NEW DELHI, Mar 5:
Railways plan to scout globally for advanced train wheel sensors at an estimated cost of Rs 113 crore to monitor maintenance needs of coaches, tracks and locos in advance for ensuring safer travels.
Billed as ‘black box’ for train operations, railways will introduce the long awaited sensor-based on board condition monitoring system for timely detection of defects related to passenger coaches, wagons, locomotives and tracks.
Railways will float the global tender soon to introduce sensor-based monitoring system that is attached to the train wheels, said a senior Railway Ministry official.
The system, operational in Western countries, would enable predictive maintenance and reduction in sudden catastrophic failures in coach suspension, roller bearings and track condition.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had said in the Lok Sabha in 2015 that the on board rolling stock condition monitoring system is being planned to monitor the health and safety of key components of coaches, freight cars and locomotives that would finally result in improved safety, improved reliability, higher utilisation and reduced operation cost.
“The first phase trial of the on board condition monitoring system has got the approval in the budget now so we are working out to finalise the specifications for floating the tender,” the official added. Considered to be a paradigm shift in train maintenance, the most effective enabler for the system would be monitoring of critical components that have been identified as the major causes for derailment, delay and causes for infrastructure deterioration in railways. The technology, operational in UK, Sweden and Ireland uses vibration analysis to predict changes in physical condition of the assets around the wheel rail interface.
Even after the derailment, the vibration analysis can be used to ascertain the cause of the accident whether it happened due to bearing failures, or defect in wheel or tracks.
According to the system, the on board sensors record vibrations and temperatures constantly. Vibration anomaly is the earliest indicator that something maybe wrong with the bearing. This allows for operators to mark those bearings out for careful observation, thus preventing any further damage. (PTI)
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