On train OHLE inspection

摘要

Following the brou-ha-ha with faulty sections of catenary exposed by the Virgin High Frequency timetable, Virgin Trains has fitted two Pendolinos with instrumented pantographs. These measure the force and acceleration at the pantograph head along the direction of travel. A GPS unit provides location.rnInitially, two warning levels have been set: amber for 10-20g (g= acceleration due to gravity) and red for accelerations over 20g. A 20g acceleration is quite a shock. Each alert and its location is recorded by the Train Management System and sent back to the Train Care control centre.rnIn essence, Alstom and Virgin are finding out more about their trains' interfaces with Network Rail's infrastructure and the data will be available to Network Rail to assist maintenance planning. Otherwise Network Rail has to rely on its Mentor OHLE inspection coach which has to cover the whole electrified network and doesn't run at 125mph.