Do the brake disc pads on trains have asbestos in them ?

Question

Common on public trains I have noticed on some in Sydney the smell of the disc brake and wonder if this could cause asbestosis.

Answer 1

Unless they are doing things differently in Australia... trains everywhere else have STEEL BRAKES that apply directly to the rim of the steel wheels... so it's just a steel on steel contact... unless they now are using some kind of material on the brake shoes that I'm not framiliar with.

Answer 2

I am a train driver and can tell you there is no asbestos in the brakes. There are usually 3 types of braking systems, disc brakes which act against the back of the wheel. Tread brakes act against the wheel rim. The other type is dynamic braking which uses the traction motors to slow the train. This also creates electricity which can then be reused in the power supply, making fuel bills cheaper

Answer 3

http://www.aa1car.com/library/trtu796.ht...

Okay according to the article above Asbestos is still present in brake linings of vehicles even though it was supposed to be totally banned by 1996.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_bra...

According to the above Trains use an Air Brake System

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brake_shoe

These systems do use a brake shoe as shown in the photo above,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_brake_(...

Above is a schematic of the entire braking system for a train as invented by Westinghouse in I think I read 1872.  

http://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-ar...

Apparently they are using Hemp Fibers in the brake pads for trains.

Answer 4

No, they went to composite blade shoe due to weight and heat reduction.