The RIFLEX consortium gathered together on the 18th and 19th of May for the final R4SME project meeting and demonstration at the Quinton rail Technology Centre, Long Marston, UK.
Hosted by RIFLEX project partner Rail Alliance, the facility provided the optimum indoor and outdoor location for demonstrating the RIFLEX prototype. The indoor hangar facility containing embedded track connected to the outdoor rail track loop ensured that the prototype setup could proceed despite the rain! Fortunately the weather on the second day improved and help facilitate a successful outdoor demonstration.
Demonstrations included manual track inspection (deployment of the prototype by operator pushing the trolley on rail), deployment by locomotive, and a demonstration of the sensor technology and signal data acquisition.
Richard Lewis project manager for the RIFLEX project informed that the final meeting and demonstration had gone well and to schedule. He said that the consortium had successfully demonstrated the potential for contactless rail inspection using EMAT technology, and that the consortium is now considering the next steps required in order to bring the successfully achieved TRL6 to a higher level. Further field trials are planned.