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7/17/2024
Compiled by Michael Popke
Holland's Argus™ technology enables precise geometry inspections across various applications, from TrackSTAR® track strength testing to portable inspections and locomotive UGMS (Unattended Geometry Measurement Systems), company officials said in an email.
The company’s portable Track Inspector system offers four software applications, delivering real-time gauge measurement, full track geometry and rail profile. The applications operate autonomously with operator supervision, or in “heads up” mode, providing real-time defect notifications based on the operator’s experience, Holland officials said.
The Argus Track Inspector features a noncontact encoder and foldable GPS antenna, making it a plug-and-play track measurement technology deployable from a conventional tow-hitch receiver. This eliminates the need for a dedicated hi-rail platform and enables easy storage and deployment without calibration. The Argus UGMS facilitates track measurement at operational speeds under load conditions, ensuring uninterrupted revenue service, company officials said.
Meanwhile, Holland’s software engineering team is currently finalizing details for an Argus 2.0 software update, which the company expects to release later this year.
The primary indicator of track condition is its geometry, often evidenced by poorly performing track geometry prompting the need for quality improvement. Data collected from Track Geometry Measurement Vehicles (TGMVs) offers an objective assessment of track roughness, company officials said.
By comparing track geometry data over time, railroads can quantify track performance and deterioration rates. Key factors contributing to track geometry maintenance include ballast and drainage conditions, and analyzing the vertical profile geometry channel over successive inspections enables evaluation of track ballast and drainage conditions.
Loram has developed “heat plot,” which represents geometry roughness using a color scale, with cooler colors indicating smoother geometry and hotter colors indicating rougher geometry. This visualization aids in studying time, distance and roughness in a 2D view.
The company also provides Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and LiDAR measuring services, along with data analysis for condition assessment. Rail Doctor, the company’s proprietary analysis tool, integrates GPR/LiDAR data with TGMV data, offering insights into the root causes of track performance issues, Loram Technologies officials said. GPR data continuously measures track substructure conditions such as ballast fouling, subsurface moisture, and layer thickness and configuration.
Integrating information from track geometry, GPR, LiDAR and right-of-way scanning provides a comprehensive view of line health, helping users with track maintenance and renewal planning, company officials said. The Rail Doctor output guides railways in understanding maintenance needs, planning activities and budgeting, and Loram’s analysis recommends areas for tamper application, ballast maintenance, drainage improvements and other necessary actions for a healthier track.
Plasser American Corp. (PAC) offers a variety of track geometry products designed to address rail industry needs in North America and throughout the world. The company’s core server and the software’s agile setup allows for seamless integration of third-party systems under the PAC umbrella, company officials said. The data from PAC systems or third-party systems are displayed in a simple and understandable way, and PAC measuring systems satisfy all current U.S. norms and European standard EN 13848.
The Plasser track geometry measuring system is an inertial, noncontacting system based on a navigational solution. The system measures all track geometry parameters, including track gradient, up to 200 mph. For alignment and profile, the system measures both true chords with versine and true space curves. Additionally, the non-contacting rail profile measuring system incorporates the latest laser and video camera technology to provide immediate feedback on the profile and wear condition of the rail while traveling at speeds up to 160 mph, company officials said.
The Plasser clearance measuring system records and analyzes clearance crosscut data of the railroad track and the track surrounding structures. The recorded data also can be used for ballast distribution analysis, adjacent track center distance measurement, platform position measurement, third-rail measurement and catenary wire position measurement.
Meanwhile, the Enhanced Rail Inspection system is designed as a continuous data collection system with post-processed analysis, as well as real-time display and defect monitoring. The system can test at speeds up to 70 kilometers per hour and maintain a pulse density of firing of the transducers at a fixed 4-millimeter distance, company officials said. The system offers Enhanced Pattern Recognition with adaptive learning capabilities and can make real-time and post-processed decisions on suspect indications, they added.
While track geometry is one indicator of track condition, determining the causal factors and an applicable solution are critical to managing track budgets. RailPod Inc. integrates all forms of track inspection into one vehicle in one pass to include geometry, rail profiling, tie condition, joint bar condition, ballast condition, fastener condition, top-of-rail condition and other solutions to support railroads in their track management decisions, company officials said.
Track engineers can leverage RailPod’s data to perform track surveys, leveraging imaging and LiDAR, to build a comprehensive and detailed model of a right of way without consuming additional track time, officials said. While inspecting, RailPod creates a “digital twin” of a right of way, and company track engineers work together with railroad engineers to ensure successful project completion.
The company’s integrated software solution merges web and mobile applications to provide customers with immediate access to data to conduct analysis, engineering, planning and management of the entire right of way.
RailWorks Corp. offers RailWorks Insight and integrating Automated Intelligent Video Review (AIVR) to quickly assess track health and make informed decisions.
RailWorks Insight is designed as a comprehensive digital track inspection reporting software. Traditionally, track managers and maintenance planners spend time recording track inspection reports with pen and paper, and then provide them to governing bodies such as the Federal Railroad Administration and Transport Canada. RailWorks digitalized the process into an app that is scalable and customizable to customers’ needs, company officials said. RailWorks Insight also provides automated and instant budget estimates to aid in track maintenance planning, they added.
RailWorks AIVR provides camera- and sensor-based inspections, enabling users from many rail disciplines to monitor tracks remotely and safely. The AIVR Platform hosts data collected by AIVR vehicle-mounted devices and gives users access to a suite of digital tools that allow users to locate, measure, annotate and analyze images and video while also carrying out planning and reporting activities.
The photos, video, notes and reports can be shared easily with team members or other stakeholders, reducing the need to be onsite and on the tracks, company officials said.
The types of asset inventory and condition data yielded from systems such as the RailMetrics LRail enable maintenance resources to be focused more effectively than reliance of traditional inspections, Senceive Corp. officials said.
There are “significant constraints,” however, not least in the relatively sparse temporal sampling — the period between updates will often be six to 12 months, they added. That’s where complementary technologies such as wireless remote condition monitoring instrumentation come in.
Senceive has provided track monitoring solutions for over 15 years and has more than 40,000 wireless tilt nodes in use on railways around the world. The sensors are often fixed to track ties, measuring rotational movement that can determine changes in superelevation, twist and settlement.
Related sensors can be used to monitor the stability of slopes and structures and to provide environmental data such as rail temperature and geotechnical data from borehole instruments.
Applications include “hotspots” of concern detected by track-scanning surveys, as well as tracks affected by adjacent construction activity such as excavation and installing new undertrack crossings, company officials said.
Michael Popke is a Madison, Wisconsin-based freelance writer. Email comments or questions to prograil@tradepress.com.