World’s first low cost on-board train monitor: RIA

Capable of delivering significant benefits to heavy haul railways in the form of increased network capacity, improved safety and reduced maintenance costs, the THAS is the next generation in monitoring and maintenance tools for the rail industry.
According to RIA general manager, Dr Anna Thomas, Australian heavy haul operations are at the limit of capacity, with some figures suggesting in-service failures by Australian rail operators cost rail customers $70-$100 million per day in lost production.
“It is essential that rail operators look at a new way of monitoring train and track health, not only for their own benefit, but that of their customers,” Dr Thomas said.
RIA and project partners QR, CQ University and Faiveley Transport Australia have recently signed an agreement to progress the project through to commercialisation.
“There has been a lot of interest in the THAS project world-wide and to my knowledge we are the only people working on a multi-wagon on-board monitoring system with these capabilities,” Chris Bosomworth, director of Insyte Solutions, the specialist system and software engineering consultants on the THAS project said.
“There are a lot of single-wagon devices out there, but the benefit of the THAS is that it uses information from multiple devices situated along the train for a greater understanding and interpretation of train and track health.
“We have the perfect opportunity now as we develop the OzECP brake system to have proper input into how we interface the THAS device onto the trainwire of the ECP system to ensure an interoperable, reliable and robust product.”
Designed as an add-on to the existing OzECP brake system being developed by the same project partners, the THAS in its current form will report on wheel unloading; L/V risk; track degradation rates; ride quality; hunting; wheel flats; and axle derailment.
Researched initially in the first Cooperative Research Centre for Rail (Rail CRC) from 2001 to 2007, the THAS involves a low cost sensor device installed on multiple wagons.
These devices communicate with a Head End Unit (HEU) via the ECP trainwire, and report on rolling stock and track health and defect events.
Overall, the THAS is expected to allow for unprecedented knowledge of train performance, reduce in-service failures and improve safety of operations, reduce maintenance costs and increase network capacity.
In its final form, the THAS will be able to report on and reduce derailment risk.
The THAS will also allow for operators to move away from a fixed time frame maintenance program to condition-based maintenance on both track and rolling stock, bringing significant cost savings.
“There is strong evidence that the current time-based maintenance of rollingstock is based on worst case scenarios so most wagons are over-serviced,” Dr Thomas said.
“At the same time maintenance based on track geometry also may misdirect maintenance attention away from areas where it’s needed to areas which do not necessarily cause vehicle problems.
“As an alternative, THAS will allow maintenance to be directed only to the wagons and track areas which require it, saving rail operators substantially on their maintenance budgets.
“It is an exciting time for the rail industry with many new technologies under development which could change the way the rail industry operates.”

For more information on THAS or OzECP visit: www.railinnovation.com.au