Washouts pose a severe and growing threat to railway safety and operational integrity. Washouts come in two general types. Those that erode and wash away the track bed, supporting structures or materials, and those that cause water driven debris flows of material onto the railway tracks. Both can and have led to catastrophic derailments, endangering the lives of passengers and staff and causing extensive damage to rolling stock and critical infrastructure. The risks increase further for freight trains carrying hazardous materials, potentially causing spillage generating major environmental damage too.
With increasingly extreme and unpredictable weather patterns driven by climate change, the frequency and severity of these events are on the rise. Our Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) technology offers a solution by providing real-time detection and precise location of moving ground and materials across long lengths of rail network. By continuously monitoring the acoustic signatures of moving ground, earth, rocks and ballast, our system delivers vital, near-instantaneous warnings, empowering operators to take immediate action and effectively mitigate these increasing risks when extreme weather strikes.
This application is under development. We welcome enquiries from infrastructure owners/maintainers for further information.