Rail Infrastructure Manager Research Articles

Optical High-Speed Rolling Mark Detection Using Object Detection and Levenshtein Distance

This paper presents an automated high-speed rolling mark recognition system for railroad rails utilizing image processing techniques. Rolling marks, which consist of numbers, letters, and special characters, were engraved into the rail web as 3D information. These rolling marks provide crucial details regarding the rail manufacturer, steel quality, year of production, and rail profile. As a result, they empower rail infrastructure managers to gain valuable insights into their infrastructure. The rolling marks were captured using a standard color camera under dark field illumination. The recognition of individual numbers, letters, and special characters was achieved through state-of-the-art deep neural network object detection, specifically employing the YOLO architecture. By leveraging reference rolling marks, the detected characters can then be accurately interpreted and corrected. This correction process involves calculating a weighted Levenshtein distance, ensuring that the system can identify and rectify partially misidentified rolling marks. Through the proposed system, the accurate and reliable identification of rolling marks was achieved, even in cases in which there were partial errors in the detection process. This novel system thus has the potential to substantially improve the management and maintenance of railroad infrastructure.

Rail and road infrastructure: cross-modal safety risk evaluation and assessment principles

We explore the similarities and differences between the governing Risk Evaluation and Assessment (REA) principles for rail and road infrastructure. We frame our analysis with infrastructure managers in mind. In England, Network Rail and National Highways are the key rail and road infrastructure managers, respectively. The intention is to demonstrate that seemingly unrelated rail and road infrastructure upgrade projects are not that different – at least from the REA point of view. By breaking the potential REA barriers between the two modes, a number of benefits can be realised across the project lifecycle and beyond. Safely allowing the space for future change and innovation is a key guiding principle. Our findings point towards ‘systems thinking’ where rail and road can be approached as a single system – at least from the REA activities point of view. At a project level, this means that there are potentially many unexplored synergies between the two sectors. This may not only be in terms of safety, but also in terms of managing capital expenditure and operational expenditure and efficiencies. Future work would concentrate on drawing parallels between rail and road REA approaches for operating companies (and vehicles) to support our ‘Systems Thinking’ vision.

An innovative rheological approach for predicting the behaviour of critical zones in a railway track

The poor performance of critical zones along a railway line has long been a subject of concern for rail infrastructure managers. The rapid deterioration of track geometry in these zones is primarily ascribed to limited understanding of the underlying mechanism and scarcity of adequate tools to assess the severity of the potential issue. Therefore, a comprehensive evaluation of their behaviour is paramount to improve the design and ensure adequate service quality. With this objective, a novel methodology is introduced, which can predict the differential plastic deformations at the critical zones and assess the suitability of different countermeasures in improving the track performance. The proposed technique employs a three-dimensional geotechnical rheological track model that considers varied support conditions of the critical zone. The approach is successfully validated with published field data and predictions from finite element analysis. This methodology is then applied to a bridge-open track transition zone, where it is observed that an increase in axle load exacerbates the track geometry degradation problem. The results show that the performance of critical zones with weak subgrade can be improved by increasing the granular layer thickness. Interpretation of the predicted differential settlement for different countermeasures exemplifies the practical significance of the proposed methodology.

Determinants of autonomous train operation adoption in rail freight: knowledge-based assessment with Delphi-ANP approach

Railways are the backbone of complex and multimodal transport systems in Europe. To secure a larger share of the transport market and attract existing and future freight customers, further improvement in services is required. To achieve this goal, the use of new technologies in the era of railway automation and digitalization is required. Automatic train operation (ATO) in rail transport is considered a promising solution for providing cost-effective rail products. In this study, we define ATO as autonomous train operation and the feasibility of ATO deployment in rail freight is investigated. For this purpose, a knowledge-based approach is introduced to identify opportunities, problems, and the most appropriate grade of automation in rail freight. In a multi-stage process, Delphi questionnaires were combined with the analytic network process (ANP) method to investigate, define, and weight the determinants for ATO deployment. The final phase of the survey estimated the potential costs and drivers for different grades of automation. The results show that, in addition to the positive impacts of ATO, there are numerous challenges and risks that need to be analysed before ATO is implemented. In addition, the Delphi-ANP approach was used to identify the key determinants for decision-making prior to ATO implementation and the most viable alternative based on them. Investment cost, level of safety, energy saving, and reliability of management system are the most important determinants for the decision to implement ATO. The results of this study can effectively support rail infrastructure managers and operators in strategic planning and decision-making for ATO implementation in rail freight.

Validation of a Physics-based Prognostic Model with Incomplete Data

While the development of prognostic models is nowadays rather feasible, the implementation and validation thereof can still create many challenges. One of the main challenges is the lack of high-quality input data like operational data, environmental data, maintenance data and the limited amount of degradation or failure data. The uncertainty in the output of the prognostic model needs to be quantified before it can be utilised for either model validation or actual maintenance decision support. This study, therefore, proposes a generic framework for prognostic model validation with limited data based on uncertainty propagation. This is realised by using sensitivity indices, correlation coefficients, Monte Carlo simulations and analytical approaches. For demonstration purposes, a rail wear prognostic model is used. The demonstration concludes that by following the generic framework, the prognostic model can be validated, and as a result, realistic maintenance advice can be given to rail infrastructure managers, even when limited data is available.

Rail transport research and innovation in Europe: an assessment based on recent European Union projects

Adequate research and innovation is paramount for the seamless development, testing, adoption and integration of new rail concepts and technologies. This study adopts a structured methodology to provide a comprehensive analysis of initiatives in Europe in this field. First, it provides a policy overview in Europe in the past years. After that, it provides quantitative analyses from European Union funded research. Finally, it critically addresses research by six thematic areas: efficient stock design and manufacturing, emissions and noise reduction, track and stock maintenance, efficient rail operations, infrastructure management, information and communications technologies solutions. In doing so, it highlights current developments and identifies future needs. These results can help funding organisations, policy makers and researchers to make better-informed choices to push the field forward.

Track Geometry Prediction Using Three-Dimensional Recurrent Neural Network-Based Models Cross-Functionally Co-Simulated with BIM.

Railway track maintenance plays an important role in enabling safe, reliable, and seamless train operations and passenger comfort. Due to the increasing rail transportation, rolling stocks tend to run faster and the load tends to increase continuously. As a result, the track deteriorates quicker, and maintenance needs to be performed more frequently. However, more frequent maintenance activities do not guarantee a better overall performance of the railway system. It is crucial for rail infrastructure managers to optimize predictive and preventative maintenance. This study is the world's first to develop deep machine learning models using three-dimensional recurrent neural network-based co-simulation models to predict track geometry parameters in the next year. Different recurrent neural network-based techniques are used to develop predictive models. In addition, a building information modeling (BIM) model is developed to integrate and cross-functionally co-simulate the track geometry measurement with the prediction for predictive and preventative maintenance purposes. From the study, the developed BIM models can be used to exchange information for predictive maintenance. Machine learning models provide the average R2 of 0.95 and the average mean absolute error of 0.56 mm. The insightful breakthrough demonstrates the potential of machine learning and BIM for predictive maintenance, which can promote the safety and cost effectiveness of railway maintenance.

Prospects and Challenges in Madhya Pradesh Tourism: With respect to foreign tourists

Presently tourism is considered as one of the important economic sector, which drives the growth and development of many states of India. Tourism provides a marketable product, which does not depend on raw materials from outside. This paper analyzes the problems and strategies for tourism and resource development, which hold great potential in the future development of tourism. Hospitality, the foundation upon which Madhya Pradesh tourism is built, is native to Madhya Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh sends the largest number of passengers to almost every corner of the world, but its hosting power is yet to be fully harnessed due to lack of information highway. Madhya Pradesh is also called the heart of India. It offers its travelers a colorful experience filled with pleasant surprises, with special interest destinations like forests and deserts, hills and plains, and lakes, tribal hinterland and a strong rail, road, and air network Poor infrastructure, ineffective marketing and inefficient management of resources ensure that tourists remain in the clear. Not surprisingly, Madhya Pradesh contributes a little over 2% to the country's total tourist traffic, while neighboring Rajasthan's share is 4. % More than. The policies of the government have been introduced to eliminate the problems associated with this, but still it is on paper and a long way has to be traveled to reach its destination. Most of the tourism planning in this area appears to be ad hoc. Hence, it is necessary to move away from such an ad-hoc approach to formulate a definite action plan, clearly charting the future directions.

Competitive tendering for rail track capacity: The liberalization of railway services in Spain

Congestion in infrastructure capacity is a barrier to entry to markets under liberalization. The Spanish rail infrastructure manager, ADIF AV, has implemented an innovative model to reduce such a barrier. ADIF AV optimized capacity by defining the schedule with the most efficient use of tracks, building packages with such track capacity and putting them for tender. Three railway undertakings, the incumbent and two newcomers, will compete in the high-speed market, increasing at least 55% the number of services. This model can be exported to other countries reforming the rail sector.

Prioritization of railway proximity interventions: The case of the Portuguese railway network

The mission of a national railway administration is to provide conditions for the efficiency, competitiveness, and sustainability of rail transport. In this context, this study aims to fill a gap in rail infrastructure management through the adoption of multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) and quadrant analysis to obtain a priority evaluation matrix for railway proximity interventions (small-scale, medium/short-term interventions close to the customer). In order to achieve the network manager’s general goals, an extensive collection of railway activities and an iterative procedure, which combines the strategic vision of different operational units, were adopted. Moreover, a multi-criteria and hierarchy process based on quadrant analysis to select the interventions with greater potential to achieve a set of objectives over five years, was defined. The proposed methodology was applied in a real case within the Infrastructures of Portugal, SA competencies and needs (Portuguese railway network manager). The identification of a set of fundamental interventions from a technical and non-technical point of view was performed and allowed a more efficient resource allocation. This allowed listing the most relevant interventions in both technical and non-technical perspectives (19–25% of total interventions) and also from an essentially technical point of view (27–31% of total interventions). These correspond to the interventions located in the two most relevant quadrants (Q1 – develop and Q2 – validate) and to more than 70% of the total investment. The presented approach and results constitute the first three iterations to be monitored and evaluated in the revision of future plans in order to increase reliability levels, safety conditions and service quality. The methodology has the potential to be adapted to different scenarios (in particular budgetary) and future proximity intervention plans, thus being an essential decision support tool for an efficient allocation of the company’s resources.

Failure investigations into interspersed railway tracks exposed to flood and washaway conditions under moving train loads

In traditional railway networks globally, timber sleepers have been widely adopted since the advent of railway systems. After a certain period of time, timbers tend to degrade and it becomes more and more difficult to seek cost-effective replacement hardwood sleepers. To provide a short-term solution, many rail infrastructure managers use an interspersing method of track maintenance. The interspersed sleeper of railway tracks, which is a spot replacement of old timber sleeper with concrete or composite counterparts, is often utilised as a temporary maintenance measure for secondary railway tracks such as low-traffic lines, yards, balloon loops or siding. Reportedly, the performance of railway lines including the interspersed tracks can quickly deteriorate when the tracks are exposed to heavy rains and floods. In many cases, ballast washaway can be often seen. This study is the world first to demonstrate the effects of ballast washaway on the vulnerability assessment of interspersed railway tracks using nonlinear finite element simulations, STRAND7. Two sets of moving point loads representing a bogie along the rails have been established to investigate the worst-case, potential actions for impaired performance of sleepers and differential settlements of the track. In this study, the emphasis is placed on the effects of ballast washaway on the maximum displacement of rails and the relative track geometries (i.e. top and twist). The maximum bending actions causing the failures of the track components are also investigated. The new insights will help track engineers develop appropriate climate change adaptation methods and policies for operations of interspersed railway tracks facing extreme rainfall and flooding conditions.

Recursive Hybrid Heuristic Algorithm for Routing a Track-Geometry Car through a Large-Scale Urban Subway Network

AbstractRail track inspection is essential to urban rail infrastructure management in terms of safety. The track geometry car is one of the important inspection vehicles for track condition measure...

Requirements of the 4th Railway Package Towards Safety Management Systems

Abstract In accordance with the new requirements of rail law, from June 2020, a railway undertaking or rail infrastructure manager applying for a single safety certificate/ authorization should demonstrate compliance with the relevant requirements of the Safety Management System (SMS) set out in the Commission delegated regulation (UE) 2018/762. To this end, he should provide proof to the national safety authority or, where applicable, to the European Union Agency for Railway Safety, of the establishment of a safety management system in accordance with Art. 9 of Directive (EU) 2016/798. According to Regulation, the organization should describe the scope of the safety management system, indicating which parts of the business are covered by it, considering legal requirements. The publication attempts to identify necessary changes and additions to hitherto functioning SMS.

Approaches to Dealing With Missing Data in Railway Asset Management

The collection of reliable and high-quality data is seen as a prerequisite for effective and efficient rail infrastructure and rolling stock asset management to meet the requirements of asset owners and service providers. In this paper, the importance of recovering missing information in railway asset management is highlighted, and the advanced models and algorithms that have been applied to recovering the missed data are analyzed and discussed. Through making comparisons among these models and algorithms, a procedure is proposed to guide selecting the appropriate models based on different data missing scenarios. Using the newly developed framework with one dataset from each scenario, new models with different structures are trained and finally, the most suitable model is selected and utilized to recover the missing data and the selected model's performance is evaluated using the data with known or clearly identified missing data mechanisms. Challenges via application of advanced algorithms for recovering missing data are discussed.

Digitalization of Railways – ICT Approach to the Development of Automation

The concept of digital railway is defined in the European Initiatives, which started in 2016. The basis for this technical development and improvement plan is the Shift²Rail and the Roadmap for Digital Railways, presented by the Community of European Railways and Infrastructure Managers (CER), the International Rail Transport Committee (CIT), the Association of European Rail Infrastructure Managers (EIM), and the International Union of Railways (UIC).

The Total Track Inspection

Operations of railway business have always placed ‘safety’ as the first priority. Managing ‘public safety’ requires integral risk monitoring and management. The risk monitoring for rail infrastructure management relies on accurate health monitoring and integrated track inspection. Health monitoring of all rail assets have given rise to ‘Big Data’, which have been derived and recorded from on-board monitoring and on-track inspections of both fixed and mobile assets. In this paper, the safety-critical inspections of fixed assets or railway infrastructures have be emphasized in order to obtain the integral insights into track defects, irregularities and deterioration of track geometry and components. This paper highlights the systems-based integration framework of on-board and on-site inspection data for railway track integrity assurance under uncertain settings. The risks and consequences of extreme climates have been considered in order to improve adaptiveness, agility and readiness of the systems-based framework of the total track inspection activities that could underpin and assure track infrastructure integrity and resilience. New challenges in observational field data have been highlighted as the evidences for the necessity for the adaptive systems-based framework of the total track inspection.

Track Constrained RTK-like Positioning for Railway Applications

Here, we investigate PVT solutions based on multi-constellation receivers and dedicated augmentation networks allowing to determine the track on which a train is operating with a very high safety Integrity level. Because the time needed to accomplish this task has a relevant impact on the rail traffic management performance and, therefore, it is considered a key performance indicator by rail infrastructure managers, a double frequency solution is investigated. Particularly, we focus our attention on the advantages of relative positioning solutions, based on Double-Difference Wide-Laning Carrier Phase measurement combination, exploiting the fact that the train location is completely determined by its mileage due to the track constraint, to speed up track discrimination. No ambiguity fix is required at this scope. Here, a detailed description of the overall processing and achievable performance is given. Performance assessment is provided by means of Monte Carlo simulations based on observations recorded on field campaigns.

Level crossings – legal situation, design conditions, accidents and it’s causes

Level crossing is the most dangerous place at which most accidents take place in connection with railway vehicles. While going by train in Poland we pass a level crossing almost every 1.5 km. Many of them do not have any safety devices like light or sound signal or car stops. In Poland there are almost 15 000 level crossings at which around 200 accidents happen with 50 fatalities in a year. These numbers are rising although PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe S.A. (the main rail infrastructure manager) implements many projects for infrastructure revitalisations and modernisations.In this report the basic types of level crossings and current legal situation are described. Also, basic guidelines and troubles with the subject in question are shown. The author discusses statistical data about accidents and shows its most frequent causes. At the end, the author tries to analyze if it is

Technical asset management as basis for rational planning of railroad infrastructure maintenance and development – assumptions and systems review

The paper deals with the application of the method and systems for technical asset management in the process of the planning of railroad infrastructure maintenance and development. Due to the scale of operations of rail infrastructure managers, the application of appropriate management methods and IT tools supporting decision making, keeps increasingly resulting in the condition of the effectiveness for this measure. Technical asset management as part of Asset Management is an activity aimed at achieving a balance between factors such as: costs, risk, and efficiency, in such a way so as to meet the objectives of the infrastructure manager. The paper presents assumptions and the most important features with functionalities of systems used to manage technical assets. A review of systems including an assessment of their advanced technology and main implementations in entities related to railroad infrastructure have been presented. As a result of systems review, key areas of future use and related benefits have been identified.

An analysis of the railway access charges regime in the Italian context

An appropriate access charges regime represents the basis for implementing an open market and for guaranteeing fair competition in the rail sector. In accordance with the recent European and national legislations, the Italian rail infrastructure manager has lately presented a new charges scheme with a better cost orientation and a deeper market segmentation based on the ability to pay. This paper describes and compares the new and the previous regimes, presenting a case study on selected Italian corridors. Interesting insights are added by applying a data envelopment analysis to rank the efficiency of the rail segments considering the different standpoints of three stakeholders: infrastructure manager, rail operators and rail regulator.The results of the case study, beside showing different patterns by applying the two charges schemes, suggest that high-speed services may better respond to the needs of infrastructure manager and rail regulator while the rail operator's perspective ranks better short connections by regional trains (especially under the new regime). This evaluation framework could help policy makers, transport authorities or railway stakeholders to identify where and how benefits could be gained or lost and by whom.