Fugro inspects railway network of Wales
Dutch technology company Fugro has started inspecting the railway network in Wales and the border counties of England. The contractor will survey around 1,368 kilometres of tracks and will provide a holistic view of the network using the RILA system.
The project is carryied out in cooperation with Transport for Wales Rail Services (TfW), a local train operating company and a subsidiary of Keolis and Ferrovial. Fugro has installed its RILA survey equipment on the TfW passenger trains. The data is collected during the regular rides of trains. The survey includes track geometry, bed thickness, ballast quality, vegetation analysis, etc. The processed information will be used by Network Rail for the maintenance of the network.
RILA System
Fugro has developed the RILA system in 2007 and tested it on the Dutch railway network. The survey of the rail infrastructure carried out by a suite of train mounted sensors and integrated video system. Such a combination allows for providing more detailed and accurate data about the network condition. “With RILA we have revolutionised the way railway data and asset information are collected. We can deliver data faster, with less disruption to normal rail services and can increase the safety profile considerably for track survey works”, said Jeroen Huiskamp, Fugro’s Global Director Rail.
The RILA system was certified for the UK market in 2013. The first overlook was made on the Southport-Wigan-Manchester Airport line in North West England. In the next years, Fugro provided several surveys in other parts of England. Besides the UK, the Dutch company has also implemented projects in Ireland and Denmark.
Fugro will take part in the exhibition within the RailTech Europe 2019 Trade Fair. The company will demonstrate the opportunities of the RILA system.
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