ARM Grabs RTA Grinding Deal

The Greater Cleveland RTA (GCRTA) awarded a multi-year contract to Advanced Rail Management, Corp. (ARM) to provide rail grinding project management designed to improve wheel/rail interaction on 38 track-miles on the Red Line rapid transit line and 10 track-miles on the GCRTA Blue and Green light rail lines. ARM will provide project management and will be responsible for the quality, technical accuracy and coordination of all required services through 2023.

ARM will perform optical rail measurement to capture rail profile, and to measure rail wear prior to the grinding and post-grind optical rail measurement, to assess the effectiveness of the grind. Annual measurement will enable to ARM to monitor wear rates over the course of the program.

“In its unique role as project manager and technical coordinator of the GCRTA grinding program,’ ARM said it will:

• Assess wheel/rail profile conditions and develop a grinding plan to remove rail defects and establish rail profiles to optimize wheel/rail interaction and improve wheel and rail life on the system.

• Develop the grinding specifications, including the number of grinding passes required, grinding speeds, equipment requirements, and grinding templates for curve and tangent segments and special trackwork.

• Review submittals and provide oversight of the bid process, including cost and track time estimates.

• Provide overall project management, including development, application, and review of a grind quality index, and quality control of the rail grinding program, overall.

“The scope of the project management role in this contract is unique in the rail transit industry,” said ARM President Gordon Bachinsky. “We look forward to helping GCRTA reduce wear and improve wheel/rail interaction and ride quality on the system.”