The railways as drivers of innovation
From railway construction to the system landscape. ÖBB-Infrastruktur provides the stimulus for research and development. We present some examples.
White Rail Project
Rising temperatures and heat waves cause tracks to become compressed, which makes unrestricted railway operation more difficult. As part of the “White Rail” project, we are changing the colour of the rails to see how this works in a trial run. It is known that darker surfaces absorb temperatures very easily. We hope that changing the colour of the rails to a lighter colour will mean temperatures drop by 5 – 8 degrees Celsius and that there will be fewer restrictions on train traffic due to deformed rails in strong sunshine.
