A 3-D transient wheel/rail rolling contact model was set up by the explicit finite element method.The transient rolling contact between the wheel and the rail was studied in the presence of wheel indentations and the traction or braking forces,and the influences of the rolling speed,indentation geometry and material plasticity on transient rolling contact of wheel indentations were analyzed.The results show that,in the speed range of 60~300 km/h,the dynamic force excited by the indentation is decreased with increasing the rolling speed.The pile-up of an indentation is found to greatly increase the stress level,which may initiate the rolling contact fatigue at a late stage.For those indentations with sharp pile-ups,the maximum Von Mises equivalent stress of elastic-plastic materials can still be much larger than the maximum tensile strength of wheel steel,and the continuous plastic deformation may occur to cause the rolling contact fatigue.In contrast,the stress level of an indentation with relatively blunt edges is much lower,and the wheel is probably safe.