When KiwiRail required experimental testing to gain compliance for New Zealand’s first passenger railway bogie – the P11 frame – they knew we could help.

The project needed careful application of cyclic fatigue loading simultaneously in three planes, also with twist displacement. This had to be repeated over 30 million loading cycles, simulating a lifetime of applied loading. We enjoy a challenge, and this project posed some serious issues, including how to design and fabricate suitable testing equipment that could handle the rigours of the testing!

We worked extensively with KiwiRail to design and manufacture the equipment needed to meet rigorous international criteria, then we did all the testing. The equipment worked seamlessly, and testing was completed within the timeframe. This was the first time a project like this was completed in the Southern Hemisphere.

Using the test outcomes, KiwiRail gained full compliance of the bogie system, which is now in daily use on the TranzAlpine and Coastal Pacific rail lines. Gaining compliance so easily, was a testament to the testing quality and our commitment to understanding KiwiRail’s requirements.

Did you know?

• The Arthur’s Pass tunnel that the TranzAlpine train passes through uses forced-air ventilation to prevent steam trains from suffocating and losing power in the tunnel.

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