Intrusive vegetation growth, hazardous leaf fall, or a tree damaged by gale force winds lying precariously close to the rail tracks.
Some scenarios many people probably don’t think about, but something crucial to be on top of to run a safe and reliable railway.
In the ongoing battle with trackside vegetation, Transport for Wales has revealed a new tool in its armour – a pioneering video system.
It has seen smart cameras fitted on trains to automatically record, analyse and report vegetation risks.
The Automated Intelligent Video Review system (AIVR) is a lightweight train-borne device that sits inside the windscreen of the train cab and automatically captures video data and other telemetry as the train travels the network
Emily Kent is the co-founder and director at One Big Circle Ltd which has partnered with Transport for Wales to use the technology in this way in the rail industry for the first time.
She is part of a team of software and hardware engineers with expertise in digital video. They are based in Brunel’s Engine Shed at Bristol Temple Meads station and have more than 30 years’ experience in video systems, integration and analytics working with a range of industries. They have worked in sport enabling instant video replays of sporting action at all levels from grassroots to professional.
She has spoken to railbusinessdaily.com about the impact AIVR can have and how others in the rail industry are also showing an interest.
“AIVR is a lightweight trainborne edge device that sits inside the windscreen of any operational vehicle and captures lineside footage as it travels,” she said.
“It activates on motion to automatically record video, then the device transmits the video data with location data and telemetry instantly, via 4G, to be immediately accessible securely online.
“It can be easily moved between vehicles as a portable device or be a fixed installation in the cab.”
The technology is designed to measure changes in the infrastructure each time a train runs the route. As vegetation changes naturally it can be tracked through an early warning heat map which is used to allocate resources.
This way, hazardous leaf fall, signal sighting and intrusive growth can be managed proactively and without the need to put people on the track.
Emily said: “AIVR enables the railway to see what it needs to see across the network, and essentially creates a ‘Google earth’ for rail, but constantly updated.
“It will reduce the need to send boots on ballast, thereby increasing safety. It enables rapid review of the lineside environment for infrastructure maintenance and planning.
“The data that is collected can also be used to collaboratively develop a machine learning model to intelligently understand the environment it is travelling through.”
The data, which will be collected throughout the seasons, is transmitted instantly via 4G and accessed securely via the cloud. The video can be reviewed instantly and shared with key working groups and response teams in Transport for Wales and its partners in Network Rail.
Emily said: “Transport for Wales is the first TOC to adopt the technology after we developed it for rail use during the second half of 2019.
“Network Rail trialled the system on the NMT and have since started using it on some signalling projects to review works and collect and share live data across project working groups.
“We are seeing a lot of interest from people across the industry. We are in discussions on a variety of uses that the system can be deployed on – collecting smart data for intelligent infrastructure, vegetation management and seasonal planning, live data for whiteboard planning, driver route training, rough ride detection, remote condition monitoring and alerts.”
The system is being used not just on the tracks in Wales, but also England.
Seasonal planning manager at Transport for Wales, Rick Fisher, said: “Our services run over more than 1,000 miles of track so staying up to date with changes to the environment is crucial to running a safe and reliable railway for our customers.
“This technology is a huge leap forward for us and will allow us to work closely with our partners in Network Rail to deal with challenges as they emerge.”
Photo/video credit: Transport for Wales/ One Big Circle Ltd
