Challenge

Banedanmark manages Denmark's public railway infrastructure and is responsible for maintenance, traffic control and development of most of the Danish railway network, covering over 3000 km of tracks. Under a framework agreement, Fugro’s unique RILA® train-borne survey technology is being used to create a highly accurate, information-rich model of Denmark’s railway infrastructure to help Banedanmark maximise safety and efficiency on their tracks.

Solution

Our RILA® 360 measurement system incorporates two 360° lidar scanners and a panoramic camera system to simultaneously acquire lidar data and imagery of the track and surrounding environment. We mount the system on a locomotive supplied by Banedanmark and can survey the entire Danish rail network in just 20 to 25 days.

To provide an immersive view of the track corridor – a so-called ‘digital twin’ – the video footage is positionally merged with the processed lidar point cloud. We classify the lidar data into feature classes such as rails, sleepers, vegetation, ground etc., and clearance information is extracted and imported into Banedanmark’s proprietary UTRUM software.

Banedanmark’s maintenance departments use these information-rich datasets for applications including:

• Vegetation management along the tracks and catenary systems to ensure trains can pass safely and maintain the accepted safety distance to specific parts of the catenary systems

• Track maintenance to assess the need for ballast supplements prior to maintenance; for example, tamping operations, and to identify the locations of break- and edge-points and the slope of the embankment in the ballast profile of the track from ditch to ditch

• Identification of the overhead contact systems, extracting information from the lidar data on the location of the catenary masts, contact and catenary wires, return conductor and line feeder. Even the height of the contact wire over the track centre line is reported

Innovative highlight

Banedanmark had always used terrestrial methods to complete network infrastructure surveys so the use of train-borne survey systems, acquiring lidar data via a mobile platform, is ground-breaking. Fugro’s innovative RILA® solution will reduce the need for on-track surveyors and should provide accelerated data capture.

Impact

The RILA® ‘digital twin’ improves network safety by enabling Banedanmark to detect any objects within the rail corridor that conflict with the passing clearance of a train and perform clearance gauge mapping.

The speed of train-borne versus traditional ground-based survey means that the network can be surveyed more regularly and cost-effectively. More regular updates allow Banedanmark’s asset database to be validated every 3 years rather than every 5 years, supporting future maintenance and management of the network.