Until now, the automatic under load condition monitoring of tramway’s track has not been applied in Hungary. Due to the lack of track recording car, only the visual inspection on track was used for identifying track defects.
This paper presents automatic methods for detecting track irregularities on tramway operation using acceleration measurements on tram. For monitoring of tramway tracks, an unconventional measurement set-up is developed, which records the data of 3-axes wireless accelerometers mounted on wheel discs. Accelerations are processed to determine whether the track needs to be repaired from the obtained vibration behaviour of track-vehicle dynamic interaction. New track parameters are developed for determining the location of the defect and assessing the level of deterioration, which are generated by automatic detection algorithms based on time–frequency distribution analysis. Furthermore, a new Track Quality Index (denoted “DMSZ”) is developed, which is calculated from the developed parameters to summarize and display the condition of large sections of track. The method was validated on frequented tram lines in Budapest, where track sections in moderate and in serious condition were accurately detected.

tramway track condition monitoring, track quality index, vibration, wheel-mounted accelerometer, time-frequency processing techniques