Bogie bearing monitor warns of derailments

By monitoring the behaviour of railway bogie bearings, a new system can give advance warning of possible derailments. The system, developed jointly by the bearings-maker SKF and a Swiss safety data acquisition specialist Secheron, captures data on the speed, temperature and vibration levels in the bogie wheels and bearings.

The system analyses the signals and can communicate with the train`s control system. The bearing vibration signals can be processed to build a history of the condition of the monitored components and, from this information, to predict impending wheel or bearing problems that could lead to a derailment.

SKF and Secheron say their system, launched recently in Berlin, will improve train safety and cut maintenance costs.