Hitachi monitors trains on Copenhagen metro

  • September 30, 2024
  • Steve Rogerson

Hitachi Rail is installing sensors and monitoring tools on trains in Copenhagen to provide live assessment of train and track health.

The contract with Copenhagen Metro is to deliver a bespoke model of its HMax digital asset management platform to optimise service performance and support the transition from time-based to condition-based maintenance.

The HMax, or Hyper Mobility Asset Expert, suite uses Nvidia technology and feeds live-time data from track and train into an integrated infrastructure monitoring platform, enabling the optimisation of operations and maintenance.

The multi-year programme will be delivered on metro trains on the M3 and M4 lines. The deal follows more than two decades of partnership on the Copenhagen metro.

The contract will see Hitachi Rail install sensors on the metro trains and integrate the live-time data into a bespoke version of its HMax infrastructure monitoring platform. The sensors will include a vibration monitoring system and will produce data on the performance of vehicle subsystems, its bogie and wheelset health, and the condition of the track.

The platform enables live data collection to be combined with AI technology to enhance the speed, ease and depth of analysis. It can provide early identification of any maintenance issues, and highlight opportunities for service optimisation.

An objective will be to let the company shift from a time-based to a condition-based maintenance system. For example, using the sensors to detect shifts in patterns in a train’s bogies will enable earlier, lower cost interventions to maintain the wheelset health. Equally, removing the need for scheduled maintenance can enable the service to run for longer without intervention and increase the overall lifecycle of the wheelsets. The live-time data will also help the platform identify data driven optimisations that can improve reliability, for example assessing optimum running speeds throughout journeys.

“Delivering our cutting-edge digital asset management programme marks an important evolution in our long running partnership with the Copenhagen metro,” said Edoardo La Ficara from Hitachi Rail. “The programme will see us install sensors on the metro trains to provide live-time data into a bespoke and integrated version of our HMax infrastructure monitoring platform. HMax will use machine learning to deliver an even more reliable service, while shifting the fleet from a time-based to a condition-based maintenance approach.”

Søren Boysen, executive director at Copenhagen Metro (intl.m.dk), added: “Our co-creation process with Hitachi Rail on the HMax technology will give us a new understanding and insight for evolving condition-based maintenance on our transport systems. With service availability higher than 99% in 2023, we aim to keep that level by continuing exploring new ways to conduct maintenance together with our current and future suppliers and thus maintaining high passenger satisfaction in the Copenhagen metro.”

Hitachi Rail (www.hitachirail.com) unveiled HMax (www.hitachirail.com/products-and-solutions/digital-asset-management/) at last month’s InnoTrans rail conference in Berlin. HMax is accelerated by Nvidia’s AI technology. The bespoke version for Copenhagen Metro is expected to be delivered before the end of 2025.