Smarter, Safer
Transportation Networks
Railways, bridges, tunnels, and highways are the arteries of modern civilisation. Sensorlines fiber optic sensing continuously monitors the structural health, safety, and security of transportation infrastructure — protecting millions of lives and trillions in assets.
Railway Track & Rail Infrastructure Monitoring
A single DAS fiber running alongside a railway line becomes a 100 km-long distributed sensor array — detecting broken rails, wheel defects, train positions, track trespassers, and geohazards in real time. Existing telecoms fiber already co-located along rail corridors can be repurposed without any new civil works.
How It Works
Train wheels rolling on defective rail joints, cracked rails, or flat wheel surfaces produce characteristic acoustic and vibration signatures that are captured by the sensing fiber. Machine-learning algorithms trained on thousands of railway events classify each signal — distinguishing a wheel flat from normal track noise, or a rockfall from a passing train — generating maintenance alerts to the network control centre within 3 seconds. Continuous acoustic and temperature monitoring detects rail stress risks from thermal expansion and ground movement near rail beds.
Key Capabilities
- Real-time train position tracking across entire monitored corridor
- Broken rail, cracked fishplate, and rail joint defect detection
- Wheel flat, bearing failure, and rolling stock defect diagnosis
- Landslide, rockfall, and debris-on-track detection
- Unauthorized track trespass and vandalism detection
- Predictive maintenance scheduling with health trend analysis
Bridge Structural Health Monitoring
Sensorlines Distributed Acoustic (DAS) and Distributed Temperature (DTS) sensing technologies turn the bridge's main structural components into a continuous, real-time sensing network — monitoring traffic load patterns, structural resonance frequencies, joint temperature fluctuations, and acoustic emissions from cracking concrete or fatigued steel.
How It Works
Fiber optic cables are bonded to primary steel girders, embedded within concrete deck panels, or run along main suspension cables. DAS interrogators measure dynamic vibrations and acoustic events across the entire bridge span, capturing structural resonance shifts that indicate micro-cracking or tension loss. Simultaneously, DTS interrogators monitor thermal profiling across joint assemblies and concrete sections, tracking expansion-contraction patterns. This integrated acoustic and temperature data feeds structural health models and alerts operators of anomalous behavior immediately.
Key Capabilities
- Dynamic traffic load and structural vibration mapping
- Structural resonance frequency shift detection (damage indicator)
- Joint temperature profiling and thermal expansion tracking
- Acoustic emission monitoring for concrete crack propagation
- Post-earthquake dynamic structural integrity assessment
- Integration with video management systems and digital twins
Tunnel Safety & Monitoring Systems
Road and rail tunnels present extreme life-safety risks from fire, structural failure, and intrusion. Sensorlines DTS provides linear heat detection along the full tunnel length with <1 m fire location accuracy, while a simultaneous DAS channel monitors structural integrity and security events in real time.
How It Works
A sensing fiber cable installed along the tunnel ceiling provides continuous fire detection superior to discrete smoke or heat detectors — measuring temperature at every meter along the full tunnel length and detecting fire in under 30 seconds with precise location. The same fiber simultaneously serves as a DAS acoustic sensor — detecting structural cracking sounds, vehicle accidents, debris falls, and unauthorised entry into restricted areas. Acoustic sensing tracks convergence vibrations and crack propagation sounds for geotechnical risk assessment.
Key Capabilities
- Linear heat detection — EN 54-22 and NFPA 72 compliant
- Fire location to within <1 m along entire tunnel length
- Structural lining convergence and crack monitoring
- Emergency vehicle detection and incident localisation
- Ventilation optimisation through real-time temperature profiling
- Full SCADA and tunnel control system (TCS) integration
Highway & Road Infrastructure Monitoring
Fiber optic sensing embedded along highway corridors monitors slope stability, rockfalls, retaining wall integrity, and ground subsidence — providing geotechnical early warning that is particularly critical for mountain roads, elevated expressways, and routes through geologically active or landslide-prone regions.
How It Works
DAS fiber installed in sentinel trenches alongside the highway continuously measures ground vibrations and acoustic signatures of micro-slippage, detecting the slow shift that precedes landslide events. DAS sensors detect acoustic signals from rockfalls, landslide initiation, and retaining wall cracking — generating alerts with precise location hours or days before failure. Integration with highway traffic management systems enables automated speed restrictions and road closures in affected zones.
Key Capabilities
- Slope instability and landslide early warning — hours to days lead time
- Slope creep and movement detection via acoustic signature analysis
- Retaining wall deformation and foundation failure detection
- Bridge approach embankment movement detection
- Rockfall, debris flow, and avalanche path monitoring
- Automated traffic management system (ATMS) integration
Build Safer
Transportation Infrastructure
Our engineers will design a tailored fiber optic sensing solution for your railway, bridge, tunnel, or highway project.