Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), the main passenger rail operator in the Netherlands, has announced a “pioneering” project, aiming to revolutionise the efficiency of fleet inspections. This project will be undertaken in cooperation with CAF Digital Services (CAF), Camlin Rail and Arcadis.
CAF was selected in 2021 by NS to participate in a unique project in the railway industry with state-of-the-art technologies, comprising its leading digital platform, LeadMind, as well as Camlin Rail’s TrainVue in-service inspection system. The system will be deployed across ten strategic locations along the mainline serviced by NS, creating a nationwide network. NS, collaborated with Arcadis, CAF and Camlin Rail to develop a generic ‘default model’ of the civil structure portal structure using BIM.
Under the contract CAF Digital Services’ LeadMind platform will seamlessly integrate with Camlin’s TrainVue to provide bogie and pantograph images under a solution that will support NS in the adoption of technological advancements for a more efficient railway maintenance.
The deployment includes the installation of 10 TrainVue systems in total, capturing high-resolution 3D and 2D images of pantograph and bogie, crucial components for maintaining fleet reliability, availability and safety. The National Roll out is now underway and follows the successful delivery of a pilot project in which the first two systems were commissioned, installed and validated initially, in collaboration between NS, Camlin Rail, CAF and Arcadis.
Discussing the collaboration, Paul Fleming, Managing Director of Camlin Rail, emphasised the joint effort between the companies. He highlighted the success of the pilot project which showcased the quality and reliability of the TrainVue system, to acquire high resolution images for both automatic and manual inspection of the NS fleet.
He said: "The contract with NS reflects the outstanding pilot delivery of our in-service inspection systems. Our collaboration underscores our collective commitment to revolutionise rail safety and efficiency worldwide and the positive feedback from both NS and the wider market supports our strategy of in-service inspection of rolling stock.
“This contract marks a milestone, as it signifies the first time in Europe where a train operator (NS) has installed train inspection equipment (TrainVue) on an infrastructure owner's (ProRail) property, demonstrating scalability and innovation in rail monitoring solutions. The joint effort between NS, CAF, Camlin Rail and Arcadis emphasises a collaborative approach to deliver cutting-edge solutions. Leveraging Camlin Rail's expertise and hardware combined with CAF's LeadMind platform and Arcadis’s knowledge of Dutch railway and design solutions, the collaboration aims to enhance passenger safety, improve operational efficiency (rolling stock maintenance), and contribute to sustainable transportation solutions for the Netherlands.”
Discussing the benefits of the approach taken, Erik van der Peet, Arcadis Project Manager said: “The utilization of a 3D model allowed the project team to overcome language and cultural barriers. Furthermore, site integration, gathered through a 3D scan, made it possible to integrate the default model and optimize it into the real world. Additionally, the model enabled us to verify focal lengths, lighting and view angles ensuring no structural elements will impact image quality. Highly accurate visualizations aided both NS and the network owner (ProRail) in implementing this application in the Dutch railway network”.
Javier de la Cruz, Managing Director, CAF Digital Services said: “We collaborated closely with NS and Camlin to enhance rail safety and efficiency improving the “as is” scenario in which the frequency of stopping trains for inspection was 48 hours. Overall, our teamwork exemplified the power of technology, people collaboration, cloud, data, trust and AI expertise in enhancing rail operations.”
Barbara de Jong, project manager NS, said: “With the TrainVue system and the Leadmind platform NS is able to digitalize 48-hour inspections to the fleet, which allows for optimization of the maintenance execution, since NS is able to perform the inspections during the day and perform corrective maintenance during the night. And in turn, this shift in inspection time is an enabler for more optimization in the maintenance process, thus the inspection system of CAF/Camlin Rail is a first step with more to follow.”
