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https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/27432/critical-issues-in-transportation-for-2024-and-beyond

Continuous measurement of passenger ride comfort and track condition on the VLine network

The assessment of a rail vehicle's dynamic ride is critical to a rail operation for both passenger comfort and safety. Poor ride can lead to low passenger satisfaction, increased track damage and likelihood of derailment. Vibrations experienced within a passenger cabin can cause uncomfortable ride depending on the magnitudes of the accelerations and the perceived comfort sensitivity of passengers to the frequency content. Overall ride quality is also affected by factors such as wheel and rail profile interactions, suspension design and the condition of both the track geometry and rail running surfaces. Several standards exist that link acceleration levels with passenger comfort and these are the generally accepted methods for objectively evaluating ride comfort. Few standards, however, currently address ride safety of passengers due to jerky ride conditions. The majority of railroads in Australia currently use either subjective reports of poor ride or one off measurement programs which provide an objective snap shot of the status of the rolling stock and track conditions. This paper discusses the implementation of continuous ride monitoring systems called IPVs (Instrumented Passenger Vehicles) developed by the Institute of Railway Technology (IRT) for use on V/Line's Victorian regional rail network. The IPV systems retrofitted to V/Line's N-Series passenger wagons include acceleration, displacement and roll rate sensors that provide track geometry information, while body mounted sensors are used to quantify responses. Acceleration data collected at several locations within the carriage are used to calculate passenger comfort and safety metrics and this paper discusses practical application of these methods. IPVs provide real time feedback of track and rolling stock issues when combined with wide area communication network coverage. Data from the IPV system is automatically downloaded during the trip which facilitates a variety of analyses and reports that are provided to V/Line. IPVs also provide a method of collecting track condition and rolling stock data which is complementary to existing inspection methods such as visual inspection and track recording vehicles. The measurement of the dynamic responses via IPV also provides a direct indication of the loads being imposed on the rail network in-service which are not nominally defined in data collected by other methods. This paper discusses the development of the IPV systems and how data is being used to assess passenger comfort and safety on V/Line's rail network. The IPVs provided track geometry information, wagon dynamic responses and calculated passenger comfort and safety metrics, provides a holistic understanding of passenger railway systems and can be used to identify track defects, allocate temporary speed restrictions and prioritise track inspection and maintenance activities.

Media Info

  • Pagination: 11p. ; PDF
  • Monograph Title: Rail: smart, automated, sustainable: CORE 2018: conference on railway excellence, 30 April-2 May 2018, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01699313
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Source Agency: ARRB
  • Files: ATRI
  • Created Date: Mar 22 2019 2:51PM