Asset Capture Services

GT provides railroad clients key asset capture services including:

1. Track Alignment Surveys
2. Corridor Asset Mapping
3. Laser Clearance Surveys

Track Alignment Surveys

At GT we view the track centerline as a fundamental railway dataset. All manner of other information such as trackside assets, property and utility easements, and operational tools such as Grade and Curve books are defined by their relationship to the track. Modern day track geometry measurement systems, automatic train protection and mobile computing platforms also benefit from having a unique and accurate track centerline to report against.

Many railway organizations around the world are increasingly focusing on accurate track centerlines as a key building block for successful asset management now and into the future and we are observing an increasing demand for such datasets. At GT we have processed thousands of miles of track data to build complete, contiguous track alignments defined by tangent, fixed-radius and transition lengths.

At the core of our track alignment offering is the AIMS-Field data acquisition platform that records location data from GPS, wheel encoder and inertial devices. The AIMS-Office Kalman Smoother and Curve Fitting desktop applications integrate AIMS-Field location data and output a sequence of track nodes with kilometreage, curvature and grade.

Reference Sites:

Rail Corporation NSW (Australia); Dept of Transport (DOT) Victoria (Australia); Australian Rail Track Corporation (Australia).

Curvature (reciprocal radius) is used to identify tangent, fixed radius and transition track sections.

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Corridor Asset Mapping

GT’s corridor asset mapping services deliver network-wide asset data with accurate location and spatial content (coordinates) to an industry traditionally reliant on spreadsheets and archaic document management systems. Asset mapping is particularly important for:

1. Establishing an accurate asset database, essential for effective asset management.
2. Reporting on asset condition, essential for maintenance and upgrading/renewal works.
3. Populating asset management systems with accurate asset information, essential for these systems to function as intended.
4. Maintaining asset databases after major periodical maintenance and capital works, essential for effective configuration management.

We use a range of methods to capture asset data including recording at ‘line speed’ from hy-rails and track inspection vehicles, as well as aerial photography and mobile devices where needed. Using our AIMS solution we are able to combine these different capture methods to extract the required asset features.

Reference Sites:

RailCorp NSW (Australia), ONTRACK (New Zealand), Dept of Transport Victoria (Australia).

AIMS-Office offers railroads a process-driven feature extraction application designed to populate enterprise asset management and geographic information systems. Drivers-view digital imagery also provides an invaluable infrastructure condition audit tool.

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Laser Clearance Surveys

Laser data of railway networks is an incredibly valuable resource and can be used for a number of applications some of which are described below:

1. Kinematic Analysis
   AIMS laser data has been used to test vehicle-vehicle clearances and supports kinematic analysis based on vehicle dynamics (body roll, end-throw and versine parameters etc) and track curvature. Railways engage GT to test the kinematic profiles of rolling stock suppliers against previously recorded corridor laser data.
   
   Similar techniques are used to test over-dimensioned load movements on railway networks.

   Reference Sites:

   Canadian Pacific (Canada), ONTRACK (New Zealand).

   
   

   AIMS Laser clearance analysis using kinematic vehicle outlines

2. Tunnel Clearance Reports

   Tunnels place constraints on network expansion and on large freight movements and GT has recorded laser data for several railroad clients for analysis of tunnels for infrastructure planning purposes.

   Reference Sites:

   Canadian Pacific (Canada), ONTRACK (New Zealand).

   
   

   AIMS Laser tunnel clearance analysis

3. Platform Clearance Audits

   GT has completed strike analysis and platform height and offset audits across several metropolitan railway networks. Determining clearances at platforms is a key consideration for new passenger rolling stock evaluation. Platform clearance audits are also used for assessing platforms for passenger access and passenger safety and conformance with disability legislation.

   Reference Sites:

   Department of Transport Victoria, ONTRACK (NZ).

   Laser data continually finds new applications such as in design for electrification, ballast profiling and for post-construction verification and railways will continue to find other applications for this valuable resource.

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