Reducing the cost of monitoring signalling assets using wireless technology

Wireless sensor networks are an important recent development in Railway Condition Monitoring and are now being used for monitoring a range of civil structures. Signalling assets, particularly where they are in clusters around junctions, are also suitable for wireless condition monitoring; this saves on wiring and large numbers of data loggers. It opens up the potential for widening the monitoring of assets through the use of low cost self contained, self configuring wireless sensors which can be readily installed with a minimum of effort, and with a significant cost reduction through elimination of wiring. (3 pages)