Development of a Prototype Smart Hy-Rail Wheel

The Federal Railway Administration track safety standards require rigorous visual inspections of tracks based on their operating speed. These inspections can be as frequent as twice per week. They are carried out using hy-rail (highway/rail) vehicles, with the trained inspector using a set of hand tools (such as track level, string line, and gauges) to further measure locations that appear to be out of compliance.

The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's Rail Safety IDEA Final Report 49: Development of a Prototype Smart Hy-Rail Wheel details a new tool designed to assist inspectors in an autonomous fashion in locating potential track defects and can provide a safer operating environment through low-cost implementation.