Event-based cameras as the key to precise sleeper de­tec­tion

Sleepers hidden under the ballast are a particular challenge when tamping. Event-based cameras could make machine operators’ work easier, protect sleepers from damage, and pave the way for fully automating the tamping process.

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Step by step to an auto­mated tamping process

Increasing capacity utilization, shorter track possessions, and staff shortages require maintenance measures to be optimized. The automation of work processes is therefore becoming increasingly important. An essential basis for this is to divide complex processes into individual steps in order to identify key factors with an impact. This method has already proved itself in tamping.

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Instant ballast-con­di­tion analysis

Selecting optimum tamping parameters is closely linked to the quality of the ballast. Thanks to a new system, it is now possible to determine its condition during penetration. This is achieved by measuring specific soil characteristics and the resulting calculation of a ballast coefficient. The application of this technology was analysed in detail as part of a collaborative research project.

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Rail grinding reduces noise emis­sions caused by trams

The ATMO (Automatic Track Machine Oscillator) rail grinding trailer has been in use at Wiener Linien for some time as part of a research project. Time to take stock. To what extent can tram emissions such as noise and vibration be reduced thanks to rail grinding?

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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. ​

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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.

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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. ​

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Dynamic sta­bil­iz­a­tion 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.

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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.

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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

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