Track infrastructure

Operators can prevent it by measuring conditions directly on the track instead of relying on weather stations that can be up to 100 kilometres away. Hot weather can deform rails and cause derailments. A large Australian railway company receives data every 15 minutes from an IoT provider's sensors and imposes local speed restrictions only where they are needed. This saved 14,900 minutes of delays.

Unnecessary line closures can be avoided if faulty axle counters are detected and reset before the reset limit is reached. Extreme temperatures, moisture or vibration can occasionally produce incorrect counts, and after too many automatic resets the section is closed. Frauscher therefore transmits diagnostic data from its axle counters in real time to central monitoring, making service work easier to plan.

Measurement data from the train shows where the line causes unusually high loads. Trelleborg's ConeX3 measuring system records all movements and deformations introduced into the bogie, and the smartRAIL device assigns them to a point on the line using GPS. High loads at certain points indicate irregularities or damage. With this information, maintenance work on tracks or switches can be planned more effectively.

Depending on the task, track condition monitoring records temperature, weather and diagnostic data from sensors along the line. The Australian provider measures temperature and humidity, among other values, and has also integrated rain gauges for the rail operator because heavy rain disrupts rail traffic as well. Frauscher axle counters provide diagnostic data on the health of the sensors themselves. New sensors could be integrated nationwide via Cumulocity within a few weeks.