Introduction:

In its effort to modernize the railway system, ProRail has committed to understanding the intricate behaviors of railway infrastructure. Facing challenges with three critical ‘hotspots’ on a 4 km railway stretch, ProRail seeks to implement advanced monitoring solutions to ensure safety and efficiency. the approach is to Tackle Hotspots and Enhancing Track Stability.

Challenge:

ProRail identified three hotspots—areas with accelerated track degradation—on their railway stretch. These hotspots, attributed to unstable railway embankments with high water content, necessitated speed reductions for passing trains due to maintenance concerns. The embankment instability stems from a sublayer of clay covered in sand, which, when saturated by rain, results in a sinking embankment.

Solution:

To gain deeper insights into the embankment and railway conditions, ProRail partnered with Railmonitor. They installed Railmonitor’s solution, TrackBed³⁶⁰ , which includes tilt sensors to measure ground and rail movements and Groundwater level sensors to monitor water levels. All data gathered from these sensors is automatically sent to Railmonitor’s software platform, the Digital Service Platform.

The true value of TrackBed³⁶⁰ lies in the Digital Service Platform. This platform provides advanced insights through its Foresight Lens feature, which predicts railway behavior over a 7-day period. Additionally, it offers instant alarm notifications if preset data thresholds are reached, enabling prompt responses to potential issues.

Results:

The insights Railmonitor’s software has been instrumental in understanding the behavior of the railway and embankments. Through Big Data analytics on the Digital Service Platform, ProRail can analyze how and why these movements occur, enabling them to incorporate these insights into their maintenance strategy. With the predictive capabilities of the Foresight Lens, ProRail can foresee potential issues and address them proactively.

Benefits:

By leveraging Railmonitor’s advanced monitoring solution ProRail ensures safer and more efficient railway operations. The ability to predict hotspot occurrences and understand the underlying causes empowers ProRail to implement proactive maintenance strategies, enhancing overall track stability.

About ProRail:

ProRail is a leading railway infrastructure management organization in the Netherlands, dedicated to ensuring safe, reliable, and efficient railway operations. Committed to innovation, ProRail continuously seeks advanced solutions to maintain and improve their railway network.

Watch ProRail’s Journey with Railmonitor:

Paul Kootwijk, Program Manager Tracking & Tracing at the ProRail DataLab, explains how they use the Railmonitor system to monitor and manage railway hotspots. Watch the video here (in Dutch).