Plasser & Theurer Tackles Track Access and Labour Challenges
Autonomous maintenance solutions offer a path forward amid tighter possessions and workforce shortages.
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Plasser & Theurer has laid the foundation for this with digital products and measuring systems that combine state-of-the-art sensor technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and networked data analysis to significantly increase the quality, efficiency, and safety of tamping.
More trains, less time
Rail transport is growing globally in both the passenger and freight sectors. In Belgium, for example, freight transport is forecast to increase by up to 62% between 2012 and 2030. In Austria, ÖBB plans to double the capacity of its main lines by 2040. The time available for maintenance continues to decrease. This makes it all the more important to be able to perform it more quickly while ensuring the same consistently high quality.
Digitalization as the answer to the shortage of skilled labour
At the same time, the shortage of qualified personnel is worsening. Unattractive working hours and complex technology make it difficult to gain and retain staff. To counteract this, Plasser & Theurer has been working on ways to automate track maintenance machines for over ten years.
The digital assistance systems of Plasser SmartTamping unburden operating staff and optimize work processes. The systems, some of which are AI-based, significantly reduce the potential for human error and shorten training periods for the operating crew.
Precise, fast, reliable: the technology behind Plasser SmartTamping
The heart of the autonomous tamping machine is the Plasser TampingAssistant. It uses AI to detect obstacles such as sleepers, point machines, signalling technology, and wayside monitoring systems on tracks and classifies them in real time. Based on the classification, work units are automatically positioned for the tamping process, and Plasser TampingControl is used to automatically set the optimum tamping parameters. At this time, operating staff still need to manually confirm execution of the tamping process. The next stage of development was demonstrated live at the iaf trade fair in May: fully automated tamping of a turnout without human intervention. Seamless measuring data from pre-measuring, tamping processes, and post-measuring allow a detailed analysis of the condition of the line and the work carried out.
Safety through automation
A decisive advantage of the Plasser TampingAssistant: fewer people in the danger zone outside the machine. Thanks to remote control units and camera systems, work can be monitored from a safe distance – a significant contribution to occupational safety and making rail work more attractive.
Autonomous operation of the Unimat 09-4x4/4S E³ owned by Eiffage Infra-Rail GmbH was presented to a large audience as part of the live demonstration at iaf. The machine tamped a turnout fully automatically without staff in the work cab. Sascha Frölich, Technical Manager at Eiffage Infra-Rail GmbH, emphasized the benefits of automation:
“Like the entire construction industry, nowadays we’re feeling the effects of a lack of skilled staff. With the targeted assistance we receive from our machines, together we create the conditions to continue to fulfil our clients’ requirements reliably and efficiently.”
On track to the autonomous machine
Plasser & Theurer is emphatically on track to creating autonomous maintenance machines – not as an end in itself, but as an answer to the industry's pressing questions: how can more output be achieved on railways with less staff? How can the duration of track possessions be reduced further without compromising quality and safety? And how can we succeed in setting the stage for sustainable, efficient, and digitalized rail infrastructure? The future of autonomous track maintenance begins now.
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