ABSTRACT
Railway tracks are complex systems, made up numerous critical components such as rails, sleepers/ties, fasteners, ballast, joints, crossings, switches, that require regular monitoring in order to ensure track safety and optimize track efficiency. Many large railways make use of expensive Track Geometry Cars in order to measure railway asset condition through the measurement of rail geometry (gauge, crossfall, alignment, etc.). In the case of smaller, local, railways with narrow gauge, the use of the traditional high-speed Geometry Cars is not practical due to the high cost and large size of such Cars. In this context, visual inspections on the railway network are generally performed in order to determine the condition of the track and to identify potential points of failure. Unfortunately, visual and manual inspections are time consuming, limited in their scope and often do not provide sufficient accuracy and repeatability. Around the world the “Laser Cracking Measurement System” (LCMS) has been widely adopted for the task of automated pavement analysis due to with millimeter precision, multi-functional application and high-repeatability. This paper discusses the potential to adapt this technology to the specific needs and challenges of the railway industry. Its application on railway track is still challenging and at an early stage, due to the different operating environment (movement and acceleration of the railway wagon) and features to be identified (e.g. gauge, switches, joints, fasteners, sleepers/ties) but it is showing high potential for implementation in railway, too. The present paper reports the state of the art in the application of LCMS in rail track monitoring and a novel case study based on a local railway with narrow gauge. Examples of data acquisition and identification of track geometry and distresses with ad hoc software tools are presented as well. Implementation issues and solutions (SWOT analysis), equipment specification and operating requirements are reported.
