Trackside sensors in unattended train mainline systems : A case study of alarm logs from Sweden

• Implementing unattended train operation on the mainline could make the railway more competitive by reducing operating costs since there will be no staff onboard the train. This will, however, lead to new challenges. One of those challenges is how to deal with manually controlling trackside sensor alarms. In this paper, we study all trackside sensor alarms (hotbox/hotwheel and wheel damage) in Sweden for one year (2019) to study their frequency and context. The results show that freight trains have 10 times higher frequency for alarms per train kilometer than passenger trains. There are statistically significant seasonal and climate zone differences. The highest frequency of trackside alarms occurs in wintertime in the colder climate zone. The results can be used in the development of unattended train operation support systems on the mainline.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Samhällsbyggnadsteknik -- Transportteknik och logistik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Civil Engineering -- Transport Systems and Logistics (hsv//eng)

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)