Methods for assessing contamination and cleaning of a rail, in particular for a railway vehicle

A method for assessing cleaning of a rail for a railway vehicle, comprising the steps of:

• imposing a first sliding value lower than a first predetermined threshold between the wheels of a first controlled axle of a railway vehicle and the rail, the first controlled axle being the head axle of the railway vehicle according to a direction of travel of the railway vehicle;
• imposing a second sliding value greater than a second predetermined threshold between the wheels of a second controlled axle and the rail;
• the second axle following said first axle according to the travel direction of the railway vehicle, and said second predetermined threshold being greater than said first predetermined threshold;
• imposing a third sliding value equal to said second sliding value between the wheels of at least one third axle and the rail;
• said at least one third axle following said second axle according to the travel direction of the railway vehicle;
• determining effectiveness of the cleaning of the rail generated by the sliding of the second axle to the benefit of the at least one third axle based on a first adhesion value between the wheels of said second axle and the rail and a second adhesion value between the wheels of said at least one third axle and the rail.