The DigiTwin project has been launched to develop automatic measurement systems able to create a ‘digital twin’ of passing wagons to support train preparation and predictive maintenance.

The two-year project is being undertaken by Bonn-based lineside monitoring equipment company RailWatch and freight operator Metrans Rail (Deutschland), supported with €3·5m of funding from the federal Ministry of Transport & Digital Infrastructure

The aim is to automatically detect, analyse and digitise wagon condition information, replacing the need for activities which are currently undertaken manually because of what RailWatch said is a low level of automation and digitalisation in the industry.

The measurement systems will mostly be developed in-house by RailWatch, and will incorporate cameras, lighting, laser sensors, thermal sensors and acoustic sensors. These will record wheel profiles, wheel flats, heat build-up, record under-floor and side views and assess loading gauge clearance.

‘Tens of thousands’ of pictures and a ‘huge amount’ of sensor data will be collected from every passing train, with artificial intelligence-based software being developed to automatically record and analyse every relevant area and create a digital twin of each passing wagon.

The overall aim is to make rail freight more efficient and thus more competitive against road transport, said Michael Breuer, managing partner of RailWatch. ‘There is so far no comparable system which can digitally capture the complete technical condition of freight wagons to this extent, and thus enable an assessment against the conditions of the General Contract of Use for wagons.’