Cane railway track; inspection methodology and best practice

Wilmar Sugar, as a part of its standardisation efforts, investigated the methods and practices used to inspect cane railway track. These have evolved over the last ~10 years aiming at industry best practice across the eight individual cane railway networks that Wilmar owns and maintains. The experiences and lessons learnt over the last ~10 years regarding the methodology adopted in executing track inspections are presented. Condition scoring thresholds were developed to standardise ratings among the rail networks. The ASMC Guideline for Track and Civil Infrastructure Design and Maintenance Practices provides an adequate foundation for identifying defects and developing/accepting priority thresholds. Walking inspections provide an adequate level of detail to report on the health of the cane railway. A condition heat map is a suitable tool to understand at a high level, the overall performance of the track. Track condition is divided into seven categories (rail, joints, sleepers, fasteners, ballast, track profile, and geometry), each of which is assigned a condition score by a suitably trained track inspector. Identifying and prioritising track defects occur concurrently with the condition inspection and the process is an adequate way ensuring operational security and safety.