International Railway Journal - May 2008 - (Page 47)

Measuring & testing Technology drives US train inspections Tecnogamma’s ASAIS consists of an array of cameras and floodlights to capture and reproduce the entire wagon end in 3-D. TTCI senior engineer Jim Robeda and vice-president of R&D, Semih Kalay, explain how new developments are automating freight train inspections across the United States. C URRENT pre-departure train inspections in North America are primarily made by visual inspections, making it labour-intensive, repetitive, and generally lacking historic records or easily accessible databases. Wagon condition is inspected for compliance with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) safety rules and regulations. Under these regulations, wagon components, such as running gear, safety appliances, brakes, and underframe must be kept in proper working order in compliance with a set of prescriptive standards. The potential to increase both the effectiveness and efficiency of wagon inspections by utilising advanced technologies offers an opportunity to reduce costs and increase productivity. Machines can objectively inspect wagons without tiring or becoming distracted and can also focus on certain parts of the wagons not easily seen by an inspector on the ground. As inspectors examine hundreds of vehicles during their shift, monotony and fatigue may affect the efficiency of inspections. As well as enhancing overall safety by improving the efficiency of the inspections, automated systems improve safety for inspectors by reducing exposure to rail yard hazards. Since the current inspection results are not normally recorded, a wagon’s condition cannot be tracked over time, making planned maintenance and monitoring defect trends difficult. Capacity in yards is increasingly at a premium, so improving inspection efficiency also has the potential to increase yard throughput. In order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of wagon inspections, North American railways have begun using lineside detectors to inspect poorly performing vehicles and defective components. At the latest count, the North American railways have 107 wheel impact load detectors (Wilds), 25 bogie performance detectors, four wheel profile monitoring systems, and eight trackside acoustic bearing detector systems (ABD). These detectors enhance safety, as well as line capacity, by reducing delays and improving asset utilisation. TTCI has been working closely with the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and its members to develop additional systems that will objectively assess rolling stock condition and performance using advanced safety technologies. The ultimate goal of technology-driven train inspection (TDTI) is to deploy a network of lineside inspection sites that would feed a centralised database to create an operating permit for every wagon on the North American rail network. This effort is led by the AAR’s TDTI task force appointed by the AAR’s safety and operations management committee. This committee is made up of the chief operating officers of North America’s largest railways. Safety appliance inspection The requirements for wagon safety appliances (handholds, ladders, sill steps, etc) are outlined in a regulation which specifies the number, type, location, and condition of safety appliances for each wagon type. The regulation itself does not specifically outline when and how safety appliances are to be inspected. However, in the interest of employee safety, and because fines can be levied against a railway handling a wagon that does not comply with the regulation, all railways routinely inspect the condition of safety appliances. Inspections are traditionally performed manually as part of the predeparture inspection process. Safety appliances are also inspected by train crews when wagons are collected en IRJ May 2008 47

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of International Railway Journal - May 2008

International Railway Journal - May 2008 Contents This Month News Transit News Market News Technology News News Analysis Italian Railways on the Road to Recovery High-Speed: On the Home Straight Korea Develops High-Speed Ambitions Setting New Standards for New Rolling Stock India Solves Traction Motor Conundrum Weathering the Storm with Climatic Testing Technology Drives US Train Inspections Rendezvous Full Contact List Advertisers Index The Last Word

International Railway Journal - May 2008

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