Strukton Railinfra is continuously in search of better and safer solutions for working on the track. One of the latest innovations in inspection uses permanent cameras.
The current situation
At present, the track is inspected by a team of people, who interrupt the train service to assess visually whether the track and the points are safe for trains to run on. The current situation has a negative impact on track availability.
The new situation
Strukton Railinfra has developed a method using cameras to monitor the state of the infrastructure, if necessary 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. One of the first operational camera installations is at a junction near Amsterdam. The cameras normally focus on preconfigured components of the infrastructure, but manual control is also possible if closer inspection should be needed. The images captured are linked to and recorded in a central database, and inspected later by a specialist.
Benefits of permanent camera inspection
• Improved infrastructure reliability, availability and efficiency.
• Fewer train service interruptions.
• Fewer service-disrupting disturbances.
• Increased safety for personnel.
• Continuous monitoring of the infrastructure, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Data may be compared over lengthy periods by storing images in a database.