End-to-end process presented in Sweden

We as developers are very pleased and proud to see that our latest technologies are enthusiastically received by others. This was also the case in autumn 2022, when our test vehicle, a fully electric Unimat 09-4x4/4S E³, was able to demonstrate its capabilities under field conditions in Sweden as part of Shift2Rail.

• Smart technologies
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Complete turnout inspection in four minutes

A new non-contacting measuring system makes it possible! The system records all the necessary parameters during a short pass over the main track and the diverging one. Another great benefit: it provides detailed image data. This data can be used to assess the condition of key components such as the common crossing, blades, or important system parts such as fastenings, drive units, and cable ducts.

• Measuring
• Infrastructure

Research on synthetic fuels in track maintenance

We have set ourselves the goal of advancing carbon-neutral track maintenance and thus contributing to even greater rail sustainability. In addition to our own E³ hybrid machines, synthetic fuels in particular are an important alternative. Therefore, newly manufactured machines can already be delivered so they are compatible for synthetic fuels.

• Machine

Revolutionary track inspection from the air

Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), also known as drones, have become an indispensable tool for a number of industries. Due to their ability to collect highly precise data and detailed images across large distances, UAS have revolutionised the inspection, inventorying, and digitalisation of railway infrastructure. Intelligent software processes the enormous quantities of data in the background and provides a robust basis for decisions.

• Smart technologies
• Measuring

The tamping unit that understands the ballast

Just like the sense of touch enables humans to handle objects according to their texture, “sensing” tamping tines enable the machine to treat ballast in an optimum manner. But how do you teach a tamping machine a sense of touch?

• Smart technologies
• Infrastructure

The highly versatile machine for predictive maintenance

For the sake of economic efficiency, track construction and maintenance increasingly rely on a holistic approach that takes all relevant factors and parameters into account. The basis for this is high-resolution data of the individual track components.

• Measuring
• Infrastructure

PredictiveTrackView

We are currently developing PredictiveTrackView, a comprehensive tool for track infrastructure operators. Its goal is to exhaust all possibilities Building Information Modeling (BIM) offers to make planning and performing sustainable maintenance measures and asset management as efficient and easy as possible - all thanks to the digital twin in the virtual space.

• Infrastructure

Multichannel GPR technology detects munition remnants and other obstacles

Foreign objects in the ballast bed and track substructure, such as munition remnants, can significantly restrict or delay maintenance work. Metal detectors, magnetometers, and conventional GPR systems cannot reliably detect objects in the track bed. Thanks to our multichannel GPR technology with increased scanning density, a tomographic analysis of the track is possible and, by extension, localisation is much better.

• Infrastructure

Blockchain for increased safety

Blockchain is known for being applied in the context of cryptocurrencies. Beyond that, “Distributed Ledger Technologies” that record transactions in a complete, correct, timely, and orderly manner offer other fascinating application scenarios.

• Smart technologies

Radar: the "eye" of the machine

The word “radar” may make you think of air travel and parking assistants. But radars have also entered the field of railway, specifically in the form of ground penetrating radar (GPR), also known as georadar.

• Measuring
• Infrastructure

GPR brings technological leap in track inspection ​

The Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is gaining importance in track maintenance. Providing high-resolution data on individual track components, it allows taking all relevant parameters into account. This holistic approach benefits cost-efficiency. ​

• Measuring
• Infrastructure

Research developments for the urban rail

Traffic in tram, light rail and metro networks causes a variety of damage to the rail head. Mechanical stress results in scoring, corrugations, waves, and much more. For decades, preventive, or at least regular, rail grinding has been considered an effective countermeasure.

• Infrastructure
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Quiet rails thanks to ATMO

Rail grinding helps prevent unwanted noise, vibrations, and consequential damages. Plasser & Theurer’s newly developed rail grinder for operations in tramway and urban railway networks combines two work processes. ​

• Infrastructure
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How do the Dynamic Track Stabiliser and ballast interact with one another?

Does the Dynamic Track Stabiliser (DTS) have the potential to be more than a ballast compacting machine? Could it also be a measuring device for monitoring ballast compaction? An ongoing research project conducted by the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien) is examining these questions.

• Infrastructure
• Machine

Artificial intelligence for more efficient ground-penetrating radar analysis

Ground-penetrating radars measure the condition of track substructure. However, the analysis of this data is very time-consuming. Could the use of AI reduce this effort? Plasser & Theurer is part of a research group that took on the challenge of answering this question. They discovered that, among other things, a clever application of filters facilitates the analysis.

• Infrastructure

WCRR 2019 Tokyo: On the state of the art

1994 marks the birth of the WCRR. Held in Paris, it was initiated by several major railway companies. Ever since, the world’s probably most important railway expert convention has been travelling around the globe. In 2019, it pitched its tents in Tokyo for the second time. Over 1,000 participants, 630 submitted research papers and around 300 presentations in just 4 days: the variety of topics is as remarkable as the in-depth expertise presented.

• Infrastructure
• Machine

Absolute track measurement

One of the tasks of the permanent way staff of the Italian railway network (RFI, Rete Ferroviaria Italiana) is checking the absolute track geometry. This ensures that the geometric quality of the track meets the increasing speed. RFI has introduced new control techniques over the last few years to make this work easier and faster.

Research Partner: RFI

• Measuring

Deep learning units for the automatic turnout tamping assistant

Machines that attend school? What might sound like science fiction, has become a reality at Plasser & Theurer. Our development team is working on a 3D scan based sensor system, training it to take autonomous decisions. The method applied: deep learning.

• Smart technologies

Function test well before applying the first weld seam

For testing the control system embedded in a machine, you need no longer wait for the machine to be built. Thanks to the Hardware in the Loop method, you can start with the first function tests directly after design is completed.

• Smart technologies
• Machine

Dynamic stabilisation of new track types in the laboratory

In her doctoral thesis Sophie Feurig focuses on a detailed analysis of dynamic track stabilisation in the laboratory. An in-depth understanding of the system behaviour of the ballasted track sparks not just her enthusiasm.

• Infrastructure
• Machine

How does a track maintenance machine think?

This question raises another question: “Is a track maintenance machine actually capable of thinking?” Yes, it is. Artificial Intelligence (AI) enables machines to learn from experience and adapt to new information and tasks. This requires machines to think autonomously. Artificial neural networks allow Plasser & Theurer machines to extract information and find generalised solutions.

• Smart technologies

Tracking ballast

Track ballast has many functions in the permanent way system. It is, amongst others, responsible for the load transfer into the subgrade, the drainage of the superstructure and the reliable position of the track panel. Even so, ballast is compared to other track components still a relatively unresearched area. With the use of the Discrete Element Method - a numerical calculation method for computing a large number of particles - and powerful computers it has now become possible to reliably determine the path of movement as well as the interaction of particles. Plasser & Theurer utilises this technology to gain new insights into the permanent way and so to optimise its track construction machines even further.

• Infrastructure

It started with the vision of an autonomous tamping machine

The turnout tamping assistance system “PlasserSmartTamping – The Assistant” by Plasser & Theurer helps the operator to manage the operational systems of the machine and represents a major step towards the automation of tamping machines.

• Smart technologies

EM100VT – The future of track inspection starts today

523 track kilometres, 224 turnouts, 80,000 sleepers and far more than 325,000 tonnes of ballast: These are the hard facts about the renewal of the high-speed line 1733 between Hanover and Würzburg.

Research Partner: Obermeyer

• Measuring
• Infrastructure

Smart Maintenance – More than virtual reality

Developing and testing technology components for the machines of tomorrow requires testing under conditions close to reality. Used as a carrier vehicle, Plasser & Theurer’s EM100VT provides the ideal research environment for innovative leaps in technology with a great application potential.

• Measuring

Digital Twin – The new world of track construction

In the age of 4.0, the digital transformation poses great challenges to the railway: both the users’ need for mobility and the operators’ opportunities to manage the track have changed. The digital revolution changes the order of things, requiring us to rethink and change the way we work.

• Smart technologies
• Measuring

The Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking

As the world’s resources become scarcer and climate change poses an ever-increasing threat, the future of Europe lies in embracing sustainable development strategies and investing in sustainable solutions to meet its long-term challenges.

• Smart technologies