Deutsche Bahn Cable Theft Monitoring

Cable theft costs millions of dollars every year for rail network operators across the globe. Therefore, Deutsche Bahn partnered with AP Sensing to utilize our smart, innovative solution as an investment into the advancement of its railway infrastructure. For this specific trial, one N52-Series Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) unit was set up to monitor a 36 km track.

 

One of the advantages of using fiber optic sensing for railway monitoring is that pre-existing trackside infrastructure and cables can be used, meaning the installation and maintenance of the system is low-effort and does not require trackside closures.

In comparison to other technologies that are traditionally used to monitor cable theft, DAS offers continuous sensing capabilities at every point along a track. Additionally, it is a smart solution and high performing technology. In combination with artificial intelligence (AI), DAS technology can be used for smart, predictive maintenance. The use of a digital twin – a digital representation of a train, railway track, or both – is used to optimize rail networks and provide better planning capabilities. 

Read the entire case study here.