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Case Study | Tracking & Tracing - Web tracking and monitoring
Railroad companies face the challenge of avoiding incidents on the heavily used rail network. A precise assignment of measurements at control points to the axles or wheels of wagons is crucial in order to detect problems at an early stage.
INDUSTRY Railway industry
About Case Study
Use of RFID technology for precise identification and monitoring in rail transportation for increased safety and availability
Key Benefits
- Increased safety through precise identification of wagons and axles
- Data-supported and preventive maintenance
- Increased availability of the rail network
KATHREIN PRODUCTS
- ARU 3500 reader
PARTNER BENEFITS
RFID technology for improved security infrastructure and optimized maintenance processes
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The challenge
Railroad companies must ensure the availability of their rail networks, as they are heavily used today. Even minor incidents can lead to major disruptions in the dense and complicated schedule of the transportation system. One way to avoid incidents and accidents is to use safety checkpoints that measure various parameters such as profile distance, wheel loads, heat, fire or leakage of chemical substances. The challenge is to identify alarming measurements as accurately as possible down to an axle or wheel of a specific wagon body so that actions can be carried out as efficiently as possible.
Initial situation
The rail operator wanted to track and identify the rolling stock at its safety checkpoints. Since the planning data of the compositions, especially for freight and international trains, is not always up to date, a system is required that uniquely identifies each wagon body. For this purpose, the axles passing the checkpoint must also be identified (time, speed and direction).
Solution
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic waves to enable automated and contactless identification of the vehicle. Almost the operator's entire rail fleet is equipped with passive UHF RFID tags, and the safety checkpoints on each track have been fitted with a Kathrein RFID infrastructure that also integrates an external wheel sensor system. Data can also be made available to other rolling stock owners if they are willing to equip their vehicles with passive UHF tags. The system, which includes fully outdoor-capable ARU 3500 readers, is connected to the backend systems using Kathrein's CrossTalk AutoID Suite, where configuration and monitoring also take place.
Result
Kathrein's RFID technology in combination with the external wheel detection system and Kathrein's CrossTalk Auto-ID platform leads to increased accuracy in assigning measurements to a specific axle or wheel of a railcar. With this information, not only can problems (axles getting too hot, overloaded axles, etc.) be accurately assigned to a railcar body and an axle or wheel, but the long-term trend of measurements at a safety checkpoint can also be logged. A wide variety of points can be evaluated, e.g. wagon bodies with axles or wheelsets. This enables the railroad operator to work with preventive maintenance and be aware of any impairments before they cause an incident. By making this information available to other rolling stock owners, the rail network can be protected and availability increased.
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Case Study | Tracking & Tracing - Web tracking and monitoring