Smart Railway System uses smart sensors (FBG, magneto-electric or piezoelectric) to monitor selected parameters of mission critical components of the railway on a real time basis. Through the diagnostic and decision support modules of the system early warning would be issued to the duty controller so that pre-emptive actions could be taken to avoid major incidents when developing faults are detected. Components monitored include running gear of trains (wheel-sets, axle box, primary suspension etc.), turnouts, track irregularities, point machines, TVS fans, etc. The warnings are structured on the 3A principle (Alert, Alarm and Action) so that simple procedures could be followed by the duty controller. Maintenance staff could also download signal analysis results from the diagnostic module to trace and analyze the fault. The system would also facilitate the adoption of a predictive maintenance regime for mission critical components of the railway.
doi: 10.12783/SHM2015/260