Railways

The improvement of Railway Infrastructure across the world is evident and the speeds at which the trains are travelling are getting faster and faster. The need for a reliable train service is critical for people to go about their business and for the crowded cities around the world to compete against each other to maintain their position in the global economy.

The speed of the trains means that the carriages are subjected to more and more vibrations and dynamic loads which are transferred to the bolted joints all over the bogies. The loads generated by trains are not just transferred to the train and rails but also the whole infrastructure in areas such as bridges, tunnels and frameworks around the tracks.

The loosening of a bolted joint anywhere on the rail infrastructure and rolling stock can be costly as well as potentially fatal if an accident is caused from it.

Wedge Locking Technology is becoming more recognised in this industry whilst traditionally other locking devices were used such as All Metal Locking nuts but as the speeds increase the demands increase and the WL Series Wedge Lock washer is a more advanced solution. All metal locking nuts grip to the thread but under severe loading and vibration can still rotate backwards meaning that they lose the Pre-load in the joint that can not be seen with the naked eye and can lead to bolt failure from fatigue over time.