A railway inspection system for monitoring defects of a rail, including an inspection vehicle configured for traversing the rail, a sensor disposed on the vehicle configured for obtaining rail condition data, a memory disposed on the vehicle and storing previous rail condition data from a previous traversal of the rail, a display device disposed on the vehicle, a processor disposed on the vehicle and a non-transitory computer-readable medium disposed on the vehicle and containing instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause performance of the following steps in real-time as the vehicle traverses the rail, namely obtaining current rail condition data from the sensor, displaying on the display device representative images of the current rail condition data, retrieving the previous rail condition data from the memory, and displaying on the display device representative images of the previous rail condition data.

Provided is versine trolley-type equipment for inspecting a track irregularity, having sensors respectively provided to a trolley so as to measure a height difference, direction misalignment, gauge irregularity, rail longitudinal slope, cant and the like of railroad rails, and simultaneously measuring the height difference and direction misalignment of a left rail and a right rail so as to reduce a measurement time by half and, also, allowing left and right measurement frames to freely move in a vertical direction within a predetermined range, thereby bringing front and rear trolley wheels of the left and right measurement frames into close contact with the rails all the time even if the rails are warped.

A method of precisely measuring the track twist of a track on which a vehicle for commercial operation is travelling using this vehicle is to be provided. The method includes measuring a condition of a track (R) on which a vehicle for commercial operation (100) is travelling using this vehicle (100). The vehicle for commercial operation includes a bogie (10). The bogie includes four wheels (1) and primary springs (2) provided to correspond to the four wheels (1) and support the corresponding wheels (1), and is capable of measuring a wheel load of each of the four wheels (1). The method includes the steps of: measuring the wheel load of each wheel (1) (S13); calculating the displacement of each primary spring (2) based on the measured wheel load (S15); and calculating the track twist (h) of the track (R) based on the calculated displacements of the primary springs (2) (S18).

A train control unit may comprise a probe attached to a first rail of a track way, and a sensor device attached to a second rail of the track way configured to determine the position of the probe, whereby the position of the first rail relative to the second rail may be determined. The train control unit is preferably independent of equipment controlling the position of the first and second rails. Some embodiments of the train control unit may be employed as a track monitor, a switch monitor and/or a wayside monitor.

A positive train control system and method may comprise one or more switch monitors and/or one or more track monitors providing sensor data relative to one or more switches and/or one or more tracks, respectively, determining whether there is an anomaly of a switch or track, and when there is, providing a message, alert and/or warning, and/or initiating a train control action. Determination of an anomaly may be preformed on a train or at a remote location, e.g., a central facility.

A system and method for inspecting a railway track bed using a plurality of sensors that are synchronized for rapid interrogation of a railway track bed while the sensors are in motion at a high rate of speed.

An aerial system and method use a distance sensor to measure spatial distances between the distance sensor and plural vehicles in a vehicle system formed from the vehicles operably coupled with each other during relative movement between the distance sensor and the vehicle system. The spatial distances measured by the distance sensor are used to determine a size parameter of the vehicle system based on the spatial distances that are measured.

A route examination system includes a thermographic camera configured to be logically or mechanically coupled with a vehicle that travels along a route. The thermographic camera is also configured to sense infrared radiation emitted or reflected from the route and to generate a sensed thermal signature representative of the infrared radiation that is sensed. The system also includes a computer readable memory device configured to store a designated thermal signature representative of infrared radiation emitted from a segment of the route that is not damaged. The system also includes an analysis processor configured to determine a condition of a first portion of the route relative to other portions of the route at least in part by comparing the sensed thermal signature and the designated thermal signature.

A track geometry measurement system includes a plurality of wheels, a frame, an inertial measurement unit, a global positioning system, and a processor. The plurality of wheels are operable to trail over rail track. The frame is coupled to the wheels. The inertial measurement unit (IMU) is coupled to the frame. The global positioning system (GPS) is coupled to the frame. The processor is configured to determine a relative position of a portion of the frame based on data from the GPS and data from the IMU.

A route inspection system includes one or more processors configured to identify a reference location in sensor data provided by one or more sensors onboard a vehicle system. The reference location is identified along a route being traveled by the vehicle system. The one or more processors also are configured to identify a location of interest in subsequent sensor data provided by the one or more sensors. The location of interest identified along the route being traveled by the vehicle system. The one or more processors also are configured to determine a degree of curvature in the route based on a difference between the reference location and the location of interest.