The historical approach for maintenance and rehabilitation can be replaced through the use of Rail Radar^®'s detailed and accurately referenced analysis of in-situ track infrastructure conditions, that provides improved and cost-effective asset management and maintenance decisions. Rail Radar^® has the ability to apply consistent and regular maintenance procedures. Rail Radar^® provides detailed track assessments that accurately identifies, references, and quantifies localized deficiencies in both the ballast and tie components of the rail structure.

Ballast Assessment

• Rail Radar^® has developed and implemented a sophisticated system for the non-destructive assessment of ballast and tie condition. This system integrates unique multi-channel ground penetrating radar (GPR), with high-resolution rail centered downward digital imagery, real-time differential global positioning system (GPS) and linear referencing technologies.
• The Rail Radar^® system extends conventional GPR technology by incorporating a surface coupled array antenna system with the unique ability for the quantitative measurement of ballast material properties at each radar measurement point. Radar measured ballast material property variations have been correlated to variations ballast fouling and ballast moisture content.

Tie Assessment

• Synchronized with ballast assessment is the acquisition of accurately referenced, high-resolution digital video images of the track.
• Rail-centered stereo imaging system provides track data, collected at high rail speeds and allows the subsequent objective analysis of tie and rail fastener inventory and condition parameters in the safety of the office.
• Sophisticated image post-processing and feature detection allows for the automated classification, extraction and inventory of a wide variety of track components and condition parameters.
• The efficiency of the Rail Radar^® data collection and analysis allow the development of the network wide inventories from which any required condition or regulatory compliance statistics can be calculated and reported.
• Rail network digital videologs become a permanent record of track condition at the time of survey and allow the detailed review in the office.

Accurate Geo-Referencing

• All survey data components are linearly and spatially referenced to allow accurate reporting of inventory, condition assessment and detected anomaly results and simplify the integration of all reported data into geographical information system (GIS) based track-management systems. Additionally, the rigorous Rail Radar^® approach to referencing accuracy provides temporal stability for all collected data, and allows year-after-year condition assessment comparisons and track infrastructure performance modeling.