A decision support system for track maintenance

Abstract

This paper describes how, for any railway infrastructure manager, track maintenance is one of the most important tasks to perform. This mission requires a regular follow-up of geometric track quality and the monitoring of intervention execution. Among other tools, TIMON, a computer application using track geometry measurements and maintenance operation data, is currently in use in France. This application illustrates the evolution of track quality indicators. This paper presents a possible extension of this tool and a systematic analysis of the available data by applying a stochastic model for the track geometry deterioration is also proposed. The use of environmental variables in order to identify the significance of their influence on track degradation is introduced. The stochastic model has two advantages: on the one hand it enables one to take into account the intrinsic variability of the degradation phenomenon and on the other, significant environmental variables are included into the model. The work presented here aims to classify sections of the high-speed railway network with respect to similar degradation behavior. Two different graphical representations that could ease decision-making are proposed.