Introduction
The 6th UIC Harmotrack Project Plenary Meeting on 24th, 25th, and the 26th of May, 2023 in Rome (Italy)
Organised by SNCF Réseau and the UIC, with the support of Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI), the sixth edition of the Harmotrack Project Plenary Meeting aims to spotlight the success of international collaboration among railway experts engaging to reach the goals of the Harmotrack project.
Bringing together 65 member companies and institutions with more than 200 international railway experts. It is present in 35 different countries from 6 continents all around the globe. The Harmotrack Project aims to achieve the following objectives:
- Establish an international benchmark to carry out a State of the Art of measurement techniques for dynamic responses (accelerations and forces);
- Define the domain of use for the acceleration measurements;
- Define representative/reliable indicators of track quality (increased vigilance, interventions, or slowdowns) based on accelerations for an improved network maintenance and simulation purpose;
- Contribute to enhance safety and reduce costs on all networks by prioritising correction of track geometry defects, focusing on those with the most dangerous impact on vehicle dynamics; and
- Propose these thresholds on accelerations in future international standards or technical recommendations.
Language
The event will be held in English.
Agenda
The first day of the 6th plenary meeting will highlight roundtable discussions tackling the challenges of railway maintenance and operations, R&D, digitalisation, and innovation. This year, the roundtable discussion will feature high-level speakers coming from major global regions. One of the most important themes the event wants to highlight is the important role international collaboration plays in reaching a competitive and successful railway industry. Therefore, equal representation of international experts from across the globe is a must.
This year’s plenary meeting will be on the following topics:
Roundtable 1 – Future direction of railway maintenance & operations and strategic game changers
An efficient and optimised infrastructure maintenance is essential to increase the railway performance and provide a high-quality service. Companies are currently facing important challenges in this transition phase that see a progressive shift from a preventive/corrective maintenance to a predictive one. Today, companies need to adapt their strategy plans to pave the way towards a performant infrastructure: enhancement of diagnostic and maintenance fleets, new maintenance approaches/structures, etc.
The aim of this roundtable is to debate on various company’s newly and future railway maintenance strategies and their integration with engineering activities to assure an excellent infrastructure.
- Marco Gallini - Head of the Mobile Diagnostics and Maintenance Vehicles Department at RFI – Italy
- Lars Müller – Head of Testing at DB Systemtechnik – Germany
- Atsushi Furukawa – Executive Director of the Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI) – Japan
- Franco Iacobini – Head of Infrastructure Sector of Technical Department RFI – Italy
Roundtable 2 - The digital shift of the railway industry is the new driver for railway technologies?
A smart and intelligent railway infrastructure is key to improve performance, competitiveness, and safety. Digitalisation, use of new technologies and automatization are top priorities for the rail sector to adapt effectively in this quickly evolving context. Huge investments in innovation and digitalisation are opening new horizons for better railway operation and an increased railway capacity.
The aim of this roundtable is to debate on future technologies and digital developments that will disrupt every component of railway operations.
- David Iban Villalmanzo Resusta - Head of Area Strategic Partnerships and Coordination at ADIF – Spain
- Albert Wahba - Program Leader at NRC – Canada
- Scott Cummings - AVP – Research and Innovation at MxV Rail – USA
We will also have special technical presentations on the first and second day, led by our own members as well as important railway experts:
- Dr. Hirofumi Tanaka - Railway Technical Research Institute – Japan
- Dr. Yan Liu - National Research Council of Canada - Canada
- Dr. Youngtae Choi - Korea Railroad Research Institute – South Korea
- Dr. Ing. Klaus Ulrich Wolter - DB Systemtechnik - Germany
- Dr. Niyazi Özgür Bezgin - Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa - Turkey
- Dr. Mani Entezami - University of Birmingham - United Kingdom
- Russell Licence - Network Rail - United Kingdom
The session held on Thursday 25th May will feature technical discussions led by the SWG Leaders of the Harmotrack project. Since the creation of the project, SWGs have reached significant milestones and it is rather important to celebrate each milestone of the groups.
- SWG1-A: Study of correlation between forces and accelerations - Fatih Ünlü (SBB CFF FFS),
- SWG1-B Alpha: Study of filters - Fulvio Cianci (RFI) & Hakkı Küçükkeskin (TCDD),
- SWG1-B Beta 1: Study of most dangerous combination of track geometry defects - Ali Tajaddini (FRA), Huyen Nguyen (SNCF Réseau),
- SWG1-B Beta 2: Study of correlations between accelerations and track geometry using statistical analysis - Danilo Sorrentino & Mélissa Faur & Alondra Alfaro Condori (SNCF Réseau),
- SWG1-B Beta 3: Detection of track geometry defects using machine learning techniques - Alfonso Panunzio (RATP) & Cassandre Diaine & Chonlapat Srisuwan (SNCF Réseau),
- SWG1-B Gamma: Study of occurrences and risk analysis, transferring thresholds from reference vehicle to different vehicle and speeds - Nicolas Lestoille (SNCF Réseau) & Maciej Pałyga (PKP PLK S.A.),
- SWG2: Optimal use of axle box accelerations for the detection of short length defects - Stanislaw Banaszak (SBB CFF FFS), Olivier Vo Van (SNCF), Claudio Somaschini (Politecnico di Milano),
- SWG3: Use of innovative and cheap devices – Samuel Pelisson (SNCF Réseau).
Furthermore, technical visits led by RFI (Rete Ferroviaria Italiana) will be held on the third day of the event (Friday 26th May). The technical visits include the following locations (the list will be updated during the next weeks):
Technical visits on 26th May - RFI
RFI has graciously accepted to organize, not one, but TWO different technical visits this year! This will allow participants to experience first-hand RFI facilities and track monitoring vehicles.
The two different visitation options are as follows:
Diamante 2.0 and ONA Pontassieve Workshop
Italian excellence combined with high technology, the Diamante 2.0 diagnostic train deals with the control, supervision and certification of RFI’s railway network. The train consists of eight carriages and two locomotives where real laboratories are installed measuring at 300 km/h, hundreds of parameters. On board there are 98 cameras and more than 200 sensors placed on the roof, in the undercarriage and on the bogies near the wheels to monitor data aimed at analysing the condition of the railway infrastructure. This includes, track geometry and wear, wheel/rail interaction, the quality of energy captured from the overhead power line, signalling and telecommunications.
Located in Pontassieve, in the heart of Tuscany and only 30 minutes from Florence, for more than 150 years the ONA workshop has been the reference point for the production, maintenance and repair of the national railway infrastructure and its components, especially turnouts and track equipment, such as switch parts forging, flash butt welding and joints fabrication.
Operational Control Room at Roma Termini and visit to Diagnostic Trains Galileo 2.0 and Falco
The OCC in Roma Termini is one of the regional Control Centres, it manages the trains’ circulation 24 hours a day, guaranteeing its continuity and prosecution when major emergencies and critical situations occur.
Galileo 2.0 is the current ultrasonic testing operating train on RFI network, dedicated to the NDT on tracks, while Falco is dedicated to track, switches, and contact line diagnostic.
When?
24th–26th May 2023
- 24th May 2023 from 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm
- 25th May 2023 from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
- 26th May 2023 from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
Where?
The Hub - LVenture Group
Roma Termini Station
Via Marsala, 29H, 00185 Roma RM, Italy
Registration
Please note that:
- The afternoon session (24th May) is open to the public;
- The second day session (25th May) is exclusive for Harmotrack members only;
- The technical visits (26th May) are primarily for the Harmotrack Project members, however if there are any available slots left, the non-members may be included on a first come first serve basis.
Contact
For further information please contact Mr. Danilo Sorrentino, Head of Vehicle-Track interaction section at SNCF Réseau, at danilo.sorrentino at reseau.sncf.fr or the Harmotrack Management Team at harmotrack at reseau.sncf.fr