The role of the environment in the rolling contact fatigue cracking of rails

The significance of an environmental contribution to the RCF cracking process in rails is presented and critically reviewed in the current work. Based on both field trials and laboratory observations, recent models of the RCF cracking process may be missing an important factor. The practical significance of an explicit environmental effect on the cracking process is also considered, as well as experimental approaches to quantify the effect of the environment.