Identification of Factors Affecting the Frequency of Freight Wagon Coupler Failures

Document Type : Scientific - Research

Authors
Mohsen Pourseyed Aghaee 1
Narjes Shams 2
1 Assistant Professor, Department of Railway Transportation Engineering, School of Railway Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran
2 M.Sc., Department of Railway Transportation Engineering, School of Railway Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran
10.22119/jte.2025.486526.2721
Abstract
This study aims to identify the factors affecting freight wagon coupler failures in the railway network of the Islamic Republic of Iran during the period 2011–2022. The research is inspired by the CRISP-DM data mining methodology and utilizes a combination of diverse datasets with statistical methods and negative binomial regression modeling using IBM SPSS 22 software. After modeling, statistical validation was performed using the T-test, and technical validation was conducted through expert opinions in the field. The results indicate that, in freight rail transport, when the front wagon coupler is of type SA3, it leads to a 5.109-fold increase in coupler failure incidents. Conversely, when the front coupler is a converted chain-type to SA3, such incidents decrease by 92.2%. Among the most significant factors increasing coupler failure incidents are tank wagons, wagons owned by the I.R.I. Railway, track subsidence, trains with 38–47 wagons, and Y25 bogies. On the other hand, factors contributing to the reduction of such failures include the use of Unicoupler couplers, short-side wagons, and LF rotary couplers.

Keywords

Subjects

  • - م. احتشامی, “راه آهن در ایران.” دفتر پژوهشهای فرهنگی, 1387. [Online]. Available: 9789643790066

     

    - م. ع. حقی, م. نادرپور م. ترک, “راهنمای سیستم مدیریت ایمنی در صنعت حمل و نقل ریلی .” نشر نوآوران-وزارت راه و شهرسازی, 1395 [Online]. Available: www.noavarpub.com

     

    - ح. بوذری, “آموزش مفهوم گسیختگی قطار.” مرکز آموزش راه آهن, 1398.

     

    - ح. بوذری, “شرح حادثه گسیختگی قلاب واگن های باری.” مرکز آموزش راه آهن, 1398.

     

    - ت. نیوز, “وقوع یک سانحه ریلی دیگر، این بار در اداره کل شمال غرب+ تصاویر.” [Online]. Available: https://www.tinn.ir/بخش-شرکت-راه-آهن-30/259266-وقوع-یک-سانحه-ریلی-دیگر-این-بار-در-اداره-کل-شمال-غرب-تصاویر

     

    - “سالنامه آماری حمل و نقل ریلی کشور1390 .pdf.” [Online]. Available: https://www.rai.ir/

     

    - “سالنامه آماری حمل و نقل ریلی کشور 1391.pdf.”. [Online]. Available: https://www.rai.ir/

     

    - “سالنامه آماری حمل و نقل ریلی کشور در سال 1392.pdf.” [Online]. Available: https://www.rai.ir/

     

    - “سالنامه آماری حمل و نقل ریلی کشور 1393.pdf.”. [Online]. Available: https://www.rai.ir/

     

    - مرکز آمارایران, “سالنامه آماری حمل و نقل ریلی کشور سال 1394.” p. 4, 1394.

     

    - “سالنامه آماری حمل و نقل ریلی کشور 1395.”. [Online]. Available: https://www.rai.ir/

     

    - رجا, “سالنامه آماری حمل و نقل ریلی کشور 1396.”. [Online]. Available: https://www.rai.ir/

     

    - “سالنامه آماری حمل و نقل ریلی کشور 1397.pdf.” [Online]. Available: https://www.rai.ir/

     

    - “سالنامه آماری حمل ونقل ریلی کشور 1398.pdf.” [Online]. Available: https://www.rai.ir/

     

    - معاونت تامین سرمایه و اقتصاد حمل و نقل، دفتر هوشمند سازی و داده کاوی, “سالنامه اماری حمل و نقل ریلی کشور 1399,” سالنامه اماری حمل و نقل ریلی کشور. [Online]. Available: https://www.rai.ir/

     

    - “سالنامه آماری حمل و نقل ریلی کشور1400.pdf.” [Online]. Available: https://www.rai.ir/

     

    - “سالنامه آماری حمل و نقل ریلی کشور 1401.pdf.” [Online]. Available: https://www.rai.ir/

     

    - غ. آقاجانی and م. نوری, “آشنایی با واگن های باری راه آهن.” مرکز آموزش عالی علمی- کاربردی راه آهن جمهوری اسلامی ایران, 1387. [Online]. Available: http://www.raitc.rai.ir

     

    - ی. اسکندری, “شناسایی واگن باری.pdf.” مرکز آموزش عالی علمی- کاربردی راه آهن جمهوری اسلامی ایران.

     

    - ر. آ. ج. ا. ایران, “مقررات عمومی سیر و حرکت راه آهن.” p. 440, 1392.

     

    - د. ع. ب. نائینی, “علم سنجی چیست.” دانشگاه علم و صنعت ایران, 1395.

    - م. محسنی, س. حسینی م. باقری, “مدلسازی فراونی تصادفات در گذرگاه های همسطح جاده و ریل ایران.pdf.” فصلنامه مهندسی حمل و نقل، دوره 12،ش. 2، زمستان،،1399، 273-288, 1399.

     

    - م. محسنی, س. حسینی م. باقری, “مدلسازی شدت تصادف­ها در گذرگاه های همسطح جاده و ریل در ایران.pdf.” مهندسی عمران شریف، پاییز 1398 ، دوره ی2 - 35 شماره ی 3/2،ص.,1398 doi: 10.24200/J30.2017.2279.2157.

     

    -  آیتی, ج. ذاکری ع. ا. صادقی, “مدل پیش بینی فراوانی وقوع تصادف برای گذرگاه های ریلی-جاده ای ایران.” مهندسی حمل و نقل/ سال دوم/ شماره دوم/ زمستان 1389, 1389.

    - “فرم برای  گزارش برداری از حوادث fra.”

    • van de Velde, “European railway reform: unbundling and the need for coordination,” Rail Economics, Policy and Regulation in Europe. 2015. doi: 10.4337/9781783473335.00009.

     

    • A. Profillidis, “RAILWAY PLANNING, MANAGEMENT, AND ENGINEERING, Fifth Edition,” Railway Planning, Management, and Engineering, Fifth Edition. pp. 1–658, 2022. doi: 10.4324/9780429329302.

     

    • Jabłoński and M. Jabłoński, “Springer Series in Reliability Engineering Digital Safety in Railway Transport-Aspects of Management and Technology.” 2022. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96133-6 Translation.

     

    • FRA, “TRAIN PARTING CAUSES & REMIDIES_2.pdf.” 2018. [Online]. Available: https://rskr.irimee.in/sites/default/files/TRAIN PARTING CAUSES %26 REMIDIES_2.pdf.

     

    • SKF-Group, “Railway technical handbook,” Railway Technical, vol. 2, no. 2. p. 212, 2012. [Online]. Available: http://www.railway-technical.com/index.shtml

     

    • FRA, “safety in railway-Report-Federal Railroad Administation.” 2019.

     

    • Rapik and C. P. L, “Analysis of Causes of Major Train Derailment and Their Effect on Accident Rates,” Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, no. 2289. pp. 154–163, 2012. [Online]. Available: http://railtec.illinois.edu/CEE/pdf/Journal Papers/2012/Liu et al 2012.pdf

     

    • “tsb Report .” https://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/incidents-occurrence/rail/index.html

     

    • “confirmed dead after logging train derails on Vancouver Island - British Columbia - CBC News.” [Online]. Available: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/2-confirmed-dead-after-logging-train-derails-on-vancouver-island-1.4078059

     

    • T. S. B. of Canada, “RAILWAY INVESTIGATION REPORT.” 2010.

     

    • Hecht and M. Leiste, “‘Development of a concept for the EU-wide migration to a digital automatic coupling system (DAC) for rail freight transportation’ V Mechanical Engineering and Transport Systems Institute of Land and Sea Transport Systems Faculty of Rail Vehicles.” 2020.

     

    • Wagner, C. Cole, and M. Spiryagin, “A review on design and testing methodologies of modern freight train draft gear system,” Railway Engineering Science, vol. 29, no. 2. pp. 127–151, 2021. doi: 10.1007/s40534-021-00237-y.

     

    • Mario, A. Syaifudin, A. S. Pramono, A. Windharto, and A. Farid, “Synthesis Analysis to Improve Coupling Strength of Automatic Coupler,” Mechanical Engineering, vol. 125. pp. 67–73, 2023. doi: 10.4028/p-higyh1.

     

    • Rakshit, “Effect of different types of wagon connectors on longitudinal forces of a heavy freight train.” International Journal of Engineering & Technology, 2018. [Online]. Available: www.sciencepubco.com/index.php/IJET

     

    • P. Yadav and N. S. Vyas, “The influence of AAR coupler features on estimation of in-train forces,” Railway Engineering Science. 2023. doi: 10.1007/s40534-022-00297-8.

     

    • Marija Vukšić Popović, “Analysis of coupling system failures on freight trains.pdf.” 2023. [Online]. Available: ACTA TECHNICA JAURINENSIS Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 11-17, 2023 10.14513/actatechjaur.00687%0AAnalysis

     

    • Zou, S. Luo, and W. Ma, “Simulation analysis on the coupler behaviour and its influence on the braking safety of locomotive,” Vehicle System Dynamics, vol. 56, no. 11. pp. 1747–1767, 2018. doi: 10.1080/00423114.2018.1435893.

     

    • V. Popovic, J. Tanaskovic, and N. Mededovic, “Review of failure analysis of coupling systems on trains,” Procedia Structural Integrity, vol. 48. pp. 252–259, 2023. doi: 10.1016/j.prostr.2023.07.135.

     

    • Mohammadi, A. Rahmatfam, M. Zehsaz, and S. Hassanifard, “Failure analysis study of railway draw-hook coupler,” Journal of Central South University, vol. 26, no. 4. pp. 916–924, 2019. doi: 10.1007/s11771-019-4060-4.

     

    • Li, Q. Li, Z. Jiang, and J. Ma, “Failure Analysis of Coupler Knuckle Considering Truncated and Censored Lifetime Data.” 2019 Prognostics & System Health Management Conference—Qingdao (PHM-2019 Qingdao) Failure, 2019. doi: 978-1-7281-0861-2/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE.

     

    • Wang, T. Zhu, B. Yang, M. Yin, S. Xiao, and G. Yang, “Remaining useful life prediction framework for crack propagation with a case study of railway heavy duty coupler condition monitoring.pdf.” Reliability Engineering and System Safety 230 (2023) 108915 Contents, 2023. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ress.2022.108915.

     

    • Savage, “safety in railway-Report-Federal Railroad Administation.PDF.” 2018. [Online]. Available: https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/fra_net/14954/Railroad Safety and Public Policy.pdf

     

    • Zhang, X. Liu, and H. Hu, “Statistical Analysis of Seasonal Effect on Freight Train Derailments.pdf.” Journal ofTransportation En- gineering, Part A: Systems, © ASCE, ISSN 2473-2907., 2021.

     

    • Hayter, “Probability and Statistics for Engineers and Scientists by Anthony J. Hayter (z-lib.org).” Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning ALL, 2012.

     

    • D. Austin and J. L. Carson, “An alternative accident prediction model for highway-rail interfaces,” Accident Analysis and Prevention, vol. 34, no. 1. pp. 31–42, 2002. doi: 10.1016/S0001-4575(00)00100-7.

     

    • Lord and F. Mannering, “The statistical analysis of crash-frequency data: A review and assessment of methodological alternatives,” Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, vol. 44, no. 5. pp. 291–305, 2010. doi: 10.1016/j.tra.2010.02.001.
    • F. Saccomanno, C. Ren, and L. Fu, “Collision Prediction Models for Highway-Rail Grade Crossings in Canada F.F. Saccomanno,” 82nd Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, no. 03. pp. 1–21, 2003.

     

    • Fan, L. Gong, E. M. Washing, M. Yu, and E. Haile, “Key factors contributing to crash severity at highway-rail grade crossings,” Journal of Modern Transportation, vol. 24, no. 3. pp. 224–235, 2016. doi: 10.1007/s40534-016-0110-x.

     

    • A. Khan and A. J. Khattak, “Injury Severity of Truck Drivers in Crashes at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings in the United States,” Transportation Research Record, vol. 2672, no. 10. pp. 38–47, 2018. doi: 10.1177/0361198118781183.

     

    • Ha, M. Kambe, and J. Pe, “Data Mining: Concepts and Techniques,” Data Mining: Concepts and Techniques. pp. 1–703, 2011. doi: 10.1016/C2009-0-61819-5.

     

    • Hauer and The, “The Art of Regression Modeling in Road Safety.pdf.” Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London, 2015. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-12529-9.

     

    • Lord, S. P. Washington, and J. N. Ivan, “Poisson, poisson-gamma and zero-inflated regression models of motor vehicle crashes: Balancing statistical fit and theory,” Accident Analysis and Prevention, vol. 37, no. 1. pp. 35–46, 2005. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2004.02.004.

     

    • Tzanakakis, “Managing Risks in the Railway System.” Springer Tracts on Transportation and Traffic, p. 197, 2020. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66266-0.

     

    • UCLA Institute for Digital Research & Education. (2019). Negative binomial regression | STATA annotated output. Retrieved from https://stats.idre.ucla.edu/stata/output/negative-binomial-regression/
Quarterly Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 16, Issue 3 - Serial Number 64
Winter 2025
Pages 4747-4771

  • Receive Date 03 November 2024
  • Revise Date 27 February 2025
  • Accept Date 01 March 2025