Sound TRAnsport NETworks (S-TRANET): Establishing the cause of hazard events on railway infrastructure using a distributed sensor network

A major challenge within railway maintenance is hydrology management. Well-designed drainage systems comprising a combination of culverts, ditches, embankments and drainage pipes are crucial for safe operation of the railway network. Poor design, or a lack of maintenance of drainage, can cause flooding and trackbed instability from erosion. In turn this leads to temporary speed restrictions or closures of railway lines to ensure safe operation. Hazard events associated with hydrological problems include landslides/rockslides and derailments. The S-TRANET project aims to develop, validate and apply a technological framework to monitor hydrological risks and hazardous events occurring across the Norwegian rail transport infrastructure, and establish causal links between hydrological conditions and dangerous events such as landslides and floods. S-TRANET will exploit existing fibre optic communication networks to derive geophysical measurements related to subsurface water below the trackbed, a key hydrological risk factor. The distributed measurements will also enable rapid detection and location of hazardous events such as flooding, rock falls and earth movements.

This project aims to develop, validate and apply a technological framework to monitor hydrological risks and hazardous events occurring across the Norwegian rail transport infrastructure, and establish causal links between hydrological conditions and dangerous events such as landslides and floods. The technology will exploit existing fibre optic communication networks to derive geophysical measurements related to subsurface water below the trackbed, a key hydrological risk factor. The distributed measurements will also enable rapid detection and location of hazardous events such as flooding, rock falls and earth movements. Knowledge and techniques developed within this project will lead to a safer transport system by underpinning solutions for hydrological design, maintenance and improvement work which minimize the risk of hazards occurring. The project will also provide the basis for a new hydrological hazard event detection solution, facilitating improved safety through consequence minimization.