Wabtec Control Systems

Signalling, train control, communications and power solutions

WCS is a specialist in rail control, signalling and communications, and a leading provider of industrial electrical and communications solutions. Whether it is a greenfield project or an upgrade of an existing site, we have the capability to provide a complete electrical and communications solution.

Signalling, communications and power turnkey services typically include design consultancy, build and maintenance capabilities.

Wayside asset monitoring solutions

WCS is recognised globally as a quality supplier of wayside condition monitoring systems. Our Track IQ range of rolling stock monitoring solutions includes machine vision and sensor-based systems combined with product specific data management and analytics to ensure our customers can reliably monitor the condition of rolling stock assets.

Our Track IQ Condition Monitoring and Predictive Asset Management systems have been installed on freight, heavy haul and passenger rail networks throughout the world.

More than 20 years of experience and a complete range of asset monitoring solutions enables WCS to provide a robust technical and commercial offering that adds value to customer business. Through continuous investment in growth, WCS continues to develop sustainable solutions that aim to meet the operational challenges of an efficient modern railway.

Installation of our Track IQ condition monitoring systems has enabled customers to significantly improve rail safety while reducing maintenance cost and increasing their operational and commercial performance.

Machine vision monitoring

WCS offers a full range of field-proven machine vision monitoring solutions. Common inspection capabilities include:

• Wheel profile, brake, spring, end cap and axle, and side frame inspection
• Bogie and wagon body inspection
• Coupler, draft gear and undercarriage inspection

Track IQ vision technology uses high-definition digital cameras to capture images of any visible rolling stock components on trains travelling at line speed. These images are processed with proprietary algorithms to produce dimensional and serviceability information for the components.

Acoustic bearing monitoring

The Track IQ RailBAM and RailBAM-IB systems use advanced ‘acoustic beam forming’ technology to detect early and advanced axle bearing defects during a train pass by at line speed.

The RailBAM-IB also has application for the detection of U-tube, gear box and traction motor bearing defects on locomotives and powered cars.

Wheel condition and weigh-in-motion monitoring

The Track IQ Wheel Condition Monitor (WCM) provides an innovative and cost-effective solution for optimising your wheel maintenance programme and protecting track structure and rolling stock from high wheel impact loads (WCM-WILD), as well as vehicle/axle overload and imbalances (WCM-WIM).

Wheel defects are detected early before affecting other wagon components. This allows you to plan and schedule maintenance activities. The WCM detects a range of defects, including spalling, out-of-roundness, flats, shelling and roughness.

Our WCM comes with weigh-in-motion (WIM) functionality allowing detection of vehicle and axle overloads, as well as vehicle side-to-side (STS) and end-to-end (ETE) imbalances.

Bogie geometry monitoring

The Track IQ Bogie Geometry Monitor (BGM) is an advanced bogie assessment and monitoring system used for evaluating the dynamic behaviour of bogies. From the analysis of the recorded behaviour of the wagon across the BGM system, the performance of the wagon and associated bogies can be characterised. Characteristics measured include hunting, angle of attack and tracking.

Thermal monitoring for railway components

Track IQ ThermalCAM uses thermographic camera technology for thermal monitoring of rolling stock components. It can measure heat in bearing endcaps and is ideally suited to detect hot or cold wheels due to inoperative brake conditions, for example when brakes are not sufficiently applied (cold wheel) or released (hot wheel).

Data management and analytics

FleetONE is an advanced data management system that integrates condition monitoring data from asset monitoring devices. As a data integration platform, FleetONE can provide views of vehicles or components (for example, a wheel, bearing or bogie/truck) that show all the relevant measurements in one place.

Backed by a powerful data warehousing back-end, FleetONE provides the ability to trend any measurement parameter over time and to compose searches to retrieve condition information. Once composed, a search can be re-run at any time and emailed out as a scheduled report or used as a compatible alert with your maintenance management system.