The development and testing of a railway track inspection system for track maintenance

Abstract

          The railway track inspection system for track maintenance being developed in this research project consists of 2 sub-systems, namely 1) railway track locomotion sub-system, consuming electric energy to propel itself along the track for the inspection operation, with light gross weight, operated by one person, and 2) railway track inspection and data recording sub-system with high-speed and high-resolution image capturing capability in order to suit the requirements of railway track inspectors' operations. These 2 parts were researched, designed and developed such that the railway track inspection system had simple construction and operation, and could be built with locally available supplied parts and equipments, leading to low manufacturing costs.

           A prototype of the system was built and tested on a mock-up test track simulating a real operation. The test results were used for later improvements of the system to yield an appropriate performance for real railway track inspection operation. The prototype had been planned real field operation in a near future. This developed system had been expected to put into real inspection and maintenance service of the railway operators to help ensuring safe tracks for railway passenger’s safety and comfort.