The article overviews scientific research studies that examine the interaction between railway vehicle wheel and rail, and the phenomena of wear on wheel rolling surface. Unique experimental research has been conducted, in which regularity of weariness on rolling surface of exploitable locomotive wheel and phenomena of metal fatigue on wheel were researched. A hypothesis is made, that according to the differences in weariness intensity of wheel rolling surface it is possible to determine the start of metal fatigue. The inequality of wear intensity of different locomotive wheels is assessed by the Sharpe ratio, adapting it to describe the wheel wear intensity criteria. Based on the results of research, the authors propose a simplified and reliable methodology for determining metal fatigue on locomotive wheels at initial stages. The uneven wear on rolling surface of different wheels of wheelset inevitably changes the values of Sharpe ratio, which can accurately describe the conditions in which the critical metal fatigue on wheels begins to emerge.