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December 2013
Track inspection and rail defect detection equipment suppliers and service providers are continuously updating their offerings to help railroads accurately and cost effectively detect and/or prevent broken rail, tie and track component wear.
For a glimpse into what’s new in the track inspection product and services arena, Progressive Railroading recently contacted representatives from 10 equipment suppliers and service providers. Their respective takes, collected via phone interviews or emails, follow.
— by Julie Sneider, assistant editor
In 2007, dFuzion Inc. obtained a contract from the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) Office of Research and Development to create an ultra-portable ride quality meter that integrated real-time GPS location information with acceleration data that could be collected off in-service vehicles. After developing the prototype for FRA track inspectors, dFuzion saw the value in creating a commercial version of the ride performance investment system.
Now known as rMetrix®, the system is available in two versions: the standard rMetrix and the newer autonomous version known as rMetrix-A. The FRA, Amtrak and some light-rail systems are among the company's customers using the rMetrix system to assess ride performance, said dFuzion Chief Executive Officer Robert Borgovini.
The rMetrix system collects data used to assess the train ride's quality without the use of a dedicated test car or permanently attached sensor.
The rMetrix-A is unmanned, so it can be installed anywhere on the train to record data. The system runs the information through a standard performance engine, where it determines irregularities and sends the information in real time to dFuzion's centralized database, where customers can view it through an online portal, Borgovini said.
"Basically, it's designed around a subscription-based service in which you get access to the data," he said. "As we modernize the hardware, we can replace it when we need to. I think customers appreciate that they aren't going to have obsolete technology in a couple of years."
dFuzion President Treasa Parakkat anticipates the subscription model will increase in popularity as railroads seek new ways to contain costs.
"Technology is evolving so fast. It's getting smaller, more portable and cheaper," she said. "It's the data ... that will tell you how to keep tracks safe for customers."
The advantage of autonomous track inspection technology is that it alleviates the need for a dedicated inspection vehicle and the staff to operate it, said Jeff Stevens, director of commercial business at ENSCO Inc., which offers two autonomous track inspection products.
"The autonomous products all work off the same core technology: an onboard computer platform, a series of sensors, GPS positioning and wireless communications," Stevens said. "The equipment is typically installed on revenue-service vehicles, and are collecting and processing information as the vehicles traverse the track."
ENSCO's first autonomous track inspection product was the Vehicle/Track Interaction (V/TI) monitor, which has been available for about 10 years and is being used by Class Is, Amtrak, and several other freight and passenger railroads around the world. It's designed to monitor track conditions.
"It's looking for conditions such as poor surface geometry, poor support conditions and impacts at the wheel-rail interface," said Stevens.
Recently, the company introduced the Autonomous Track Geometry Measurement System (ATGMS), an unmanned real-time system designed to measure and report track geometry exceptions, including gage, cross-level alignment and surface. The system also limits a revenue train in curves, according to ENSCO's website. The company's data center processes the information and disseminates a report to the host railroad in near-real time.
"The big advantage to autonomous track geometry is that you no longer need a dedicated inspection vehicle with staff to operate it," said Stevens. "If it's [installed] in a revenue train, you can test continuously and get in considerably more testing on an annual basis. You're not occupying any more track time in this mode and you're not assuming the cost of a crew to operate the equipment, so there are operational costs saved, as well."
In September, ENSCO introduced an upgrade to its RailScan Lite Hi-Rail System, a non-contact sensor that mounts on a hi-rail vehicle and connects to a laptop computer to help inspectors look for deviations during track inspections. The model that's been on the market measures two key geometry parameters: gage and cross-level. The product upgrade performs full track geometry measurements.
Showcased for the first time at the Railway Interchange conference in Indianapolis this fall, the upgrade "is being received very well," Stevens said.
Over the past year, Georgetown Rail Equipment Co. (GREX) has "invested heavily in hardware and software combinations that improve the accuracy, reliability and repeatability" of its Aurora Track Inspection System, said Vice President of Marketing and Sales Lynn Turner in an email.
Installed on a hi-rail truck platform, the Aurora system conducts a 3-D scan of the entire track at speeds up to 40 mph. Aurora is now being used by multiple Class I, regional and transit- rail carriers. The recently enhanced system "assigns each tie its own precise and unique GPS location information, which is powered by filtering techniques to handle dropped or weak GPS signals," Turner said.
"With a tablet accessing a GPS feed, customers can physically locate and view the data for any tie in the system," he said.
Using the FRA's class of track designations, design and software engineers worked with scientists and algorithm developers to add to Aurora the detection and location reporting of unsupported joints, as well as identification and reporting of rolling 39-foot tie defects. The collected data can be used to prepare customized reports to identify bad tie clusters by mile, indicate track curvature and provide a summary of tie grades per mile, Turner said.
"Adding these functionalities to Aurora's already existing advantages of speed and objectivity, Aurora's ability provides a 'health report' on current wood tie condition, providing customers with replacement, purchasing and distribution planning tools never imagined even 10 years ago," he said.
GREX also continues to refine Aurora's ability to detect and provide location data for rail seat deterioration found in concrete ties on heavy axle load corridors. In the future, GREX engineers hope to develop the technology and testing capabilities that will detect abnormal or deteriorated conditions inside wood ties, said Turner.
Track inspection first and foremost must account for safety and maintenance. Therefore, inspection products and services must be focused on critical components and areas that lend themselves to decreasing the risk of failure, said Harsco Rail Senior Director of Engineering and Technology Joe Palese in an email.
"The data gathered during the inspection of any component can also be turned into a wealth of information for understanding component degradation and failure," he said. "This allows for developing maintenance practices to prolong the life of the components."
An example of Harsco Rail's approach to addressing the track inspection challenge is its Automated Switch Inspection Vehicle (ASIV), a hi-rail-based turnout inspection system that focuses on the rail and geometry portions of a turnout.
"This allows for cost-effective inspection of the critical safety components of the turnout," Palese said. "Traditional methods are used to inspect the remaining portions."
Once cost-effective production measurement systems become available for the remaining portion, Harsco Rail will add them to the ASIV, said Palese, adding: "Research is currently under way to address this."
Also of concern during the inspection process is the time lag between inspection and repair of detected problems. To address that concern, Harsco Rail offers its Compass system, which applies telematics solutions to provide a customer with immediate feedback on component conditions, said Palese.
To help maximize track time, Herzog designed its Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) truck to complement its ballast trains. The truck scans the track surface and processes the gathered data to determine the amount of ballast that needs to be spread according to the railroad-provided template, said Tim Francis, vice president of marketing.
The technology, which can give a 3-D view of the track to determine where more material is needed, increases track survey accuracy and decreases track survey time, he said.
Now, Herzog is looking to maximize that track time even more.
"We realized there were a lot of other applications that we could use the LIDAR truck for, so we started to do a lot of R&D," said Francis. "We went from just ballast surveys to doing things like LIDAR for PTC asset marking, clearance analysis, using it in a ditching application for our multipurpose machine, and being able to do surface modeling for new construction and track rehab."
Down the road, Francis believes railroads may want to use the LIDAR truck for various long-term MOW planning needs. The company has heard from several railroads interested in learning more about the additional applications of data collected during the LIDAR truck's track scans.
"The word is getting out that we can do more than just ballast profiling with the LIDAR truck," said Francis.
It's now standard practice for railroads to measure and report on rail cant exceptions, said Bob Madderom, vice president and general manager of railway measurement systems and services, in an email.
Holland's TrackSTAR® fleet of hi-rail testing vehicles measure rail cant along with track geometry on one-foot increments. Now the company has the capability to identify rail cant exceptions in the normal course of reporting for all measured track, Madderom said.
"Differential plate cutting on wood ties in heavy tonnage or poorly maintained track can be a problem," he said. "Also, rail cant variation on concrete ties is an effective way to identify potential areas of worn pads, or worse, rail seat deterioration (RSD)."
FRA track safety standards that went into effect in July 2012 now require the automated measurement of concrete tie track for indications of potential RSD. Rail cant variation is effective in identifying RSD on concrete ties, Madderom said.
Recently, Holland designed a new, lightweight rail cant measurement tool (RCMT) that can provide a direct read out of existing rail cant in seconds. The RCMT is similar to the inspector's track gauge measurement tool in size and weight, Madderom said.
"The RCMT eliminates the guesswork of where rail cant exceptions begin and end, and provides immediate feedback to the track maintenance person," he said.
One of the important factors in achieving savings through better steering and control of wheel forces is by getting the proper shape on a rail. Algorithms continue to be improved to apply Loram Maintenance of Way Inc.'s rail grinders by taking off metal in the most needed areas and avoiding removal of areas where unnecessary, said Darwin Isdahl, Loram's vice president of asset management, in an email.
Loram is developing tools to ensure the inspection vehicle performs the inspection at the right time and with the capability to anticipate the track degradation through external data, he said.
"Inspection will always involve assessing the track to make the best decisions for safety and cost optimization," Isdahl said. "As better measurement tools become available, such as those to measure rolling contact fatigue depth, a better understanding will be developed of the factors that contribute to premature failures and broken rails."
As expectations become clearer, unusual exceptions can be identified as possible clues to the existence of other variables, he added.
Currently, Loram has 11 permanent test sites on four Class Is in North America to track a number of these variables. Conditions and deterioration is regularly evaluated, along with the results of efforts to suppress or reverse deterioration, such as rail grinding and friction management practices.
"This will lead to more precise application of these practices, ultimately leading to considerably longer rail life," Isdahl said.
MERMEC Inc. offered some new innovations in track measuring and inspection systems in 2013 with more to come in 2014, said Sales Engineer Tom Skiro.
At Railway Interchange, MERMEC showcased two products delivered this year that provide full rail profile and geometry measurement capabilities on hi-rail trucks.
"These are the first of a kind in the industry as far as being able to measure full rail profile as well as track geometry," Skiro said.
The products were delivered to a British Columbia-based measurement service provider that serves Class Is, and to Canadian Pacific.
Earlier this year, Amtrak awarded MERMEC a contract to supply a noncontact measuring and inspection system to check its main catenary wire for wear or defects along the Northeast Corridor. The new system, which will be commissioned in 2014, will use a laser and camera system to measure parameters such as wire stagger and height, as well as determine defects of the overhead lines, said Skiro.
In addition, MERMEC is working on a new track measurement vehicle that will feature joint-bar and track component inspection systems that use machine-vision technology to look for cracked joint bars, missing bolts and missing or loose components such as ties, fasteners and spikes. The systems are being developed so they can be installed on a hi-rail vehicle or mounted on a rail-bound car, and can be used to emulate and supplement what the track inspector does in the field.
The systems will enable the railroads "to more efficiently look for defective components and make corrections to improve safety and reliability on the lines," said Skiro.
After having "great success" with its Flex product over the past year, Nordco Inc. recently introduced an enhanced Flex system that offers a carriage permanently attached to a hi-rail vehicle, and has an integrated vision system and the tracer wheel for enhanced gage corner defect detection, Nordco officials said in an email. The Flex rail inspection system uses Nordco's XL9-11 wheel probe technology that's designed to perform ultrasound testing on rail, according to Nordco's website.
"This vehicle is a great option for both mainline and yard tracks," they said.
Nordco provides vehicle and testing services to Class Is, freight and passenger railroads, and transit systems worldwide. The company can offer custom solutions for inspection needs. In recent years, railroads have taken a more active approach to managing rail as an asset, Nordco officials said.
"By increasing the frequency of track inspection, the railroad has a better understanding of the overall health of the rail, and can make better decisions about replacement and repairs," they said.
As railroads continue to maximize load weight and revenue, Nordco's leaders expect to see changes in some track substructure, welding patterns and wear-resistant rails.
"We continue to develop new technologies to address the changing needs of our customers, as they look to maximize their hauling capacity," company officials said.
Plasser offers a full spectrum of track inspection technology. Video monitoring is one of the latest trends to emerge, says Bernhard Metzger, manager of Plasser's Track Recording and Research Department.
Recently, Plasser worked with a large urban transit agency on a track-inspection research project funded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The agency's track inspection car already was equipped with Plasser's track component video system that provided a right-of-way, rail and gauge-side view of the track area. The research project took that view a step further by providing a field-side view of the running rails and the power rail (or third rail) to complete the spectrum of measurement and visual inspection of track components, according to an FTA project summary.
Several factors can influence track condition, including the weight and frequency of rail traffic, the nature of subsoil, temperature, and rain and snowfall. The enhanced video monitoring function adds to Plasser's track recording and measuring systems to assist inspectors in analyzing track geometry and other data related to the rail profile, such as wear of the running edge, rail inclination and rail surface faults, according to Plasser's website.
Combined, the recording and monitoring systems help railroads assess and analyze track conditions more safely and efficiently, Metzger says.
"Instead of having to walk the track and be in danger of being hit by a train, the task of track walking can be performed in the office. This provides a combined review of track measurements and track video data," says Metzger.
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