SMART Progress on the Rails in North Yorkshire
15 March 2004 15:27
Latest trials demonstrate progress in development of high-speed railway trackbed surveys.
14 months ago Aperio won the coveted Department of Trade & Industry SMART Award. The scheme provided financial support to research and develop the technology to transfer our high-speed road surveys to the rails. After much time poring over computer screens the teams' efforts are bearing fruit.
With unhindered access to a variety of track types, a privately-owned railway maintained to Network Rail standards in North Yorkshire provided an ideal test site to roll out this technology in December. The team started by surveying the 22 mile track, at a ‘traditional’ speed of about 5km/hr, but gradually moved up to the maximum permitted speed of 25mph. The trials evaluated a whole range of ideas from the drawing board and compared many different radar configurations.
Project Manager Andrew Sedgwick believes the development programme is the most thorough of its type: “to my knowledge, nobody in Europe has brought together so many systems to find the most effective package in real track conditions”. Verification of results was provided by an independent UKAS registered testhouse, who dug 19 trial holes and took the same amount of dynamic cone penetration measurements.
The early findings confirmed that the Aperio system can resolve ballast thickness, map trackbed contamination and map buried objects that could obstruct track maintenance operations. There is every indication that the system will work at speeds of at least 50mph. This represents a quantum leap from hand-dragged kit and a massive improvement in efficient use of track possessions.
For more information on this company:
Aperio - Geophysical and Non-Destructive Surveys
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