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If you are a railway user, you will notice that it isn’t just
harsh weather that influences operations.

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Sometimes normal rain or even leaves can leave
you stranded for those extra few minutes or hours.

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Likewise, if you are a railway engineer or
operator, certain times of the year are more

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problematic for scheduling trains than others.

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Mother Nature brings in the factor of unpredictability,
coming with challenges all year-round.

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We will have a look at some of these factors
that can cause delays and disturbances;

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depending on the weather conditions per season.

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Meltwater in spring means higher river levels
with increased risk of landslides in the subsoil.

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Melting snow increases the risk of avalanches
in mountainous areas.

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Adequate maintenance and more frequently inspection
of the track and drainage systems can prevent

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further damage to the track.

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In mountainous areas, snow sheds or avalanche
galleries are commonly used.

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At critical locations they can protect
railway tracks and trains.

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Summer brings its own set of challenges.

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Extremely high temperatures might cause thermal
expansion of bridges, which obstructs

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them from opening or closing correctly.

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The most common method to handle this is by
cooling down the construction with sprayed water.

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Thermal expansion of rails might cause
buckling of the rail.

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This happens if the ballast bed and alignment
of the track are in a poor condition.

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It can also occur if the rail temperature was too low
during the construction and welding of the track.

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In the Netherlands tracks must be assembled
at a temperature of 25 degrees,

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which is the average rail temperature
throughout the year.

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By doing so the internal stresses in the rail are limited,
even in extreme summer and winter conditions.

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In addition, high internal forces due to thermal
expansion can also cause insulated rail joints to fail.

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Especially if they are in a poor condition,
this can result in failure of signalling systems.

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At critical locations, rails are sometimes painted white.

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This is to prevent them from heating up too much.

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Finally, the summer season guarantees the
occurrence of thunderstorms.

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Apart from heavy rainfall and wind shear,
thunderstorms can cause lightning strikes

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in the overhead line.

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Also damage to trains and trackside equipment
can occur due to lightning strikes.

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Autumn often comes with stormy weather.

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In the Netherlands, strong winds
can reach up to 100km per hour.

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Falling trees and broken branches
can block railway tracks.

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They can damage catenary systems
or even rolling stock.

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A structural way to prevent this is to keep
the track sides clear of trees!

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On the other hand, calm weather conditions
can cause fog.

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Heavy fog can disrupt train service because
clear visibility is required for full speed train operations.

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However, modern safety systems like ERTMS
are less dependent on weather conditions.

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These systems do not use visible signs along the track.

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The drivers are informed via displays in their cabin.

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Falling leaves, crushed between wheel and
rail, can transform into a slippery substance.

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This can cause the wheels to spin during acceleration
or block during braking.

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Due to this major damage to tracks and wheels,
such as wheel flats can occur.

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This loss of friction in the wheel-rail contact
poses a serious risk for collisions

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and the possible derailment of a train.

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The use of adhesion improving substances like
Sandite can help to avoid slippery tracks.

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Water sprinklers can also be used locally
to prevent leaves from sticking to railhead surfaces.

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Other methods are based on removing leaves
from the rail surface.

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For example by burning them with laser beams.
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Or by using brushes, high pressure waterjets
or air blowers mounted on a train.

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When winter comes, snow and ice can block switches.

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Heating the switch blades with gas burners
or electrical heating elements

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is a common method to prevent this.

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In addition, glazed frost on the catenary
system can interrupt the power supply of electric trains.

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Especially the modern traction-control systems
are prone to power failure.

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Next to that, it also generates electric sparks
that can damage the overhead wire.

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Scraping the ice from the overhead wire
is a common used method.

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However, this can easily damage the catenary system.

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Another typical winter problem is drifting snow
which can easily block coupling systems, doors,

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breaks and air inlets of rolling stock.

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This might result in all kinds of malfunctions
and disruption of the train service.

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Solutions should be found in the design of trains.

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Although protection of vital components against
drifting snow is not an easy job.

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Finally, low temperatures can cause broken
rails as a result of thermal shrinkage.

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This often happens in combination with cracks
that were already present in the rail.

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A broken rail will interrupt the signalling
system and can cause derailment.

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It is Mother Nature who has been challenging
the railway industry every day over the past 180 years.

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Where similar issues arise each time, we have
to deal with it under an increasing demand

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and with higher expectations from travelers.

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Keeping railway systems running efficiently
and without disturbances will be a challenge

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for both engineers, designers and train operators.

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Today and in the future.