Since the spring Eurailscout has added a measurement system that complies with the EN-13848 standard for loaded measurements to its range of high-quality measurement systems. The geometry measurement system has been demonstrably validated by ProRail. Originally, the SIM’s measurement system was only used for switch inspections, but this has now changed.
Because the UFM120, which among other things measures track geometry, was temporarily unavailable due to major maintenance, a project was started to still deliver over 4000 kilometers of geometry data during the maintenance period. To achieve this, it was necessary to validate the SIM’s geometry measurement system in collaboration with ProRail.
The Validation Project
During the validation project of the geometry system, a number of well-planned test runs were scheduled with the SIM-09. The data from these test runs were analyzed according to the EN-13848 guideline. In addition to meeting the EN-13848 standard, it was also important for ProRail that there were no significant differences (trend breaks) with the UFM120. To achieve this, Eurailscout’s Technology and Software departments applied filters to the raw data, which after careful analysis provided the best results.
Despite the project being under great time pressure and there being no room for unexpected developments, the project was successfully completed in good cooperation with ProRail. As a result, a geometry measurement system validated according to the EN-13848 standard replaced the UFM120 during its absence and can now also be used for other clients.
For Eurailscout, it is not only important to validate the geometry measurement system to replace the UFM120, but also because the validation serves as a “blueprint” for the geometry systems of all SIM measurement platforms. With this validation, Eurailscout can flexibly deploy its assets for loaded track geometry measurements.
The demonstrably validated geometry products of the SIM are:
- Height D1, D2, D1 + D2
- Height 10m, 15m
- Shift D1, D2, D1+D2, D11
- Shift 9m
- Relative rail position
- Track gauge
- Cant
- Dynamic cant
- Cant difference 3m, 12m
- Curvature 10m, 30m