Amberg Technologies, the Swiss specialist for railway and tunnel surveying, is expanding the well-tried rail surveying system GRP System FX with the new Amberg IMS 1000 and Amberg IMS 3000 system configurations.

These configurations provide reliable and highly precise geometry information during the construction and maintenance of railway track systems, while achieving unparalleled productivity.

IMS 1000 and IMS 3000 measure the inner and outer rail geometry of ballast tracks and slab tracks using a new, high-performance sensor, the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU).

Measuring 4,000m of track an hour, the system’s performance is twice as high as of devices available on the market today. It furthermore ensures that the track will be measured reliably by providing a typical positional accuracy of ±1mm.

"With this system, we set a new standard for the speed for hand-pushed measurement carts while nevertheless achieving greatest accuracies," explains Marius Schäuble, rail product manager at Amberg Technologies.

The IMS 1000 / IMS 3000 software processes the measurement data, analyses the quality of the track and reports the deviations to a design centreline. Correction data for tamping machines can also be generated directly. The improved productivity and accuracy during track measurement will reduce costs and enable efficient track maintenance, which significantly contributes to the quality and safety of railway lines.

The new IMU technology replaces the tachymeter for measuring track geometry and therefore only requires a single measurement cart, operated by a single operator only. Until now, up to four people were required for comparable track geometry surveys. The ‘Track Sprinter’ also requires only little logistical effort and can be used flexibly and at short notice. As a result, the costs for track geometry surveying decrease up to 90% compared with traditional methods.

Thanks to the IMS 1000 and IMS 3000, Amberg Technologies is further extending its leading position in developing highly performing measurement systems for rail construction and maintenance.

"We continuously work on improving the technology and functionality in order to optimally meet the increased market expectations," adds Schäuble.

The IMS 1000 / IMS 3000 systems will be available for worldwide delivery as of February 2015.

For more information, please contact Amberg.