Real-time monitoring of Britain’s freight locomotives and wagons

Over 15,000 of Britain’s freight locomotives and wagons are to be fitted with technology that enables the condition of their wheelsets to be monitored in real-time.

If left untreated, defective or worn wheelsets – a pair of wheels mounted on an axle – can cause broken rails and damage to wagons. They can also lead to safety issues and delays on the railway for both passenger and freight trains.

The two-year project is part of the Freight Safety Improvement Portfolio’s (FSIP’s) £22m fund to deliver safety improvements during the period 1st April 2019 to 31st March 2024.

30,000 radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are being fitted to both sides of freight locomotives and wagons. When a tagged train passes a reader on the side of the track at one of 22 sites, information regarding each wheelset is captured.

This is transmitted to engineers via cloud-based technology to see if any maintenance work is needed.

Freightliner employee James Mather- a member of the team fitting RFID tags at Crewe Maintenance Facility. Credit: Network Rail.

The scheme has been welcomed by freight operating companies and freight customers, and Freightliner Group has already fitted tags to 73 per cent of its locomotives and wagons.

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Steve Rhymes, head of network management at Network Rail, said:

“This is a prime example of how the rail freight industry works together to continue to innovate and put safety first using technology.

“Each freight operator is fitting them to each side of their wagons and locomotives, which means we are harvesting data every time a train or vehicle operates – much of which has not been visible before. It’s a collaborative effort which delivers joint benefit.

“We are introducing improved systems and processes for data sharing with freight operators and freight customers to provide a cohesive approach to wagon maintenance leading to even further safety for our railway and ultimately less disruption and delays to passengers and freight trains.”

Deanne Haseltine, the company’s head of engineering compliance, said:

“This scheme has already made a positive difference to the whole industry by helping us to accurately pinpoint and identify defects to individual wheelsets at the earliest opportunity.

“Having the ability to identify faults and plan repairs to wheelsets in advance means we can safely remove a wagon from service if needed and avoid unnecessary disruption on the network and to our customers.”