Case Study – MTM Whole of Network MLS

Metro Trains Melbourne (MTM) provides passenger services and infrastructure maintenance across the Melbourne electrified network, servicing a city of 4 million people.

To support network asset management activities and the implementation of a new track recording vehicle, MTM decided to undertake a network mobile LiDAR (MLS) and imagery survey. 

As a busy urban network MTM wanted to ensure that its MLS project would occur with minimal impact on operations and in the most cost-effective way.

With extensive experience in rail network wide asset MLS surveys and in the delivery of quality assured, accurate derived digital datasets to support railway operations and maintenance, Agonics was selected to partner with MTM on the project.

The first stage saw the MTM and Agonics teams meet to refine and confirm project technical requirements to ensure that the project expectations would be met. This involved establishing and confirming the recording platform that would be used to perform the MLS survey and how the track recording would happen across a busy urban rail network. The parties also spent time refining a specification for mapping of MTM’s assets as part of an update to the MTM Ellipse asset inventory.

The decision was made to utilise the existing MTM track recording vehicle (EM100), which was to be replaced with a new vehicle being built overseas.

Following mobilisation of the MLS system on the EM100, the Agonics team recorded high density LiDAR and imagery across the 800km long MTM network.

As the survey progressed the Agonics team checked and validated the recorded datasets as part of its routine quality assurance protocols.

To validate the MTM asset inventory a team of experienced railway data analysts and surveyors performed an update to the Ellipse asset database noting new assets, redundant assets and matching existing assets.

• Zero OHS near-miss, reportable or incidents
• The Agonics methodology ensured that tight recording schedules were met through rapid deployments of MLS equipment
• Extensive QA activities throughout the project from data acquisition to data processing and through to final data delivery ensured a high-quality outcome

• Final deliverables included an asset geodatabase, track centrelines, Ellipse asset matching reports, digital imagery and point cloud data
• Commissioning of new track recording vehicle could proceed as planned
• Establishment of an accurate point cloud dataset to be used for future analytics and engineering compliance reporting.