The Need
Sydney Light Rail (SLR), managed by Transdev Sydney, grapples with persistent wet weather events resulting in submersion of critical tram infrastructure across their network, particularly switch points in identified critical and non-critical sites known to experience flooding.
The prolonged submersion of equipment can, in the worst cases, necessitate a full system replacement – a solution that is not only costly in terms of hardware but also demands significant labour.
The focus on proactive maintenance for submerged assets is an area for ongoing improvement. While SLR has been successful in identifying sites prone to flooding, work is underway to better quantify the extent and duration of such incidents.
SLR required a solution that not only safeguards the integrity of their infrastructure but also reduces service disruptions along with the financial and operational impacts that come with it.
The Solution
In a strategic collaboration with Transdev Sydney and Alstom, the contracted maintainer of SLR, an initiative has been launched utilizing the Captis Pulse Lite and Rail Pit Monitoring Kit. This innovative solution is designed to enable proactive monitoring of water levels within rail pits, thereby addressing the previously unmonitored flooding issues. The solution comprises:
- Captis Pulse Lite: A robust device that can withstand submersion dedicated to monitoring and transmitting data
- Bespoke Mounting Brackets: Customized to guarantee optimal installation and stability.
- Adjustable Float Level Switches: Engineered to precisely detect and monitor water levels.
- Pro-active Alarming: Device-level alarm on flood triggers, ensures optimal battery performance during idle periods and immediate alerting to issues when critical.
- Fit-for-Purpose External Antenna: Guarantees reliable data transmission, even in challenging environments.
The initiative involves the strategic placement of units in critical areas to proactively monitor water inundation events, allowing crews to be dispatched to sites to manage issues before they escalate into service-disrupting problems or more severe incidents.
Download the Transdev Sydney Rail Temperature Monitoring Case Study or watch the video below to see how Keolis Downer has used similar IoT solutions across the Yarra Trams network to improve efficiencies.
