Kurabo (Osaka City) announced that it has jointly developed with JR Central the first system in Japan to measure track materials such as rails, sleepers, fastening bolts, and trackbed ballast on the Tokaido Shinkansen line while the train is traveling at high speeds, called the “Track Material Monitoring System.”
Kurabo has been developing the “PG-4” road surface property inspection system, which uses high-speed image processing technology to accurately inspect highway road surfaces even when traveling at 100 km/h, in order to measure railway track materials. Kurabo and JR Central then began working together on the system development, and by combining JR Central’s track measurement technology and know-how cultivated by JR Central with Kurabo’s technology, they have completed a system that can accurately measure the condition of track materials even at a speed of 300 km/h.
By utilizing this system, JR Central will be able to reduce the number of on-site inspections by staff and perform maintenance work in a timely manner. They will verify the system and improve its accuracy with the aim of putting it into practical use after 2027. Railway maintenance requires staff to walk the entire length of the line, visually inspecting and using measuring tools to check track materials, which takes a lot of time and effort. As the labor force is expected to decrease in the future, there is a demand for more efficient operations and fewer personnel, so Kurabo is aiming to introduce this system to conventional railways and private railways as well.
SOURCE: Yahoo
