per kilometer, a value typical of a low density short line railway. The mainline of the Armenian railway has been built to a high standard. Track and structures on the main line are suitable for 25 tonne axle loads. The main line runs from Airum to Yerevan. Significant portions of the Yerevan to Airum section use 65-kg rail but some main line tracks are laid in 50-kg rail, and some station tracks use 65-kg rail—especially track segments that have been improved in the past few years. Somewhat less than half the sleepers are concrete, the remainder are treated timber. The timber sleepers are somewhat smaller in cross-section than standard AAR approved timber cross ties for main line use. 3.3.1Track and RoadwayI   nfrastructure engineers claim that concrete sleepers are cheaper than timber sleepers in Armenia, since they can be made closer than timber ones are grown and treated. Armenia does not produce any of its own concrete sleepers—they are imported from Russia. Treated timber sleepers are also imported.
The AR design standard is for the use of concrete sleepers on tangent track and timber sleepers on curves. However, a wide mixture of uses was observed. The pictures above and at left show newly rehabilitated station track in Vanadzor and the Russian design concrete sleeper and sleeper fastening system. T  he railway is using concrete sleepers to replace timber sleepers in all sorts of track and situations. Timber and concrete sleepers are thoroughly mixed on the mountainous line between Vanadzor and Airum. Concrete sleepers are used indiscriminately to replace damaged timber sleepers. The picture below shows a section of track with intermixed concrete and timber sleepers. A lot of this kind of track exists between Gyumri and Airum. Evidence of a serious train derailment was observed, where a wheel had jumped off the track and scored both concrete and timber sleepers for over five kilometers. The line is operating under a 40-kph speed restriction which will remain in place until new concrete sleepers can be installed.
The sleeper plates used on timber sleepers are quite small resulting in plate cutting in a number of locations, particularly on curves. Larger plates are used on some main line curves but there are an insufficient number available. (They were not the standard in prior years.) The standard practice is to use five spikes per side for timber sleepers and four bolts per side for concrete ones. Sleeper spacing is very tight—2000 per kilometer on curved track (with radius less than 350 meter radius), 1840 per kilometer in tangents. AR uses the same sleeper spacing for both concrete and timber sleepers. On timber sleepers, AR uses 45 anchors per 25 meter rail length (which works out to be about one every other sleeper). About 30% of the line is 800-meter welded sections, the remainder is 25 meter sections bolted with four bolts per rail. Rail is said to last 20 to 25 years on tangent track, 5 years on curved track. Such lives are based upon the much higher traffic volumes the railway experienced in the past rather than current volumes. Curve rail wear is significant and rail is not transposed.12 Transposition is said to be against AR rules, though one track manager did admit to trying a section of transposed rail on one curve because he could not get new or replacement rail. A   RC is experiencing unusual rail wear patters in mountainous territories. Over the past ten years, the railway has reduced track speed several times. The line from Gyumri to Airum is very mountainous and curvy, with many curves with a radius of 300 meters, some with 260 meters. In such situations, the low rail on curved track would be expected to wear fastest: the super-elevation in the curves was set for higher speeds, rolling stock will tend to operate against the low rail, increasing gauge face rail wear. However, several track maintenance supervisors, responsible for the region between Gyumri and Airum, independently said that the high rail was wearing on curves. Inspection of rail on several curves confirmed that pattern—the high rail is wearing. However unusual, if this is the case, there could be at least three reasons for these unusual ware patterns:
ARC uses a number of hand-pushed rail flaw detection machines. Each railway line is inspected at least once per month, the main line is inspected once per week. Reported flaw detection rates are quite low: five or six rail flaws per year per 100 kilometers. 3.3.2Electric Power, Signaling and Communications SystemsMuch of the main line of the Armenian railway is electrified, signaled and carries communications cable. AR records show that about 780-kilometers of railway line are electrified. The electrification is a 3,000 volt DC system with some 56 functioning substations maintained by ~540 employees. Catenary structures are in reasonably good condition, with a number of concrete support structures replacing old steel and timber structures along parts of the Gyumri-Airum line. Some of this structure was replaced in the aftermath of the 1988 earthquake in the region. The overhead contact wire is reported to be more than 50% worn. Replacement may be a significant cost sometime in the future. Current wear rates must be substantially lower than in the past and the contact wire may have extended life. The low density of traffic and significant capital requirements imposed by electrical power systems raises the question of wither AR should retain its electrification system. Anecdotal evidence indicates that the operation of trains via electric power is substantially cheaper than diesel powered operations.13 However, should it be determined that significant new capital costs are required to renew existing power systems, the Armenian government and railway may want to consider changing to all diesel operation. This decision will involve balance of payments issues, fuel taxation issues, and the availability of capital funds and is likely to be a complex decision. Elimination of electric power systems would reduce infrastructure costs substantially but could increase fuel costs and would require a significant capital investment in new locomotives. At this time, AR should continue use and maintenance of electrical power systems, low traffic density notwithstanding. Continuing with existing power systems and locomotive fleet has the lowest short term (5 year) cash requirements. We estimate that about 750-kilometers of railway line have signaling; records indicate that the railway has some 802 kilometers of communications lines. As on many railways, at AR a combined department handles signaling and communications functions. Within AR, this department has 152 staff. AR’s signaling system is station-based and controlled, not centralized. Signals between stations are not interlocked. In the past, there were intermediate signals between many stations,14 but these are no longer functioning. Signal aspects at stations are controlled by a station operator who is in telephone contact with operators at nearby stations. Trains are relatively short (500 meters) and stopping distances are correspondingly short. Most stations have an advance signal, about 1.5 kilometers before the station that indicates whether the train will take a siding. A station signal located at the entrance of the station indicates whether the train is required to stop. An exit signal indicates when the train can depart the station. The system requires operators and communications staff at each controlled station. At some point in the future the signal system may be upgraded, using some of the new communications capacity, to integrate and interlock station signals. This would increase safety and reduce the number of staff required for safe train operation since no train control station staff would be required. Alternatively, should traffic remain at a low level, it may be feasible to eliminate the signal system all together. Existing signaling systems could be replaced by a radio-dispatching system operated from a central location. The terrain in the northern part of the country may make this a difficult option because it may be difficult to achieve adequate radio coverage. An alternative train control system being tested by a number of short line and smaller railways is a GPS based system with satellite messaging for control functions. Some railways are paying for this on a message basis (as operating expenses) rather than as a capital investment. The benefit from either of these options is to reduce the number of station staff required for safe train operations. Both the communications-based and satellite-based systems would reduce signal maintenance requirements substantially as there would be no wayside signals. AR operates some 802 kilometers of communications line. The communications system is a combination of open wire pole-lines and cable systems. Some of the pole-line system was replaced in the aftermath of the earthquake. Even so, communications capacity is limited and somewhat antiquated. The railway intends to install fiber optic cable along much of the main line between Yerevan and Airum, connecting to fiber optic systems to reach Tbilisi and international fiber optic connections. This system will permit the retirement of some existing communications facilities but it will not eliminate open-wire pole lines at all locations. 3.3.3Infrastructure Cost Reduction OpportunitiesIn 1999, the Infrastructure CJSC had about 880 employees involved in track and structures maintenance, an average of 1.1 employees per main and secondary-main track-kilometer, and about 0.62 employees per total track-kilometer. This is not an unusually high number in a rail system, where contracting-out for services is not common. Even so, several methods could be used to reduce infrastructure maintenance costs. Traffic has fallen significantly over the past 10 years; it is now less than one-tenth its highest levels. The railway has far more facilities, stations, and capacity than it currently needs or is likely to need in the foreseeable future. An important way to reduce infrastructure maintenance costs is to reduce the number of track kilometers that must be maintained. It is anticipated that the Rollingstock CJSC will reduce the number of stored wagons, locomotives, and coaches that must be stored. This will reduce the amount of track required for rolling stock storage. It is reasonable to assume that the number of station and terminal tracks that must be maintained can be reduced significantly. AR and its three railway component companies should jointly work to eliminate excess assets and railway lines that are no longer used or are not likely to be used for some time because of border closures or other factors. These tracks should be eliminated from the overall maintenance program that must be sustained by the infrastructure enterprise. The new management structure adopted by the railways is likely to result in increased incentives, improved productivity, and enhanced maintenance efficiencies. The track department should also conduct a zero-based budget plan to develop revised staffing reflecting reduced traffic levels, the new organization structure, and reduced trackage. The Infrastructure CJSC should also conduct a review of its track, facilities and overhead maintenance equipment to develop an investment program to replace existing equipment as it wears out with new, more productive equipment. Over time, we would expect the Infrastructure CJSC to increase its use of contracting to perform some maintenance tasks. This is also likely to result in improved productivity and reduced costs. Given current cash limitations and low labor costs, the least cost short-term choice for AR signaling is to retain existing systems. In this case, actions available to AR to reduce costs are limited. Improved management focus and a zero based budgeting process can improve productivity somewhat over the next five years. The elimination of unnecessary stations (as discussed in section 3.2.2.5) will reduce signaling and station staffing. AR should continue to investigate replacing the existing signaling system with a communications or satellite based system to reduce overall costs and improve train safety. It is likely that communications maintenance requirements will be reduced slightly as a result of the investment program. 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ost existing rail wear is from prior decades when traffic and speeds were much higher.
he first reason is the most likely, but anecdotal evidence supports the third. AR has a number of in-floor locomotive wheel truing machines, all of which seemed very busy. A wagon wheel truing machine in the Gyumri wagon work shop turns out as many as 250 pairs of wheels per month. Finally, the rolling stock department was forced to develop a unique flange welding capability at its Gyumri workshop. Unable to get enough new wheel sets, the rolling stock department has developed a method to build up wheel flanges by welding. Shown in the picture at left, the technique is unusual. Once welded and turned, repaired wheels looked fine. However, the hardness achieved in the weld material is unknown and the life of the rebuilt flange is uncertain and unconfirmed.