The Australian Rolling Stock Standard AS 7515 Axles describes the requirements for the design, manufacture and maintenance of rolling stock axles which are designed for operating speeds up to and including 200 km/hr. It aims to prevent derailments caused by failure of axles.It includes the design and manufacture of axles for new rolling stock and requirements for existing rolling stock, but excludes the operation of rolling stock, and axles used on light rail, cane railway and monorail networks. It specifies:- That axles shall be designed for infinite life- Suitable Australian standard grades of steel- Axle identification, inspection and records to be kept- Actions to be taken following in-service defects and derailments- Repair, remanufacture and service of axles. The standard describes acceptable good practice such as:Magnetic particle inspection of axle wheel seats and bearing journals, including transition radii, shall be performed whenever the wheels are removed from the axle.It also describes recommended better practices such as:Axles should be visually inspected following incidents that could cause damage to the axles, such as draw gear failures or collisions with objects on the track.The AS 7515 Axles standard was developed using Australian (including company specific) and international standards as a baseline, including those referenced in Section 1.4 of AS 7515 Axles.In particular the standards that were used a basis for this standard include:- AS 1171 Non-destructive testing - Magnetic Particle testing of ferromagnetic products, components and structures- AS 1403 Design of rotating steel shafts- AS 1442 Carbon steels and carbon-manganese steels - Hot-rolled bars and semi-finished products- AS 1444 Wrought alloy steels - Standard and hardenability (H) series- AS 1448 Carbon steels and carbon-manganese steels - Forgings (ruling section 300 mm maximum) - AS 4292 Railway safety management.

First published as AS/RISSB 7515: 2007 parts 1-4.
Second edition 2014.