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The reduction of the total life cycle cost of the whole wheelset requires an optimization of inspection intervals for axles. Such components can, in most European countries, endure more than 30 years of service life. During this time, they are subjected to frequent non-destructive testing (NDT) inspections. It is therefore important to assess the influence of design options, such as hollow versus solid axles or mild versus high strength steel, on the prospective crack propagation life of an axle. In the present paper two dedicated crack propagation algorithms (namely AFGROW and NASGRO) will be applied to the estimation of inspection intervals of railway axles by comparing the properties of two widely used steels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]