ProRail and KPN performed tests with IoT sensors at point heating systems at Utrecht Central Station two years ago. Following the positive results, the Dutch railway manager decided for a nation-wide rollout of 1,500 sensors for point heating monitoring. The contract was won by Strukton company Dual Inventive.
Dual Inventive will thus deliver 2000 Internet of Things sensors to ProRail, which ProRail will roll-out in the coming months. 1,500 sensors will be installed on points with point heating and 500 sensors will be used for other rail systems including barriers and catenaries.
The sensors can be installed at the points using magnets, after which the sensor data will be directly available online. The sensors can measure the temperature of the rails, which directly indicates whether the point heating is switched on. Monitoring the point heating systems should improve the availability of the railways for train traffic. During the summer, the sensors can be used to detect whether rails may expand due to high temperatures.
The sensor data are made available through the MTinfo 3000 Cloud monitoring platform, which is also used for other systems such as the remotely controlled ZKL RC line blockage system.
“We want to gain experience with the application of new technology such as sensors. The sensors will be available for the four maintenance contractors that are active in the performance oriented contract areas (PGO’s) in the Netherlands. They will be able to use the available data in their daily operations,” Johan Schaap, manager Infra Availability at ProRail, said.
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