Infrastructure Monitoring from Trains

University of Birmingham, Birmingham

29 November 2016
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Overview

Information for delegates

This seminar will be held at the following location

Room 123
Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering
Gisbert Kapp Building
52 Pritchatts Road
Edgbaston Campus
University of Birmingham
B15 2TT

Map
The Gisbert Kapp Building is shown by G8 on the map (where the red arrow is pointing)

Manual inspection of the permanent way – by trackwalking and using human eyeballs - has been necessary since rail transport was invented. Ever since then alternatives have been sought to this labour-intensive, hazardous, and often flawed process.

The Hatfield disaster in 2000 provided further impetus, as did technological advances in imaging, data storage and handling, and miniaturisation.

Higher speeds and traffic intensities, endless cost pressures and ever greater safety rigour mean that manual inspection is, over time, becoming rarer: today both London Underground and Network Rail have comprehensive infrastructure monitoring programmes from both bespoke and service trains.

The technology and its application remain extremely difficult, however, and progress has been much harder than often predicted: there remain considerable obstacles to overcome before human inspection becomes a thing of the past.

There are three key challenges: collecting the data in the first place; analysing huge volumes – many terabytes per run - of it; and then doing something useful with the outputs. False positives are a maintenance pain; false negatives unacceptable.

Hear from specialists NR, LU, suppliers, academics and others on the history, best current practice, and future of this fascinating branch of railway engineering.

Key Topics Include:

Understand exactly how infrastructure operators are monitoring track and OHLE from trains
Appreciate why infrastructure monitoring from trains is not yet a complete panacea
Recognise problems that need to be addressed to use the technology successfully
Identify likely future developments in the field
Meet key practioners in the field
Develop your understanding of the technology and underlying railway engineering principles

Day 1

08:30 - Day 1

08:30	COFFEE AND REGISTRATION
09:00	CHAIRMAN’S OPENING REMARKS
	Replacing Manual Inspection: Collecting Track Data
09:10	Collecting Track Data Steve Quinby, Head of Data Collection, Network Rail The role of Network Rail’s Infrastructure Monitoring fleet The benefits of automated train borne inspection Plain Line Pattern Recognition; Introducing new technology
09:40	Replacing Manual inspection: Collecting Track Paul Vincent, Principal Remote Track Monitoring Engineer, London Underground and Alan Wilson, Senior Project Manager - Rolling Stock Renewals, London Underground London Underground will present an insight into the current and future arrangements of collecting track data using its fleet of passenger and dedicated Track recording Vehicles. The challenges of fitting kit to tube gauge trains and achieving cost effective data collection, train pathing and balancing the demands for data collection, system maintenance and the passenger service.
10:05	Introduction of Plain Line Pattern Recognition (PLPR) Some of The Challenges, Successes and Lessons Learnt Stephen Tait, Engineering Manager, Omnicom Engineering Ltd
10:30	Question and Answer Session
10:45	REFRESHMENT BREAK
	Dealing with Terabytes: Analysing Track Data
11:15	Big Data Supply Side: Artificial Intelligence in Processing Gauging Data David Buckley, Project Manager Strategic Development and Gauging Services Manager, Balfour Beatty
11.40	Dealing with Terabytes: Analysing Track Data Paul Vincent, Principal Remote Track Monitoring Engineer, London Underground London Underground (LU) will explain just how it manages to transmit terabytes of data (including video) every day from 10 different vehicles as well as dedicated test trains and how it processes that data, ensures its integrityand makes it available to users within a corporate IT network. How data is converted into meaningful information for both immediate action and longer term planning and how its prioritised and integrated into a track work bank will also be explained
12:05	In service monitoring on the Dutch conventional and high speed network Edward de Jong, Senior Consultant, Ricardo Rail, The Netherlands An explanation will be given on the Dutch approach and how this interacts with the current way of monitoring by means of dedicated measuring trains. Some examples for the conventional and high speed network are shown explaining how raw data is converted to meaningful information enabling a reduction of incidents affecting train service and making further steps towards preventative track maintenance.
12:30	Question and Answer Session
12:45	LUNCH
	Electrification
13:45	Collection of overhead line data – why, what and how? Kevin Hope, Principle Engineer, Network Rail OLE data requirements and what is driving them Data collection technologies Challenges and lessons learnt
	What Now? Implications for Maintenance
14:10	What Now?: Implications for Maintenance Stephen Barber, ‎Head of Track Engineering, London Underground LU experience in maintenance, its culture and standards adapting to the new data sources and frequencies will be explored with LU Professional Head of Track. The presentation will also look at what the maintainer really needs that sometimes differs from the frontline perception!
14:35	What Maintainers Actually Want Helen Warnock, Area Director West Anglia, Network Rail
15:00	A Different Perspective: High frequency / Big Data Justin Southcombe, Perpetuum and Daniel, Tall South Eastern Fitting 1000s of sensors to 100s of trains allows a different, less capital intensive approach. This higher recording frequency model offers a range of potential benefits. The presentation will look at how Train Operators can use the vibration information to optimise timetable and ride quality, as well as bogie overhaul periodicity, and opportunities for infrastructure managers are considered.
15:25	Advances in Condition Monitoring – Big Data and the Digital Railway Clive Roberts, Director of the Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education, University of Birmingham State-of-the-art condition monitoring Big data – dealing with large disparate datasets From state of health monitoring to prognostics How the digital railway can benefit condition monitoring Ontology and railway system modelling
15:50	Questions and Answer Session
16:00	REFRESHMENT BREAK
	The Future of Infrastructure Monitoring
16:15	Concluding Panel Discussion
16:45	CHAIRMAN’S CLOSING REMARKS
17:00	END OF SEMINAR

Paul Vincent: Principal Remote Track Monitoring Engineer, London Undergrounds

Paul Vincent is London Undergrounds Principal Remote Track Monitoring Engineer. Paul has a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Surrey and has worked for London Underground for over 15 years. Paul has been involved in numerous Track and Rolling Stock projects including wheel rail interface and Collector shoe investigations. For over 10 years Paul has been involved in the development and implementation of the next generation of Remote Track Monitoring Equipment and data processing systems for dedicated Engineers vehicles and Passenger trains. In addition to this he has implemented a track asset management system and at various stages managed the delivery of track geometry recording and data processing.

Alan Wilson: Senior Project Manager - Rolling Stock Renewals, London Underground

Alan Wilson is a Senior Project Manager in London Underground’s (LU’s) Renewals team, where he has worked for over 12 years. Alan is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer with a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Surrey. Alan has delivered a range of projects on LU’s assets including Rolling Stock, Plant, Signalling, Comms, Power, Depot and logistics works. Alan is currently managing the capital delivery works under LU’s Remote Track Monitoring Programme, including the Life Extension of LU’s existing Track Recording Vehicle and the Automated Track Monitoring System (ATMS) fitted to certain passenger trains.

Clive Roberts: Director of the Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education, University of Birmingham

Clive is Director of the Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education, which is the largest railway research groups in Europe with over 130 researchers. He works extensively with the railway industry and academia in Britain and overseas. He leads a broad portfolio of research aimed at improving the performance of railway systems, including leading a strategic partnership in the area of data integration with Network Rail and the Hi-Tech Rail project, which is a European Regional Development Fund project to help SMEs develop products for the rail industry. His group is also FutureRailway’s Strategic Partner in Command, Control and Communications. His main research interests lie in the areas of railway traffic management, condition monitoring, energy simulation and system integration. He is a Visiting Professor at Beijing Jiaotong University, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn in Malaysia and the University of North Carolina. In 2010 he was named as one of the National Science Foundation of China’s International Young Scientists, and currently holds the position of Foreign Expert to the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs. He is co-chair of the IEEE Technical Committee on Railroad Systems and Applications, and he is a member of the Advisory Board for the National Railway Museum, the Investment Board for the Rail Supply Growth Fund and the Railway Industry’s Vehicle/Train Command and Control System Interface Committee. He is a member of the Technical Advisory Panel for SMRT, and a Technical Advisor to Guangzhou Metro.

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