Traila's friction control engineering services
The engineering behind the wheel-rail interface.
Engineering services
Friction Control
Lubrication strategy design and calibration
Project management and engineering intelligence for operators and OEMs
Diagnostics and troubleshooting
How the loop works
Sparse-fleet rollout. Complete operator-network signal.
One equipped vehicle is enough to map the whole network: rail vehicles share the same track, so a single vehicle's onboard signal reads the curves it crosses. Conditioning the whole network takes more than one vehicle, so 30 to 40% of the fleet, equipped with monitoring and conditioning applicators, conditions the entire operator network. A four-step loop turns sparse onboard signal into a fleet-wide map. Deployment is drop-in: no vehicle modification, no vendor lock, fitted overnight in the depot alongside the rest of the shift's work. The read runs through a wet rail morning and a leaf-fall week the same as a dry one; continuous means every day the fleet moves.
The four steps
01
Measure
Two to eight weeks of baseline data. One to three units per rail vehicle, on the minimum vehicles needed to cover the network or section. Attach box and power. No vehicle modification.
02
Map
Network data flows back. Problem hotspots surface. Traila returns an analysis and a friction-control strategy targeted at the highest-cost zones.
03
Optimise
One rail vehicle proves the change in service, then the strategy rolls out across the fleet. Existing lubrication systems are tuned first; onboard systems expand where the value-add is real.
04
Monitor
Continuous monitoring across the operator network. Improvements are tracked as units come online. The signal stays live; the optimisation never stops.
One equipped vehicle maps the whole operator network. 30 to 40% of the fleet, with monitoring and conditioning applicators, conditions all of it: Measure, Map, Optimise, Monitor.
Drop-in. No vehicle modification, no vendor lock. Our systems speak to the lubrication systems already fitted to your fleet, so the unit of upgrade is the controller, not the fleet.
By partnering with local operators and leading rail engineering consultants, Traila keeps every step of this loop aligned with the operational realities and needs of the rail industry.
Engineering services
Field Testing
Noise and vibration monitoring and mapping
Tribological readings as a service
How it measures
Sparse hardware, complete network read.
Two to eight weeks of baseline data. One to three units per rail vehicle, on the minimum vehicles needed to cover the network or section. Units on the same consist work peer-to-peer. The result is a network noise map that tells you where your hotspots are.
Baseline
Two to eight weeks of onboard data build the picture, on the minimum vehicles needed to cover the network or section.
Pilot
One to three units per rail vehicle. Attach the box and power it. No vehicle modification, no vendor lock.
Peer-to-peer
Units on the same consist share signal directly, so the read holds across the vehicle, not just one axle.
Engineering services
Vehicle Dynamics
Vehicle dynamics and contact simulation
Track wear simulation and mapping
The intelligence ladder
Most systems stop at a timer or a fixed map. We go where the network actually hurts.
A fixed schedule overdoses one curve and starves the next, and an over-lubricated network can mask the squeal while it pays in excess wheel wear and flat spots. More lubricant is not the answer; the right amount, in the right place, is.
01
Scheduled
Conditioning on a fixed timer, blind to where the network actually hurts.
02
Location-aware
A fixed map of known hotspots, but no read on whether the dose is right today.
03
Condition-aware
The state of the interface informs the response, not just its position.
04
Noise-reactive
The signal at the interface triggers the response as the condition changes.
05
Predictive and self-learning
The system anticipates where the interface will need work and tunes itself, under condition-based monitoring.
Checked against real wear
Measured wear, checked against the simulation.
VBZ shared years of rail-profile wear data for a tight Zurich curve. Traila's own simulation reproduced the same pattern, curve section by curve section.
Measured wear, checked against the simulation.Bring us your noisiest curve.
A briefing is where the capability meets your fleet. We build the case to your network, and set out what a retrofit would take.