Project description
Innovative technology to keep rail on track
Europe’s ageing railway system infrastructure is being tested by increasing traffic. Reliable rolling stock is needed to materialise the desired modal change to rail. This requires implementing a proactive and cost-effective maintenance and intervention system in the assets. In this context, the EU-funded Assets4Rail project will explore, adapt and test pioneering technologies for railway asset monitoring and maintenance. The project focuses on infrastructures, such as tunnels, bridges and safety systems, and on vehicles. A dedicated information model with integrated algorithms will be used to collect and evaluate information delivered by specific sensors that monitor the infrastructures, and the use of radio frequency identification technology will increase train monitoring.
Objective
Assets4Rail shares the Shift2Rail view of having an ageing European railway infrastructure that needs to cope with the expected increased traffics in the future. Likewise, reliable rolling stock will be required to crystallize the desired modal shift to rail. Both goals relay on a proactive and cost-effective maintenance and intervention system in the assets.
Assets4Rail aims to contribute to this modal shift by exploring, adapting and testing cutting-edge technologies for railway asset monitoring and maintenance. To achieve that, Assets4Rail follows a twofold approach, including infrastructure (tunnel, bridges, track geometry, and safety systems) and vehicles.
A dedicated information model (BIM) will be the keystone of the infrastructure part of the project. This model with integrated algorithms will gather and analyze the information collected by specific sensors which will monitor subsurface tunnel defects, fatigue consumption, noise and vibrations of bridges as well as track geometry. On the other hand, train monitoring will include the installation of track-side and underframe imaging automated system to collect data for detecting specific types of defects that have non-negligible impacts on infrastructure. The additional use of the RFID technology will enable the smooth identification of trains and single elements, associated with the identified rolling stock failures.
The combination of mentioned real-time collected data with existing data along the implementation of deep learning techniques for assessing large data volumes will pave the way towards a cost-effective and proactive maintenance process of infrastructure and rolling stock. In addition, two innovative intervention methods, noise rail dampers and the cleaning of long tunnel drainage pipes, will be validated on field.
Assets4Rail will benefit from a strong multidisciplinary consortium committed to concrete exploitation activities aligned towards the achievement of the challenging project objectives.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
IA - Innovation actionCoordinator
08290 Cerdanyola Del Valles (Barcelona)
Spain
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Participants (23)
1000 Ljubljana
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10623 Berlin
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
57001 Thermi Thessaloniki
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LS2 9JT Leeds
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36410 Porrino
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1210 Wien
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46898 Paterna Valencia
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
10000 Beograd
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
00185 Roma
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2325 Himberg
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48930 Getxo
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55411 Bingen Am Rhein
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
10623 Berlin
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77900 Olomouc
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
LT-10223 Vilnius
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13405 Berlin
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
00161 Roma
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
00161 Roma
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
00161 Roma
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Participation ended
03603 Vilnius
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Participation ended
96100 Rovaniemi
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
02100 Vilnius
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33100 Tampere
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