South Central Railway (SCR) has introduced a software prototype developed by the in-house team of Tirupati coaching depot for integrated online monitoring of LHB coaches while on run to continuously to measure and record data points of axle box bearings and wheel slide protection device making train journey safer and to avoid en-route coach detachments.
LHB coaches are provided with protection device to control the adhesion during brake application. It is a combination of various electronic cards and is connected by means of various cables. There are several faults that can happen while the train is on the run, leading to wheel shelling, which in turn causes other problems such as spring breakage, grease oozing, damper leakage etc.
The new software will now be able to provide important data, such as time of occurrence of the fault, how long it is in fault mode, provides pointers for reason of the fault and relays this information in the real time so that correct action can be taken to avoid wheel shelling, informed senior officials on Sunday.
Similarly, the failed bearings on rolling stocks lead to safety risks like derailment or fire. The monitoring of the hot axle box bearing temperature enables detection of bearings presenting a risk of failure. These two parameters monitoring systems are provided in LHB coaches. Any abnormalities noticed in both during the static and dynamic condition of the coach are immediately showed up in the mobile application, so that immediate preventive action can be taken to avoid unusual occurrences.
In addition to the safety of the trains and passengers, life of the vital rolling stock parts like wheel, spring, dampers etc can also be enhanced. It also costs just ₹2,000 and consists of printed circuit board, micro controller, LDR sensors, temperature sensors and WiFi router with power supply. The Tirupati coaching depot came in for appreciation from SCR General Manager Gajanan Mallya, said chief PRO Ch. Rakesh in a press release.
