(The following story by Jennifer Foreshew appeared at AustralianIT.au on October 2.)
QUEENSLAND — Prototypes of a smart train monitor, capable of providing heavy-haul freight drivers with predictive and real-time information, are being rolled out in Queensland.
The Intelligent Train Monitor, developed by Queensland Rail and the Centre for Railway Engineering at Central Queensland University, will be used to boost freight train safety and efficiency.
The project, funded by the Queensland Smart State Industry Partnership Program and Queensland Rail, aims to improve the operation of heavy-haul freight trains, which can be up to 2km long, by eliminating guesswork for drivers.
Using data from the locomotive controls and a global positioning system device, the in-cabin monitor displays information on history and future force, speed, elevation and energy use, as well as an aerial map.
“Good driving requires a lot of anticipation of the topography, so the idea of this is to not only show the topography on a map on the screen, but also what the next 50 seconds of operation is going to be like,” CQU railway engineering deputy director and project manager Colin Cole said.
“If the train controls are left the same, a driver will see whether they will over-speed or under-speed and whether the in-train forces will be large or small, allowing them to make changes to improve the control.”
Associate professor Cole said the project involved installing three prototypes in different locomotives and types of trains, for testing on the Blackwater line. The installation was due to be completed by late next year or early 2009.
“In a normal vehicle, you can feel if it is wobbling, slowing down or speeding up, but in a long train you can only feel the first few 100m of effects,” he said. “The idea was to bring more awareness into the cabin, but still stay with the idea of a human driver.”
The monitor can be used as an in-train driver training unit and is also expected to result in savings in rolling stock maintenance.
The patented device is believed to be unique because of its ability to predict train force conditions.
The monitor also improves train stability, making it safer and less likely to derail.
It is likely to be deployable in half of the Australian mineral freight market and has attracted interest from two overseas locomotive device makers.
Queensland Rail national coal asset fleet development manager Ted McLeod said the monitor could cut journey time, energy use, running costs, greenhouse gas emissions and, in diesel locomotives, noise pollution.
In the test environment there were energy savings of up to 15 per cent and the life of the wagon components was improved by 25 per cent, Mr McLeod said. All new and reconditioned locomotives now had cabin space allotted for the screen and, once manufactured, it would be phased in across the state’s freight fleet.
Professor Cole said commercialisation of the technology was planned for about 2009.
“We initially believe that it will have a market in the heavy-hauling countries such as the US, Canada, Brazil and, probably, Russia and China,” he said.