UIC IRS 70712 — Rail Defects

Scope

Provides the standard UIC coding system for identifying, classifying and describing broken, cracked and damaged rail defects by location, appearance and cause, forming the reference 'Handbook of Rail Defects' numbering used across European infrastructure managers for inspection, maintenance planning and defect statistics.

UIC IRS 70712 provides the standard UIC coding system for identifying, classifying and describing rail defects -- broken, cracked or otherwise damaged sections of rail -- by their location within the rail cross-section, their visual appearance, and their probable underlying cause. Commonly referred to across the sector as the 'Handbook of Rail Defects', its defect numbering system has for decades been the reference framework European infrastructure managers used for rail inspection reporting, maintenance planning decisions and defect statistics, in the absence of a formally harmonised European standard covering the same subject matter. With the publication of EN 17397-1, which establishes a harmonised European rail defect classification and management framework, the role IRS 70712 has long played is now increasingly served by the European standard, though infrastructure managers with long-established internal processes built around the UIC numbering may continue to reference it during a transition period. It remains a paid UIC publication available through the UIC online shop. The current edition is Edition No. 1, dated 2018.