Network Rail

Industry Supervisor: Barry Gleeson, Senior Programme Engineer (Survey Systems)

Sponsoring Anita Soni, 2010 EngD cohort

The UCL VEIV EngD on Non-Contact Monitoring on Railway Infrastructure is a collaboration between Thameslink, Crossrail Ltd, LUL and Rail Industry Partners on assessing the application of laser scanning technology to structural movement monitoring on railway projects. The Key research goal is to analyse the current movement monitoring systems, which are based on physically attached target monitoring of structures at discrete locations, and assess the advantages and capability of laser scanning to overcome the logistical limitations of this approach while achieving the high level of accuracy required.

The secondary aim of the study is to demonstrate how the vast qualities of data generated by laser scanning can be managed to provide fast and reliable monitoring solutions which can be presented to engineers and stakeholders in a manner which allows them to understand and interpret the data more readily.

The study focuses on a small number of specific live-site monitoring scenarios on the Thameslink Programme, a £5 Billion Upgrade to Major Stations and Signalling Systems which runs through central London (from St Pancras to London Bridge).

IT is expected to provide qualitative and quantitative analysis to inform National Rail Thameslink, and the UK rail industry generally, on the practicalities and possibilities of adopting such technologies in the future.