Trackbed Monitoring – Combined Rail Technology

Railway surveying has always been of vital importance in the maintenance and construction of our railways but recent dramatic increases in traffic and the resulting pressure to expand capacity has significantly raised the profile of the railway regeneration.

Working in partnership with Senceive, together we can ensure FlatMesh provides both our clients with stable, precise and highly user-friendly data anywhere in the world from any installations.

Wireless Trackbed Monitoring – Selly Oak Case Study:

The Challenge:

A new supermarket was to be built on an old landfill, adjacent to an embankment / railway line, and with a large gas main running within the boundary of reclamation. Initially, access to the railway line was not possible, so embankment monitoring was required whilst initial earthworks were taking place. Severn brought Senceive’s wireless technology in when it was decided to closely monitor the site.

Our Solution:

35 high precision dual axis tilt nodes were installed immediately after Christmas, mounted on special stakes in the embankment bordering the railway line. Particular care was needed to avoid the gas main. After 2 months, a further 75 nodes were installed on 200m of trackbed directly onto the sleepers at standard 3m centres, to monitor cant and twist as earthworks progressed. Only one solar powered GPRS gateway was required to transmit all the data from the site. A short notice project for two different types of applications was solved with the same sensors in a rented solution for a rapid, cost effective and simple installation.

The Outcome:

Both the client and Severn were highly satisfied with FlatMesh’s flexible easy to install and stable wireless solution. Once monitoring started, data accuracy and reliability were immediately apparent, allowing Severn and the client to take timely decisions when movement on earthworks or track may have occurred.

Key Benefits: