Acceleration Monitoring is the correlation of a 

vehicle’s vibration to the vehicle/track 

interaction forces for detecting 

issues on the track or of the vehicle. 

While modern day track inspection is 

typically performed at routine intervals 

using dedicated geometry measurement 

cars, hi-rail vehicles and/or manual 

inspections, these methods are 

expensive and performed infrequently 

due to cost. Car Body Acceleration data, however, can be gathered at a significantly lower 

cost point, much more frequently and 

greater areas may be covered (i.e., every 

time a train is in service). Augmenting 

traditional track inspection technologies 

with day-to-day acceleration data provides 

rail carriers with more up-to-date 

situational awareness of their tracks 

and their vehicles and may improve 

overall operational safety.