InfraMon is an asset monitoring technology from Ricardo that provides real-time information on the condition of rail heads, track geometry and overall ride comfort.

By installing sensors and data-loggers onboard regular passenger traffic, InfraMon accumulates track condition data throughout the operational day and reports the findings directly to maintenance teams via customised dashboards.

Through continual monitoring of track components any degradation is identified long before maintenance or safety limits are exceeded.  This enables track maintenance to move away from a typically reactive approach - only responding to faults after the event - and take preventative actions before further damage disrupts services and becomes more costly to repair.

InfraMon also frees routine maintenance regimes from relying on access to dedicated measurements vehicles and the risk of lengthy intervals between surveys allowing minor defects to develop into major faults. Instead, engineering teams gain continuous round-the-clock reports of track conditions, allowing them to monitor trends and respond to emerging concerns that would otherwise go unreported.

1. InfraMon collects track data from sensors installed to in-service vehicles.
2. The data is collected by M-IQ, our powerful on-board computer and then sent real-time to the Data server and Analytics engine.
3. The Analytics engine uses smart algorithms - informed by Ricardo's domain knowledge - to further interrogate and prioritise the data sets.
4. The results are presented in clear, customer friendly dashboards. InfraMon can be operated as any - or combination - of the following modules:

• Track geometry
• Railhead defects
• Ride comfort

Improved track availability: Valuable, up-to-date information on the condition of track infrastructure assets - such as the rail heads, track geometry and passenger comfort - ensures track availability is maximised year after year.

Safety: InfraMon identifies changes in track condition and component degradation before maintenance limits or safety limits are exceeded, preventing incidents that impose speed restrictions or disrupt daily services.

Real-time data: The on-board system continuously gathers a range of track condition data which is sent to a central server for analysis and fed directly into routine operations.

Cost reduction: With information collected by unmanned measuring units onboard in-service passenger trains, InfraMon is more efficient and cost-effective per kilometre than traditional track assessment methods, with no track capacity forfeited.