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The Federal Railroad Administration's Track Geometry Survey
car, operated by the Office of Safety, helps America's
railroads increase safety and keep pace with advancing technology.
The data, produced by the car through the precise measurement
of existing track systems, are used to monitor compliance
with the current Federal Track Safety Standards and aid in
the efficient, effective track system maintenance planning
to support the engineering of today's energy efficient, high
speed railroads.
Through the use of advanced electronic sensing and data processing,
the car is able to collect track geometry data while traveling
at speeds up to 90 miles per hour in the self propelled mode
and 110 miles per hour towed. The Track Geometry System is
capable of determining compliance with Track Class 1 - 9 (up
to 200 miles per hour) at any car speed.
In the measurement process, data are displayed on hard copy
oscillographs and video oscillographs and simultaneously processed
in Real-time to produce printed reports for distribution to
the railroads and FRA. The oscillographs visually indicate
the condition of the track being surveyed and are compared
to the actual track as viewed from the rear of the survey
car by an FRA Track Safety Inspector and a Railroad representative.
The DOTX 217 is equipped with a Differential GPS Measurement
System (DGMS) to accurately identify the location of track
defects and track structures using map coordinates, latitude
and longitude.
A Ride Quality Measurement System (RQMS) measures the vertical
and lateral acceleration of the car body and lateral acceleration
of the trucks. The Federal Track Safety Standard (FTSS) prescribes
limits for carbody and truck accelerations that cannot be
exceeded in Track Class 7 through Track Class 1 - 9. High
lateral and/or vertical accelerations can be indicative of
track geometry anomalies.
DOTX 217 is also equipped with laser and inertial gage systems.
The laser system is servo controlled and produces gage and
inputs into the alignment system. The inertial gage system
uses video technology and produces gage, inputs into other
systems and provides a view of the rail conditions.
The DOTX 217 meets Federal Railroad Administration crash
worthiness standards and complies with all interchange requirements
For more information and for sample reports, click one of
the following:
Putting Data
to Use
Oscillograph recording
Exception List
Curve Summary
Report
Exception
Summary Report
Locating
Exceptions
Screen Display
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