Following the success of the last UIC Harmotrack project’s plenary meeting held in Birmingham in June 2022, the Harmotrack leaders were invited to UIC Headquarters in Paris on 6 December 2022 to share ideas regarding Harmotrack’s challenges in 2023.

Started in 2018, the UIC Harmotrack project explores the use of dynamic measurements (mainly onboard accelerations) to forge a deeper understanding of the relationship between track quality and vehicle dynamics. The ultimate objective of the project is to define technical recommendations and an international benchmark for the use of acceleration measurements. Thanks to the Harmotrack project, members can expect to improve their knowledge and reduce maintenance costs through optimised track monitoring. Today, the Harmotrack project comprises of 65 members worldwide, with more than 300 international experts from 36 countries in 6 continents across the globe.

The Harmotrack leaders’ meeting was attended by 15 international experts, 12 of whom were present in-person, and featured technical discussions with all of the sub-working group (SWG) leaders presenting various technical and managerial updates for the project. The in-person meeting was an opportunity to clarify the final expected project deliverables, and brainstorm on the project’s development.

The SWG leaders also gave presentations on the progress of their respective sub-working groups:

• SWG1-A: a study of correlations between forces and accelerations – Group leader: Fatih Ünlü (SBB CFF FFS, Switzerland)
• SWG1-B Alpha: a study of filters – Group leaders: Fulvio Cianci (RFI, Italy) and Hakkı Küçükkeskin (TCDD, Turkey)
• SWG1-B Beta 1: a study of the most dangerous track geometry defect combinations using multi-body simulation – Group leaders: Ali Tajaddini (FRA, USA) and Raphael Damasceno Marotta (VLI Logística, Brazil)
• SWG1-B Beta 2: a study of the correlation between track geometry and accelerations using statistical analysis – Group leaders: Danilo Sorrentino and Mélissa Faur (SNCF Réseau, France)
• SWG1-B Beta 3: detecting track geometry defects using machine-learning techniques – Group leaders: Alfonso Panunzio (RATP, France) and Cassandre Diaine (SNCF Réseau, France)
• SWG1-B Gamma: a study of occurrences and risk analysis, transferring thresholds from reference vehicles to different vehicle and speeds – Group leaders: Nicolas Lestoille (SNCF Réseau, France) and Maciej Pałyga (PKP PLK S.A., Poland)
• SWG2: a study of the optimised use of axle box accelerations – Group leaders: Stanislaw Banaszak (SBB CFF FFS, Switzerland), Olivier Vo Van (SNCF, France), Claudio Somaschini and Egidio Di Gialleonardo (Politecnico di Milano, Italy)
• SWG3: a study of the use of innovative and cheap systems – Group leader: Samuel Pelisson (SNCF Réseau, France)

The meeting was very useful as the participants were able to have more time to analyse some of the complex technical topics and discuss them in depth while also perfecting the project’s organisation by defining possible cross-SWGs topics. 2023 will be a decisive year for the project as all of the technical activities must be concluded by the end of it. All of the experts will gather to edit the last research milestones from their SWGs and consider writing International Railway Solutions or international technical recommendations.

In the closing remarks of the meeting, it was confirmed that the 6th Harmotrack global plenary meeting would be hosted by RFI in Rome, Italy, in June 2023.