The next generation of railway crossing asset management technology
About
Overview
Railway crossings present a significant maintenance challenge, with an effective lifespan considerably shorter than designed specifications. While engineered to last 15 years, these installations typically deteriorate much faster, resulting in substantial costs in unplanned corrective maintenance, installation renewals, and operational delays. This situation significantly impacts railway operators’ budgets, amounting to significant expenditure that could be avoided with better management of these critical infrastructure components.
Project Objectives
The XCROSS project aims to develop an integrated suite of innovative technologies to revolutionise the monitoring, inspection, and maintenance of crossing surface profiles. The project centres around several key objectives:
- Implementing new inspection techniques using 3D laser scanning technology and computer vision to enable fast and accurate crossing measurements
- Creating digital twins equipped with advanced wheel-rail interaction calculation algorithms to optimise maintenance planning
- Developing Augmented Reality (AR) and 3D printing tools to enhance on-site maintenance interventions
These innovations aim to enable maintenance teams to visualise their progress during welding and grinding operations. Additionally, an early warning system will be established to detect early signs of degradation, allowing intervention before damage becomes irreparable. This comprehensive suite of technologies aims to optimise the lifecycle of railway crossings and significantly reduce maintenance costs.
Facts & Figures
Project Acronym: XCROSS
Project title: The next generation of railway crossing asset management technology
EU Contributions: 2.04 M €
Duration: 30 months
Project start date: 01/10/2024
Project end date: 31/03/2027
Partners: 10 partners from 7 countries
Project coordinator: TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT DELFT
Topic: HORIZON-ER-JU-2023-EXPLR-04
Type of action: HORIZON JU Research and Innovation Actions
News & Events
New European research project XCross launched to develop innovative technology for railway crossing asset management
On 1 October 2024, the XCross project, funded by Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking, officially launched with a kick-off meeting in Delft, the Netherlands....
Project organisation
| Work Package Number | Work Package Title | Lead beneficiary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Project Management | Technische Universiteit Delft |
| 2 | State of the art and technical specification | Technische Universität Dresden |
| 3 | 3D laser scanning | University of Leeds |
| 4 | Advanced digital twins | Technische Universiteit Delft |
| 5 | Development of 3D printed profile visualisation tools | Asociación de Investigación Metalúrgica del Noroeste (AIMEN) |
| 6 | Augmented reality profile visualisation tools | TXT E-TECH |
| 7 | Crossing monitoring system | Evopro Innovation KFT |
| 8 | Field demonstrators | Technische Universität Dresden |
| 9 | Appraisal of economics, safety and environment | University of Leeds |
| 10 | Communication, dissemination, exploitation | Eurnex BV |
Consortium
Contact
This project has received funding from the ERJU research and innovation programme under grant agreement n°101178744
