The invention relates to a measuring arrangement for monitoring a railway track having rails fastened to sleepers, wherein a fibre optic cable is connected to a measuring device in order to detect a strain acting on a rail. In this, the fibre optic cable is clamped in a detachable manner into at least one rail fastening. In this way, a strain transmitted from the rail via the rail fastening to the sleeper acts directly on the fibre optic cable.

A system for analyzing a railroad track comprises a transport device, a camera coupled to the transport device, an electronic display device, a memory device, and one or more processors. The camera is disposed adjacent to a rail of the railroad track and generates image data reproducible as one or more images of at least a portion of a surface of the rail. The processors can produce an image of the rail surface, which includes a plurality of elongated portions. The image is analyzed to identify any defects that exist within each elongated portion of the rail surface. The processors determine a value of a metric for each elongated portion of the rail surface. The metric is associated with the identified defects. The electronic display device displays a graph indicative of the metric for each elongated portion, the image of the rail surface, or both.

A system and method for inspecting a railway track using sensors oriented at an oblique angle relative to a rail vehicle on which the system is traveling. The orientation of the sensors allows for different data to be gathered regarding a particular rail including rail design specifications (gathered based on manufacturer markings detected and analyzed by the system), rail seat abrasion values based on direct measurement of rails from the oblique angle, and other analysis of rail features including joint bars, rail welds, bond wires, rail holes, and broken rails. The use of an air blower, ducts, and one or more air distribution lids over the sensors helps remove debris from blocking the sensors and structured light generators.

Method and a device for detecting defects in an elongated structure able to act as an elastic-wave waveguide, the elongated structure being fitted with a plurality of transducers able to acquire measurement signals of characteristic quantities of elastic waves propagating in the elongated structure, each transducer being coupled to an electronic device, the set of electronic devices constituting a network of nodes configured to process measurement signals received from at least one transducer. The method is computer-implemented and comprises steps of: performing a plurality of local defect diagnoses, based on measurement signals received by a plurality of electronic devices, the measurement signals being acquired for multiple elastic wave emission phases; transmitting, to a remote server in accordance with a low-energy-consumption communication protocol, messages containing information relating to each local diagnosis, the messages being formatted in accordance with the low-energy-consumption communication protocol; aggregating the information contained in the received messages; and performing a global defect diagnosis for determining the presence or absence of a defect in the elongated structure.

A railway track condition monitoring system including a plurality of sensors installed on a rail of the track and spaced by a predetermined distance from each other. The sensors having respective signal acquisition and recording means for the acquisition and recording of an acoustic signal being generated by an approaching train and propagated by the rail or by a ground carrying the rail. A signal transfer means for the transfer of an acquired and recorded signal to the passing train by wireless transfer at the time of passing of the train in proximity to sensors, and a signal analyzing means for analysing transferred ones of the acquired and recorded signal on-board the passing train. The signal analyzing means may be adapted to compare in a processing unit the signals from adjacent sensors and on that basis indicate a rail discontinuity.

A system and method for monitoring a track and/or rail employs one or more distance measuring imagers mounted to a railcar and directed to image the track and/or rails wherein the images are geo-tagged with location data. Geo-tagged distance measurements are processed to determine at least track gauge and/or at least rail fastener integrity. The system and method may also determine other track and/or rail integrity issues including, e.g., rail profile, rail alignment, center point dip, cross level, rail cant, wheel wear, wheel integrity, rail wear, rail defects, and/or rail temperature. The system and method may also determine when inspection and/or maintenance of the track is indicated, and provide selected records of where and/or when such inspection and/or maintenance is indicated.

A route examining system includes first and second detection units and an identification unit. The first and second detection units are configured to be disposed onboard a vehicle system traveling along a route having plural conductive tracks. The first and second detection units are disposed at spaced apart locations along a length of the vehicle system. The first and second detection units are configured to monitor one or more electrical characteristics of the conductive tracks in response to an examination signal being electrically injected into at least one of the conductive tracks. The identification unit includes one or more processors configured to determine that a section of the route includes an electrical short responsive to the one or more electrical characteristics monitored by the first and second detection units indicating that the examination signal is received by only one of the first and second detection units.

A method of railroad track control includes partitioning a physical track block into a plurality of virtual track blocks, the physical track block defined by first and second insulated joints disposed at corresponding first and second ends of a length of railroad track. The presence of an electrical circuit discontinuity in one of the plurality of virtual track blocks; is detected and in response a corresponding virtual track block position code indicating the presence of the discontinuity in the one of the plurality of virtual track blocks is generated.

A device 10 for a track bound monitoring system for monitoring conditions on a railway track 28 comprising a first rail 26 and a second rail 30 comprises a signal generation unit 12 having an output 13. The signal generation unit is configured to generate an electrical monitoring signal having a monitoring signal characteristic. The output is connectable to at least one of the first rail and the second rail. A sensing unit 16 has an input 17 which is connectable to at least one of the rails. A controller 20 is connected to the generation unit and the sensing unit and is configured to cause the generation unit to generate the monitoring signal which propagates in the first rail and to receive from the sensing unit a return signal. The return signal is derived from the monitoring signal and has a return signal characteristic. The controller is configured to utilize a time difference between the monitoring signal characteristic and the return signal characteristic to monitor conditions on the railway track.

An ultrasonic probe for non-destructive testing of a rail, said probe comprising a housing; an insert comprising an ultrasonic transducer and a polycarbonate shoe having a face for contacting a rail; and a compressed spring for exerting a downward force on said insert; the system further comprising a plate with a restraining flange around an aperture to prevent the polycarbonate shoe from extending more than a preset fixed amount through the aperture.