Rail maintenance made easy

At the InnoTrans in Berlin, Vossloh will be presenting its comprehensive portfolio of solutions for the condition-based rail and turnout maintenance. The most recent addition to the equipment family is the compact Multi Purpose Milling (MPM) machine. All machines will be successively fitted with state-of-the-art sensor technology to provide the data for Smart Maintenance. Already now, the associated app shows how easy the rail maintenance of the future will be planned.

From track control (measurement and inspection) and consulting (defect analysis and recommendations for action – supported by own software solutions) through to the performance of maintenance work and maintenance quality control, Vossloh offers a portfolio of interconnected maintenance solutions for railway lines and turnouts. As a provider of rail maintenance services, Vossloh combines all treatment technologies from new rail grinding and preventive High Speed Grinding (HSG) through to rail milling for the removal of deeper defects.

Intuitive understanding of the rail condition
In order to ensure the safety of railway traffic, Vossloh offers its customers new rail inspection services with its Rail Road Runner (RRR), an ultrasonic rail inspection system. The mobile device detects all internal rail defects. The data collected during the scanning process provide a permanent documentation of the condition of the rail at the time of inspection.

In cooperation with Fraunhofer Institut, Vossloh has developed an Augmented Reality based ultrasonic data acquisition to allow a faster and more intuitive interpretation and classification of the inspection results in real time. The AR functionality is implemented using a Microsoft HoloLens. The ultrasonic test data are processed by a PC based software and visualized as a perspectively correct hologram on the real rail. At the same time, the inspection data are enriched by interaction options and the display of additional helpful information and documents.

Transparent reporting with recommendations for action
Condition-based rail maintenance requires detailed knowledge of the actual condition of the railway network. For a differentiated inspection, diagnosis and mapping of the rail and track condition, Vossloh uses several measuring processes and techniques that are characterized by a high level of accuracy and reliability. The interpretation of the edited data not only allows meaningful conclusions about the line-specific wear and tear but also making recommendations of expedient actions to optimize the maintenance cycle and the maintenance budget.

Rail maintenance of the future
In order to ensure regular condition surveys, Vossloh plans to equip its rail treatment machines with state-of-the-art sensor technology. In a first step, the HSG train will be provided with measuring instruments for determining the longitudinal waviness and the transverse profile. In parallel, all grinding parameters will be recorded continuously.

With this rail care and diagnosis are most efficiently combined in a single pass. Without track possession or disruption of the timetable, the smart HSG train collects the treatment data not only during the grinding process itself – data are already captured during the travel to the site and can be used to tailor the subsequent treatment to the specific local requirements.

The new Smart Rail Maintenance app will enable customers to see with a click what it will cost and/or how long it will take to eliminate the rail surface defects detected on the selected sections – and then decide and place the corresponding order.

Powerful and silent – the new rail miller for flexible deployment
The new Multi Purpose Milling (MPM) machine will celebrate its world premiere at the InnoTrans. While it is especially designed to meet the requirements of light rail traffic, it is equally suitable for the flexible machining of hot spots on mainline tracks. With its compact design and its low weight of only 16 tons, it is suitable for all common structure gauges and track gauges and hence extremely variable. An innovative concept offers flexible transport options such as the convenient haulage of the machine to the site by lorry or on a flat car or a lifting gear for loading.

Moreover, this lightweight is a milling machine for light rail transport systems that can achieve a material removal of up to 2 mm per pass. This performance is primarily accomplished through the up milling process, in which the milling unit rotates against the direction of feed. These changed effects of the forces result in an improved cutting process and permit meeting the EN 13221-3 quality standards even without post-processing. The wheels with their vulcanized tread ensure the required traction without slipping. The laser-assisted rail scanning also allows a comprehensive, condition-based turnout maintenance. The milling process itself produces noise emissions of less than 78 dB(A), so local residents are not annoyed.

Contact data:

Press team Vossloh AG
Phone (+49-2392) 52-608
Email: presse@vossloh.com

The Smart Rail Track by Vossloh
As specialist and value creating partner for rail infrastructure, Vossloh will be showcasing its products and services at this year’s InnoTrans under the overarching motto “The Smart Rail Track by Vossloh”. New capabilities in the information and communications technologies and the targeted deployment of sensor and IoT technologies open up new avenues towards the objective of the smart track. Also novel materials and optimized designs of the track components are part of the new Vossloh world.