SEA Frauscher Technology Day/EIT Seminar
Representatives from various SEA railway markets gathered in Thailand to discuss specific requirements
Understanding the challenges behind specific requirements ist key to providing tailored solutions to multifaceted markets. To find suitable approaches, it is crucial to stay in close contact with experts on-site and to maintain an open dialogue. Against that backdrop, the Engineering Institute of Thailand (EIT) and Frauscher Sensor Technology invited railway specialists from across the country to gather and discuss various topics at the lecture hall of the EIT under H.M. The King’s Patronage on Friday, 3 May 2019.
Professor Dr. Rattapoohm Parichatpreecha, Chairman Rail System Engineering of EIT, opened the conference. As a moderator, Mr. Anan Phonimdang, Head of Bureau – Signaling Department of the State railway of Thailand SRT, guided the audience through the comprehensive programme. He stated that, “this is an excellent opportunity to get in touch with one of the most innovative companies worldwide when it comes to highly reliable wayside sensors for various railway applications. More than that, it is also a perfect chance for railway experts to get in touch with each other, discuss their experiences and to collect new ideas.”
Under the motto “Smart wayside sensing: The Future Technology for Railway and Maintenance Systems”, representatives from Frauscher locations in Malaysia, Thailand, India and Austria spoke about specific aspects and benefits of their state-of-the-art wheel sensors, axle counters and tracking solutions in six presentations:
- Wheel detection and axle counting principle
- Challenges in the field and corresponding functionalities of state-of-the-art axle counters
- Block proving systems based on axle counters and reference cases from India
- References from Taiwan, Vietnam and Malaysia
- Axle counters in level crossing applications at SRT Thailand
- FTS – Tracking and asset condition monitoring based on fibre optic sensors
These speeches were accompanied by interactive sessions, during which all participants had the chance to ask detailed questions and to get in touch with the products themselves. This was an important aspect of the SEA Frauscher Technology day, as Alok Sinha, Managing Director Frauscher India Private Limited, reviews: “The goal of this conference was to create a complete picture of the status, the requirements and the problems that railway operators and system integrators in Thailand and SEA as a whole are facing. Based on this understanding, we discussed several solutions that we can provide these experts with in order to support their projects in an optimum way.”
The discussion of several reference cases underlined the capabilities of Frauscher’s products to work with high reliability, even under harsh environmental conditions. Projects in Malaysia, Thailand or India provided examples of how the wheel sensors and axle counters deal with lightning strikes or maintained functionality even when floods occurred during the monsoon time. One of the company’s customers from Thailand demonstrated the flexibility and multifaceted possibilities of integrating axle counters, into any system: Mr Kritsada Prasertnopakun from SCP Electric Co. Ltd. introduced his level crossing solution, which uses the axle counter information.
Manfred Sommergruber, Manager Technical Sales at Frauscher in Austria, was one of the experts on-site: “The setup of the SEA Frauscher Technology Day allowed us to not only discuss the participant’s requirements in detail, but also to demonstrate our product’s potential to solve their challenges right away. At such occasions, we can also get an insight into specific market requirements. Based on the flexibility of our products, we can then implement appropriate solutions working together with interested customers”, he explains.
In total, more than 160 representatives from local engineering companies, universities, private companies, consultants as well as all relevant parties in the railway business joined the event. Gerhard Grundnig, Chief Sales Officer Frauscher Sensor Technology, summarises: “From both, our own and our customer’s point of view, this was a very meaningful and impressive day. We are sure that we will stay in close contact with various people that we’ve met and work on future opportunities in this region and I am looking very much forward to that.”
