The Environment Agency states that each year there are more than 5,000 pollution incidents involving oil and fuels. Affecting both land and water environments these spillages are responsible for 160 of the most serious water pollution cases.
The principal causes of oil pollution are loss from storage facilities, spillage during delivery and deliberate disposal of waste oil to drainage systems. The Environment Agency has a vast programme of solutions all set to reduce the number of oil pollution incidents, including the implementation of Oil Storage Regulations, clauses within Building Regulations controls, the Statutory Code of Practice for underground tanks and the Oil Care Campaign.
Across the rail industry, operators are well aware of the penalties associated with oil contamination. These can be financial in terms of fines and clear up costs not to mention the damage to a company’s reputation if spillage or pollution occurs. With lubricants present in the engines, gearboxes and bogie drive trains of all modern locomotives and rolling stock, engineers are increasingly mindful of the impact of oil disposal and are looking for new ways to improve lubricant lifecycles to help reduce this burden.
Issues affecting oil life cycles
In adhering to the Vehicle Maintenance Instruction (VMI) oil is traditionally changed after a set number of hours or miles. However, it may not always be necessary to change the oil after this period, due to the high level of technology in modern oils and lubricants.
In addition, the environment and general surroundings of the train play a major part in the life cycle of the oil. With trains networking across England, Wales and Scotland, combinations of short and long journeys ensure that the public and freight are kept mobile. A train that runs from Glasgow to Euston, London will not necessarily have more wear and tear than a train running from Birmingham New Street to Manchester Piccadilly as short, quick distances will put added stresses onto lubricants of the engine, transmission and final drives.
Minimising the ‘cost’ of oil maintenance
Both environmental and financial costs are incurred with the changing out of oils and fluids. With the cost of new oil, the disposal of waste oil, maintenance, utility and other hazardous waste bills to consider, less frequent oil changes would help reduce these costs.
With regular fluid sampling and analysis unnecessary oil changes can be avoided. Finning’s Fluid and Condition Monitoring service provides an insight into the condition of the oil. By extracting a small fluid sample from the working parts of the engine, gearboxes or final drive, Finning can provide accurate results and subsequent recommendations for action.
By monitoring the condition of oils and fluids Finning reliability engineers and diagnosticians can advise the necessary course of action, helping to ensure a minor problem does not become a major failure. With regular analysis, the life cycle of the engine, gearbox and bogie drive trains can be extended. Therefore it may not always be appropriate to change the oil in line with the VMI, with the train able to run for an extended period before it becomes a priority.
Extending the benefits
ith longer periods between oil changes there are a number of benefits to both rail engineers and maintenance teams. Firstly, with less oil being used unnecessarily there will be a reduction in waste levels. This of course benefits the natural environment, but also reduces the costs of implementing waste oil solutions, saving both the Environment Agency and the Government large amounts of money each year.
With new lubricant technologies, the period between oil changes can also be extended from the traditional time or mileage based system. The modern lubricant additive packages help to ensure that systems remain clean and performance is maintained even under extreme operating temperatures and environmental condition. Therefore by combining with the recommendations of fluid and condition monitoring, the working life of rail equipment can be extended, increasing productivity and maximising the return on fluid investment.