Development of Devices for Long-Term Railway Track Condition Monitoring: Review of Sensor Varieties

There are numerous methods for monitoring the condition of railway tracks. In most cases, either the geometry of the railway track or its interaction parameters with moving trains are checked. This work is a component of a project aimed at developing a methodology for installing sensors (sensor networks) for continuous (long-term) monitoring of railway track condition. Therefore, its main objective is to analyse and discuss interim results regarding the feasibility of applying various types of sensors installed on railway track elements. The authors considered three options for sensor application for the overall assessment of railway track condition: measuring stresses in rails with strain gauges, measuring accelerations of rail and sleeper vibrations with accelerometers, and measuring the speed of wave propagation in ballast. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. Considering the analysis conducted, each method, both independently and in combination with others, can be applicable for building systems for long-term monitoring of railway track condition. Such systems can be useful, both for solving practical track maintenance tasks during operation and for scientific research.