Lanes Group highly commended in Light Rail Awards

Lanes Group’s Rail Division has been highly commended by judges in the Light Rail Awards for its work to develop an unmanned aerial vehicle survey service for rail operators.

The announcement was made at an award ceremony at the Honourable Artillery Company in the City of London on Tuesday 7 October.

Lanes Rail Division was highly commended in the technical innovation category of the international awards, which recognise the achievement of light rail and urban transport providers, and their suppliers, around the world.

Matthew Todd, Rail Division Commercial Director, said: “We were delighted to be recognised for our innovative approach to surveying rail assets. The judges were clearly impressed with the benefits we could demonstrate.

“Using aerial drones to gather images and data for later analysis speeds up the survey process, reduces costs, enhances health and safety and provides better data for making more informed decisions about maintenance and development of rail assets.”

Lanes Rail Division has introduced unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) surveys on behalf of London Underground – and recently carried out the first UAV survey of a Tube station – at Amersham on the Metropolitan Line.

The technique allowed the survey of the station’s roof to be completed in one day, instead of four night shifts, and with two personnel, instead of at least four.

The station remained open and fully operational throughout the survey process.

The aerial drone is fitted with a sophisticated camera that takes scores of ultra-high definition images which can be manipulated to analyse the roof’s structure and condition.

This includes creating a three-dimensional point cloud image so the roof can be viewed and measured from any angle by civil engineers and architects.

Matthew Todd said: “We aim to use UAV surveys to map drainage systems, making maintenance decisions faster and more accurate, which will lead to reduced flooding problems and more reliable train services.

“Safe access and keeping services open to the public are vital issues for rail operators, for which UAV technology is ideally suited. Video technology can be used to analyse passenger flows and traffic movements affecting urban transit systems. There is significant potential.”