Case Study: Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail uncovers axle box bearing failure causes with Hexagon

Root Cause Analysis for a national rail provider delivers new insight into axle box failures

Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail, the national railway operator of Ireland, faced a challenge with premature failures of axle box bearings on a modern fleet of trains. These bearings, expected to last three million kilometers, were failing at only 750,000km, posing significant cost and operational risks. After separate investigations by the manufacturer and supplier failed to find an agreed cause, the company sought an independent expert and chose Hexagon (operating through its Romax consulting team) to perform a root cause analysis.

Hexagon's solution involved a detailed investigation comprising a full design review, physical bearing analysis, and advanced simulation modeling using RomaxDesigner software. While a single definitive root cause was not established, Hexagon's impartial analysis ruled out several issues and identified multiple likely contributory factors, including water ingress and unequal loading. This robust, high-quality investigation provided Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail with the substantiated findings needed to plan its next steps toward optimizing its rolling stock and reducing risk.

Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail

Damien Lambert

Technical Support Manager - Bogies and Wheel Sets