SAFEGUARDING TRACK BY CREATING 360 DEG. OF VIRTUAL FENCE Train As a Sensor Part – 2

Vulnerability on Track.

Railway Tracks are located in uninhibited and hostile environments. Railway tracks are generally considered to be durable and resistant to many types of threats. However, they are not entirely "foolproof" from all kinds of threats. The combination of factors such as heavy traffic, severe weather conditions like floods or landslides, inadequate maintenance, natural disasters, prohibited Intrusion, vandalism, sabotage or terrorist attacks etc. makes tracks insecure and non-operational. Globally, track damages are an ongoing concern for railway operators, as they can lead to delays, service disruptions, and increased maintenance costs.

The use of technologies such as ultrasound, strain gauge, track geometry measurement, satellite remote sensing etc. are used to detect track damages. But then again:

·????????In the United States, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) reported that in 2020, there were 68,813 track defects found during inspections, an increase of 2% compared to 2019.

·????????In India, the Ministry of Railways reported that in 2019-2020, there were approximately 1.8 million rail fractures and 0.5 million rail welds detected during track inspections. In addition, there were approximately 39,000 defects detected in the switches and crossings.

Persistent Problems and Pertinent Challenges

In securing the railway tracks:

·????????Is it possible to monitor and have situational awareness on every track meter and surrounding region?

·????????Can the technology monitor the minutest Intrusion on the Track in real-time (24*7*365) for 1000s of km of length?

·????????Can the system sustain harsh weather conditions, easy to use, with low Capital cost and low maintenance overheads?

·????????Does the technology support wireless networks to communicate information to concerned authorities in real-time?

Introduction of VEDA (Vibration Effectiveness and Deflection Analysis).

A novel photonic system, VEDA is developed to monitor real-time vibrations on land for detection, discrimination and distinguishing any Ground strain or Intrusion in the inhospitable environment or monitoring base.

What VEDA Measures for Vibration Analysis

????????VEDA can remotely monitor Rayleigh waves (vibrations and conditions) of structures simultaneously in the time and frequency domains and displays vibrations' displacement, velocity and acceleration at even inaccessible locations. VEDA monitors one finger tap on the surface, resulting in vibrations. Hence it is very sensitive to capture vibration created by trains or metro on the Track or other trenching or digging, or tunnelling activity carried out nearby and the same impacting the Track.

???????VEDA enables a large area of coverage. Unlike conventional vibration sensors collect vibration only at the point of contact.

1. ???????One-second display updates
2. ???????Nanometer resolution, with no frequency constraints.
3. ???????Sound is extracted from optical beam modulation data.

Paradigm Shift in Monitoring

a.????Blockade and Obstruction on Track: -

·????????VEDA can identify unanticipated blockades & obstructions like rock, trees, person, animal, floods, landslides etc. and alerts the engine Driver at least 15km ahead of the running Train.

·????????Veda acts as track surveillance and creates a virtual fence on Track so that prohibited Intrusion, vandalism, sabotage or terrorist attacks can be alerted on and around the Track.

·????????The mechanism works 24*7*365. One unit of VEDA will monitor a single track for a distance of 30km approx and the surrounding region.

b.???Unmanned Railway crossing.

VEDA Automates unmanned and manned level crossings with the reduction/elimination of rampant accident rates and fatalities.

·????????VEDA secures unmanned Railway crossing using vibration monitoring.

·????????The arrival of the Train, at the crossing is alarm and gates closure will be automatic.

·????????Alert and Alarm to Engine driver if there is any obstruction on the Track at the approaching railway crossing.

·????????In the absence of gates, an alarming system will be sounded while the Train is approaching.

·????????Warning at the crossing can be provided by providing real-time distance of approaching Trains.

·????????One hundred meters radius of the railway zone can be covered.

c.????Train Collusion Avoidance system (TCAS)

VEDA prevents head-on collisions that could result in human loss / collateral damage. Thereby saving in colossal capital cost.

·????????If another train is on the same Track moving towards or away from it, the combination of VEDA & VIDUR (refer to Part -1 of the article) will provide real-time information to the engine driver/pilot.?

·????????If the distance between 2 trains is nearing to be less than 5 KMS, then alerts and alarms will be signalled as well as autopilot in slowing or stopping the trailing Train can be triggered or a stop signal can be activated.

·????????The distance between 2 trains can be a minimum of 1 Km to 35 km. Hence VIDUR can act as full-proof TCAS.

·????????VEDA will monitor the speed of the Train & will be able to supervise train movement and shunting limits.

Predictive and preventive maintenance of rail is integrated to avoid delay & hardship. The restoration time is fast as the whole system is built on the Internet of Things. The disaster management team or nearby Railway Station Engineer will be immediately summoned about the type of obstruction or Damage. Corrective measures can be taken directly. VEDA enables seamless commuting of trains.

Conclusion

The contented DRM had posted the challenge, Can you develop the technology that can identify the Damage on rail and track when the incidence of threat happens in the absence of Train? The successful proof of concept carried out near Araku Railway station on KK line, demonstrated all the attributes of VEDA.

·????????VEDA assists in creating situational awareness on every meter of the Track and surrounding region to the extent 10s of km.

·????????VEDA monitors the minutest Intrusion on the Track in real-time (24*7*365). A single VEDA based on soil strata monitors 30 km. Thereby with multiple installations, 1000s of km of Track can be protected.

·????????VEDA is non-imaging and non-acoustic technology; hence it can withstand harsh weather conditions, and no human intervention is required therefore easy to use.

·????????VEDA has low capex and opex as it:

o??consumes less power,

o??wireless; hence communication is real-time in seconds.

o??A laser module is the only replaceable component i.e. once a year

VEDA will avoid derailment and prevent loss of human life, assets, goods etc. This will result in huge savings on time vis a-vis revenue expenditure.

Can the installed VEDA onside of the Track and Vidur onboard of Train also assist in monitoring the Structural stability and integrity of bridges and tunnels? …….. Coming soon in Part – 3…