The Australasian Rail Association has awarded a leading Australian mobile and spatial solutions developer with its Suppliers’ Export Achievement Award.
Geomatic Technologies (GT) won the award for its role in the clearance assessment of new rolling stock as part of a major upgrade of Philadelphia’s commuter rail service in the United States.
The project was commissioned by Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA) to deliver a sophisticated network-wide clearance analysis across the Philadelphia regional rail commuter network.
GT were commissioned to assess whether a proposed new fleet of bi-level passenger trains could be introduced to supplement the current single-deck fleet operating across 280 miles of above and below ground track.
The proposed new trains are significantly taller than the existing commuter trains and locomotives.
The service provided by GT allowed SEPTA to quickly, accurately and comprehensively assess the clearance viability of a new bi-level passenger fleet through a complex network of trackside assets, bridges, platforms and tunnels.
GT Transport Business Manager Dave Presley said, “Without GT’s technology, this work would have taken many months if not years to assess, given the complex task of modelling and testing the clearances of the proposed new trains.
“GT has built an international reputation for the quality of our innovation and the value we can bring to rail services around the world. We’re absolutely delighted at this recognition from the rail industry in our home country.”
GT specialise in network wide collection, processing and analysis of high resolution imagery and Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) to support key rail industry initiatives including transit asset mapping, clearance surveys and Mechanized Track Patrol.
The evolution of GT’s rail LiDAR clearance capability and its AIMS Analyser software began a decade ago when it was contracted by Public Transport Victoria to complete a network-wide structure gauge audit across the Victorian rural and metropolitan networks.
Since then, GT has completed rolling stock clearance assessments, over-dimensioned load analysis and platform edge studies on behalf of many Australian, New Zealand and North American customers.
This capability has been developed by GT’s Melbourne-based rail survey professionals within the GT Data Services team.
“The team worked tirelessly to adapt and apply our innovative technologies to SEPTA’s specific needs in Philadelphia.
“This award showcases GT’s unique capabilities to solve complex asset and data management challenges in the transport sector,” Mr Presley said.
