A Roadmap for Sustainable Smart Track—Wireless Continuous Monitoring of Railway Track Condition

Ensuring safe train operation, minimizing service interruptions, and optimizing maintenance procedures are primary railway industry focus areas. To support these goals, a multi-disciplinary team of researchers at the University Illinois Urbana-Champaign proposed wireless, continuous, accurate methodology to monitor track conditions. This project, referred as “Smart Track”, included development conceptual design plan for efficient effective implementation smart monitoring technologies. The project began by establishing guiding research questions, revising those questions based on track-caused accident data obtained from Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) expert opinions rail experts in public private sectors. Next, combined findings developed metrics assigning risk priorities various assets inspection needs. In parallel, conducted survey available wireless technologies intra-site site-to-cloud communications. These capabilities were mapped instrumentation types requirements (e.g., strain gauges, accelerometers) ensure compatibility terms energy consumption, bandwidth, communications range. Results identified rail, crosstie support, ballast sub-structure, bridge deck special trackwork priority locations instrumentation. Additionally, IEEE 802.15.4 was found be most appropriate cellular communication system within field sites 4G LTE determined technology best suited communication. presented this paper is first step achieving broader goal Smart Track; improve industry’s ability answer critical safety maintenance-related related infrastructure predicting health.