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Keeping trains, track and infrastructure in tip-top condition
Maintenance is key to ensuring that European railways remain safe, reliable, and efficient.
This involves keeping close watch on key assets throughout the rail system:
Trains
Track
Associated infrastructure
The Challenge
Maintaining and renewing the continent’s rail infrastructure costs over €25 billion annually, and can cause long disruptions. Demands rise steeply as rail networks expand.
Rail faces a growing maintenance challenge.
How we do this?
With innovative technologies and data analytics. EU-Rail demonstrations developed and tested an array of new maintenance solutions using:
Data-driven technologies
Intelligent Asset Management (IAM) and digitalisation
Prototype
How it works
Key findings
On-Track Autonomous Multipurpose Mobile Manipulator (OTA3M)
Road-rail excavator enhanced with trajectory scaling algorithms; fastreacting Inertial Measurement Units; autonomous running modes and safety systems
Significantly improved efficiency, safety, control accuracy. Task operation 20% faster; positive Economic Net Present Value €90 million over 20 years
Occupational Backsupport Exoskeleton (oBSE)
Fitted with sensors and IoT capabilities, helps workers lift and carry
Musculoskeletal loading reduced by up to 50% ; improved worker productivity and safety
Unmanned Ground Vehicle and End Effector
Autonomous vehicle equipped with command and control system; and a Robotic device that screws and unscrews rail fasteners
Better obstacle detection accuracy and maintenance cycle times; reduced ergonomic risks; produces up to 302.5 sleepers per hour
Who benefits
Infrastructure managers
Suppliers
Intelligent asset management solutions
| Key findings | |
| Italian Urban Metro System IAMS | In urban areas IAMS can successfully: detect anomalies, increase data availability, reduce passenger disruptions |
| Digital Twin for Railway Asset Management | Scalable, easy to maintain. Can be integrated into existing information systems. |
| Anomaly Detection for Rail Fastener Systems | New Lindometer successful in adverse weather at 70 km/hour. Detects anomalous points precisely |
| Automated data collection and intervention | Algorithm now offered as an additional feature in TIRIS asset management system for predictive maintenance |
| SMART maintenance on rail freight corridor | Considering track anomalies, root causes, greatly improves maintenance planning and execution efficiency |
| IAM On-Track Machine Decision-Support Tool | Demo achieved TRL 6-7; could reach TRL 8, if used in existing systems |
| IAM Life Cycle Engineering tool | Enables comparison of maintenance strategies; guides choices respecting budgets |
| Operational Asset Management | Improves data acquisition, analytics, rail network maintenance decision- making |
| Integrated Maintenance Decision Support Platform | Provides decision-makers with diverse scenarios; Satisfactorily reproduces manual planning |
| IAMS integration demonstrator “Gotham City” with a Human Machine Interface | Live monitoring: interactive map of whole line, dashboard for KPI monitoring; Historical data visualisation of the map assets, access to all relevant information |
The benefits of Data-Driven Technologies and Intelligent Asset Management
- More frequent, higher quality, relevant data on the conditions of key rail assets
- Optimised decision-making on maintenance needs and urgency
Better asset management = railways that are more efficient, attractive and cost-effective