Digital guardians: 50 checkpoints monitor Austria's rail network
Passing trains are checked for irregularities at 50 checkpoints in Austria. The technology is now also being used abroad.
There are now 50 train running checkpoints in use in Austria
(Image: Voestalpine)
When one of the 6,000 trains that pass one of the checkpoints along Austria's rail network every day, many digital eyes are on it. Up to eleven different diagnostic functions then run and are designed to prevent accidents and detect damage at an early stage. According to the manufacturer, there are now 50 of these train running checkpoints in the Alpine republic.
Eight years ago, the technology was tested for the first time in real operation in a pilot project with a first checkpoint in Styria. The first regular checkpoints followed a year later and in 2020, 47 measuring points were expanded into comprehensive monitoring stations. The monitoring system is now also in use in Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia and Mexico.
Trains do not have to slow down
The sensors at the checkpoints record the temperature values of axles, wheels and brake discs, among other things. Infrared, fiber optic, acoustic and optical sensors are installed. They determine the weight load on individual wheels and the forces between wheel and rail. They are also designed to reliably detect load parts protruding from the wagons and alert the responsible personnel in the dispatching department in real time. The data is processed on two geographically separate servers. All this is possible without slowing down the train at speeds of up to 250 km/h.
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The operator of the checkpoints in Austria is Ă–BB Infrastruktur AG. It was also a project partner in the pilot phase. The technology was developed by the Austrian company Voestalpine Railway Systems.
(mki)
