监视Australia's Biggest Transport Project

Case study

View of Train at Sydney's Central Station being monitored by a Leica TM50 Total Station

Author:Spatial Source

‘Tested, tried and proven’ Leica instruments and software highlight the complex system monitoring the tracks and platforms during Central Station’s Sydney Metro upgrade.

View of Leica Nova TM50 monitoring a platform at Sydney's Central Station图1.团队利用28Leica Nova TM50监视站。

As excavation and construction barrel ahead on the Sydney Metro, Australia’s biggest ever transport project, a small and vital team of engineers have been quietly navigating the crowds and rumbling trains that define Sydney’s Central Station.

They are using state of the art equipment to monitor the tracks and existing infrastructure to make sure the massive works necessary to bring new Metro trains to the 120-year-old Sydney landmark, aren’t endangering the more than 100,000 daily riders that already shuffle through.

这项重要的工作被授予GLS Monitoring,合资企业土地调查澳大利亚的地球. With an iconic building and the safety of so many riders on the line, the team knew the equipment had to be precise and sturdy enough to withstand the challenges of the busy station.

“Thankfully, I’m really satisfied with the Leica instruments we have,” says Szabolcs Fajcsi, Instrumentation and Monitoring Manager with GLS Monitoring.

“We don’t get the call often, but for example the contractor might ring up on a Sunday night saying, ‘OK, can you just please check the south end of track 16 to see if there are any movements on the track that will cause us to stop the trains?’”

“You have to be really, really quick, and ready to make a call before something bad happens,” he says. “But the instruments we use make it really easy to give a reliable answer so that when the client needs you to make the call – you can make the call.”

Those quick calls are made possible by a robust and complex monitoring system the GLS Monitoring team developed with the help of their partners at distributor肯尼迪爵士.


Leica Geosystem的反射器安装在悉尼中央车站的轨道上Fig 2. The team installed more than 4,500 prism reflectors across the tracks and station platforms.

他们建立了一个庞大的网络,其中包括28个Leica Nova TM50监控站,指向跨越轨道和车站平台上安装的4,500多个Prism反射器以及各种其他岩土技术传感器。

团队雇用了Leica’s GeoMoS监视软件,以密切关注全天候数据的数据,并提供警报,以防其检测到可接受的限制外的任何移动。

“GeoMoS is one of the more widely used pieces of software across the world, and we are familiar with its data structure and how to extract the information we need,” says Drew Coulthard, National Monitoring Manager with Land Surveys. “When it comes down to it, GeoMoS is tested, tried and proven.”


Leica GeoMoS Monitoring Software setup to monitor any movement at Sydney's Central Station

Fig 3. GeoMoS Monitoring Software keeps a watchful eye around the clock and alerts in case movement is detected.

Coulthard says the team needed proven precision from each instrument they chose for the project.

他说:“ Leica Nova TM50S的关键因素之一是它们的ATR(自动化目标识别)能力,尤其是考虑到这项工作所需的所有密集的棱镜。”

“So, for example, on the track you might have prisms three metres apart, but from the instrument’s field of view they look very close – the Leica TM50 is pretty superior when it comes to being able to recognise each prism,” he says.

”,另一个主要因素与TM50s we know that they are really good hard-wearing instruments that perform well in a pretty tough environment.

GLS监视的Szabolcs Fajcsi非常了解设备和团队的中央车站的要求。

Fajcsi说:“嗯,我们有不断的维护,主要是因为每两周左右的棱镜都在轨道上和尘埃落定,每两周左右都会变得肮脏。”他说:“因此,有时候找到一个时间范围,您可以在轨道上跳下来并以车站的繁忙方式清洁并恢复目标,这尤其具有挑战性。”

Fajcsi says the GLS Monitoring team have had very few issues with the Leica TM50 monitoring stations even with the adverse conditions. But, in the very few instances where they units have needed some attention it was a real plus having the CR Kennedy support available at short notice.

“It’s usually pretty easy and quick to just take the unit to CR Kennedy where they are able to give us a quick calibration or solution for the problem, usually with just a couple days turnaround,” he says.

Drew Coulthard with Land Surveys says the age and complexity of Central Station make it an especially exciting, but complicated, site to build at and to monitor. In other words, there is a lot of existing, vital, infrastructure and just about everything has moved over the years – even the tracks.


Rail Trolley provides automated track geometry monitoringFig 4. The Amberg GRP 1000 Rail Trolley provides automated track geometry monitoring.

That is why the team had CR Kennedy supply them with an Amberg GRP 1000 Rail Trolley, which they used to conduct a base survey of the real track conditions and geometry at the start of the project.

由于中央车站的动态性质,仪器和监测经理Szabolcs Fajcsi表示,手推车仍倾向于每月使用几次,而该项目进入了该项目一年多。

Fajcsi说:“我们从轨道八的轨道一直到23的监视 - 总共几乎是四公里的轨道。”“如果轨道上有某种维护,那么我们需要进行手推车调查,以便能够提供自动的轨道几何监测。”

土地调查have purchased at least two more of the trolleys, seeing the value they can bring in projects across Australia including a major rail project for mining giant BHP in the Pilbara and a commuter rail job in Perth.

But Fajcsi is satisfied keeping his focus trained on the massive construction project underway at Central Station and his role in making sure it goes smoothly.

他说:“这真是太神奇了。”“他们在现场直播下进行的不中断的发掘确实真是太神奇了。”

“这是一个非常具有挑战性的environment to do monitoring in, and that just keeps us going.”

Cr Kennedy提供的信息。