Cracked Rail Detector

The enquiry into the Hatfield rail crash of October 2000 revealed that nearly two years earlier, engineers had identified a form of fatigue called gauge corner cracking in the rail which eventually broke and caused the crash.

Researchers at the University of Warwick’s Department of Physics have developed a technique to detect and measure gauge corner cracking and other rail defects by using ultrasound waves.

They have just been awarded funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to develop their discovery from the lab into a device which can be mounted on all trains.

Where existing track inspection systems are mounted on special trains limited to speeds of 30 mph, this system is being developed to work at any speed.

It could enable every train in the country to become part of a highly sophisticated rail monitoring system routinely examining the tracks for defects, vastly improving safety and efficient management of the rail network.