Study on Condition-Based Maintenance of Track Circuit using the Mahalanobis Distance

Abstract

The performance ability of a track circuit is important for safety and reliability of railway operation. Therefore, maintenance of the track circuit is based on time-based maintenance (TBM). However, TBM has a problem in keeping excessive maintenance because it is a uniform method that does not consider the environment of individual equipment. In this study, we focus on condition-based maintenance, which monitors the state of individual equipment and maintains the equipment after any abnormal diagnosis of the equipment before a fault occurs. We expect to realize rational maintenance. Therefore, we propose that the Mahalanobis Distance can be used as a threshold value to show the appropriate time for maintenance. Furthermore, we show the possibility of decreasing the maintenance cost by approximately 20%.