Case study

ProRail ERTMS Project – Building a digital foundation

The Netherlands

Cross country train for ProRail making its way along the railway tracks with the surrounding areas as flat grassland fields in an isolated location. Railway appears to have been electrified in The Netherlands

Client

ProRail

Project duration

2018

ProRail is developing the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) in the Netherlands, replacing the existing automatic train protection system (ATB-EG) in key areas to ERTMS level 2. To verify and detect deviations in current track conditions and assist in the design, Fugro supplied an inventory of all above-ground relevant rail infrastructure and track geometry; building a digital foundation for work now and in the future.

Life cycle

Planning, feasibility, conceptual design

Design

Construction

Operations and maintenance

Decommissioning

Show full process

Case study images for Fugro.com

Rila®

RILA®

By creating a digital twin of your network we can deliver a detailed representation of the railway corridor to your desktop 24/7 and replace the need for your own track inspections

The high-speed line from Amsterdam to Paris has reduced travelling time by 50 minutes (25%).

Over the coming years, the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) will be introduced in the Netherlands to create seamless, cross-border rail traffic.

ProRail is actively involved in this process, replacing the existing automatic train protection system (ATB-EG) in key areas to ERTMS level 2. To assist them with the design Fugro supplied an inventory of all above-ground relevant rail infrastructure and track geometry data for the rail corridor in Haarlem and the surrounding area.

Building a Digital Foundation

Fugro’s fully remote RILA® train-borne survey system was deployed to create a 3D real-world model of the network’s assets.

The data was acquired in four days and processed to produce one homogeneous dataset, accelerating project delivery and building a digital foundation for the overall ERTMS project.

This digital foundation, which includes track centreline, point clouds, imagery and video can be accessed repeatedly in a desktop environment for post-processing into track geometry, rail condition, topographical survey information and georeferenced imagery. Used in an engineering design application, with no need to access the track or its environs, it reduces risk and improves safety.

The data is used by Fugro to conduct a series of critical tests and checks, including:

Working out the coordinates and cant of the track centreline

  • Calculating the alignment of the track centreline

  • Analysing differences (slews and lifts) between the alignment and survey data (track centreline)

  • Check alignment compliance against ProRail standards and reporting deviations

  • Importing the alignment into the ProRail SIGMA database

The resulting analytics, mapping (in IMSpoor format), video and point cloud were supplied to ProRail and will be used by them as input to the design of the Netherlands ERTMS project.

Black and white mapping model of train station in The Nethrlands with a double decker train leaving the station

Bringing the railway to the desktop

Fugro also provided a web-based interface through which ProRail could view and interpret the data. RILA® Portal is an intuitive, secure, web portal that brings the railway to the desktop. It allowed ProRail to view, inspect and connect RILA® datasets with their existing software tools. Consisting of a 2D map viewer and a 3D data viewer it seamlessly integrates into a modern user interface. Core functionality included easy data viewing and navigation capabilities; object selection and inspection; basic analysis tools; and sharing or exporting views to exchange information with co-workers

Thanks to the delivered end products we are capable of providing our ERTMS design work on the basis of reliable and up-to-date data for the relevant railway infrastructure of Haarlem and its surroundings.

Dr. W.J. Jägers

Project Manager, ProRail

Key benefits

The use of Fugro’s RILA® train-borne survey system to create a 3D real-world model of the network’s assets accelerated the project delivery time and lowered the cost of survey operations compared to traditional methods. Moreover, the safety of operations was increased as there were no track possessions or staff needed on the tracks.

Site investigation (CPT and drilling) and monitoring
Performing CPT, drilling and monitoring of the Grimburgwal canal in Amsterdam

What we do at Fugro

Helping you save time with Geo-data

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