Smart Rail Infrastructure Monitoring System (SRIMS)

Schůze projektu

Statotest, in cooperation with the Faculty of Civil Engineering at the CTU in Prague and international partners in Saxony – Fraunhofer IIS and Spektra Schwingungstechnik und Akustik GmbH Dresden, is a major project within the Delta 2 programme. The aim of this project is to develop a monitoring system for rail transport, which is intended to significantly improve the safety and efficiency of the rail network.

In the era of automated and cooperative mobility, it is essential to have a safe, sustainable and resilient infrastructure. The SRIMS project focuses on the design and implementation of a comprehensive system platform to collect trusted diagnostic data from sensors located on key elements of the railway infrastructure.

The main focus of the project:

Railway bridges and related infrastructure: ensuring their stability and safety is a priority.

Railway track infrastructure: Including the superstructure, substructure and switches, which are key to smooth operation.

Research areas:

Critical Infrastructure Assessment: In order to focus on the most critical areas.

Mapping and development of sensor systems: To collect and evaluate infrastructure data.

Numerical modelling and analysis: Aimed at identifying risks and predicting the state of the infrastructure.

Expert platform and cloud system development: For integration and efficient evaluation of collected data.

Main results:

Validated monitoring system: Combining specialized sensors and an expert system implemented in a cloud environment.

Testing environment: For validating the sensor system and developing intelligent algorithms.

The SRIMS project demonstrates our commitment to innovation and safety in rail transport, and we strongly believe that its implementation will bring positive changes for the industry.

Project news:

On 20.6.2024, another ‘live’ meeting took place, this time in
Liberec, at the premises of lipo.ink, where the company Statotest is
located. At this meeting, specific locations on the railway
administration network were presented, which were selected (and approved
by SŽ) for testing the sensory system developed within the SRIMS
project.

The key topics are as follows:

  1. Landslides, slope movements and sleeper subgrade, rockfall

  2. Stability of track components

  3. Detection of degradation in transition areas

  4. Moisture detection – flooding of NK

  5. Retaining and abutment walls

  6. Quantification of load on bridges

  7. Impacts of non-rail vehicles on bridge structures

The systems will be set up for the given challenges, tested at the
specified locations, and based on the data obtained, adjustments will be
made so that they meet the demanding conditions for monitoring the
railway track and its surroundings.

On 18 April 2024, the second meeting of the SRIMS project took place at the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague. The meeting was attended by all project partners and was dedicated to the key topics that form the basic pillars of the project. The main point of discussion was the “input data”, covering the biggest challenges and problems faced by railway infrastructure managers.

Participants also analysed the types of damage to bridge structures and the different causes of their collapse. This discussion provided valuable input for the future direction of the project work. The meeting thus represented a key step towards better understanding and addressing the issues that stand in the way of efficient and safe use of railway infrastructure.