Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

Real-time monitoring system trial for rail network

Starting next year, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) will roll out a six-month trial for a real-time condition monitoring system for the rail network.

Starting next year, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) will roll out a six-month trial for a real-time condition monitoring system for the rail network.

The prototype is expected to pick up problems with the traction power for “preventive maintenance”, said LTA chief executive Chew Men Leong at the Singapore International Transport Congress and Exhibition yesterday. Faults can be diagnosed without disrupting normal train operations.

During the trial, a device will be installed at a substation supplying power to “four or five” stations, said NTU’s Electromagnetic Effects Research Laboratory director See Kye Yak. An electric current will be pinged through the electrical system to establish its profile. Once the profile has been captured by the device, any abnormalities will trigger an alarm, alerting engineers of a possible defect.

“Let’s say you have a cable which, maybe due to the rainy season, gets submerged in water and becomes corroded ... you don’t detect the corrosion early enough and the cable joint starts to give way and cuts off power supply, the train cannot move,” said Associate Professor See. “With this, you can (pick) up the fault much earlier.”

While physical inspection could also surface potential problems, Prof See said that this monitoring system can operate round-the-clock and detect issues arising in-between scheduled maintenance sessions.

Last year, a massive breakdown on the North-South and East-West lines was found to have stemmed from problems with the insulation of the third rail, which protects the power cables that supply electricity to the third rail. VALERIE KOH

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.