Swiss railway tests white painted tracks to resist buckling in heat
2018-07-31 09:18:16The Rhaetian Railway in the Swiss canton of Graubuenden is testing a technique commonly used in Italy to fight the distorting effects of heat on metal: painting the tracks white as the Alpine nation experiences blazing temperatures, the Swiss News Agency, SDA-ATS reported.
The aim is to keep the metal tracks from deforming or buckling in the heat, which has affected the whole country in one of the 10 hottest Julys since records began according to the Swiss meteorological office, MeteoSwiss.
The railway company said the white coating is currently being tested on a 300-meter section of track in Switzerland's easternmost canton of Graubuenden, between the villages of Kueblis and Fideris.
The paint was applied in mid-June, timed to review its effects in the full summer heat.
In theory, the temperature of the tracks could be reduced by as much as seven degrees as a result of the treatment, Yvonne Duenser, a spokesperson for the Rhaetian Railway, told SDA-ATS.
The results will be assessed when it is less warm.
The report cited a study by the Swiss Federal Technology Institute ETH Zurich that showed white paint had a positive impact in strong sunlight.
The researchers then turned to the Rhaetian Railway as a practical test subject.
If a railway track buckles or is deformed by more than 50 millimeters, it should not be used to carry a train.
During the summer of 2015, the heat affected the tracks of the Rhaetian Railway so severely that the trains were temporarily stopped between the village of Arosa and Graubuenden's capital city of Chur, and replaced by a bus.
In Italy, painting tracks white to withstand the heat's effects has already been used for the past several years, said the report.