To pursue further development of railways, it is strongly required to reduce the manpower and costs consumed for maintenance work. In the field of material engineering, efforts are being made to analyze the deterioration mechanism of materials, quantitatively assess to progress of deterioration, and predict their life. To extend the life of structure members, it is also addressed to extend the life of materials and eliminate the causes or phenomena that will lead to their deterioration. Furthermore, it is being discussed to apply materials with new functions and new material systems to railways based on a new material concept. Development is also under way to induce a review of the present railway maintenance system.

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