KOREC Rail Opinion – Why scanning can be an ideal solution

With 20 years of experience working with KOREC’s rail customers, our Rail and Monitoring Business Area Manager Matthew Lock, knows that one of the biggest drivers behind the take up of technology on rail projects is the need for productivity. Matthew uses this piece to run through the advantages that the different methods of scanning can bring:

I have been fortunate enough to work with rail customers for around 20 years now and one of their major focuses is on productivity­­­­­be it mobile or static, and at KOREC we are fortunate to be able to offer a variety of Trimble solutions, from the MX9 Mobile Mapping System and GEDO TMD to the TX8 3D Laser Scanner and SX10 Scanning Total Station.

The MX9 clearly offers huge productivity benefits as it can collect data at the maximum permissible railroad vehicle RV speed, or even potentially be train mounted. Using static scan data offers the highest levels of accuracy, but the GEDO Track Measuring Device using the optional Inertial Measurement Unit offers very high quality pointcloud data at walking pace, meaning 2,000 metres per hour is possible.

Collecting the data is great, but customer deliverables are key and this is where Trimble software, particularly Gedo Scan Office shine. Processing the data from the GEDO TMD is very efficient and there are a number of smart algorithms to help generate the information the customer needs, meaning the office work is as productive as the field work. The pointcloud can be used to automatically generate linear data like rail tracks, platforms and cable troughing by using the track detection and shape tracing tools, which analyse the pointcloud and fit the specified template through it.

The clearance around the railway can also be analysed in more detail using Gedo Scan Office. We can animate the path of a train along the track and can check if there are any areas of concern which become automatically highlighted. This algorithm can also take into account the 3D elements of the wagon if known, rather than using a simple cross-section to create a more accurate clearance model.

We also have the ability to create any rail vehicle as a custom wagon, perfect if you need to check a new piece of rolling stock or plant will fit on to your particular section of infrastructure – will it damage a bridge or tunnel and how is vegetation affecting rolling stock clearance?

The newest algorithm is the OLE detector tool which enables the overhead lines to be generated with the click of a mouse.

Within just a few minutes hundreds of metres of wires can be automatically generated and exported as 3D CAD lines. Not only that, but the heights and staggers (relationship between the wire and rail geometry) are also automatically generated as part of the detection process and can then be exported as text files or spreadsheets.

All this functionality is focused on letting our rail customers deliver the data their clients need as efficiently as possible. Best of all, data from the MX9, GEDO TMD, TX8 and SX10 can all be integrated into Gedo Scan Office, so you an gain the functionality you need from the best hardware for the job.