The technology startup MainRail, specialised in offering predictive maintenance solutions for the rail sector, will have a outstanding presence at Innotrans 2022, the main European trade fair for the rail sector, which will take place from 20-23 September in Berlin, Germany. 

At its exhibition space in Hall 23, stand 220 at the Messe Berlin exhibition centre, MainRail will present its latest technological developments for the rail sector. Among other updates, it will publicly introduce the pilot of its new buckling module, recently deployed in the Mallorca Railway Network (SFM) and supported by the construction company Azvi. 

Preventing track deformation

Buckling in ballasted track is caused by accumulation of energy in the track due to thermal variation. Specifically, this predictive buckling module, which MainRail will soon commercialise, consists of a set of algorithms that allow predicting the temperature that the rail will reach based on weather forecasts for up to 5 days, identifying the risk of track deformations because of these temperatures. To validate and fine-tune this development, the startup has installed IoT devices on the track, provided by the British company Yeltech, which allow measuring the actual track temperature.

As a result, while the algorithms enable predicting the risk of buckling for seven days, the IoT devices send real-time rail temperature alerts, allowing the algorithms’ predictions to be adjusted and validated.

In parallel, MainRail keeps on developing new predictive algorithms for track quality and rail wear, using hybrid models combining the use of digital twins, historical track data and AI algorithms.

To develop these algorithms, in addition to data from over 3,200km of rail infrastructure available on the MainRail platform, the company is reaching an agreement with the Spanish rail administrator (ADIF) to access data from part of its infrastructure to carry out a pilot project to validate the predictive algorithms. 

Both these advances and the predictive buckling module will be presented on Wednesday 21st September from 16:30 to 17:30 in the conference «Hybrid models for predictive infrastructure maintenance, based on Machine Learning and Digital Twins». The presentation will be given by Jorge Rodríguez Julián, CEO of MainRail. 

In addition to the presentation, those interested in learning more about MainRail’s technological solutions can book an appointment at the startup’s exhibition space during the fair via this link.