Description:FIELD OF INVENTION
[001] The present invention relates to a trolley based system for monitoring railway tracks and method for operation thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a trolley based system that includes geometry measurement and inspection of railway tracks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[002] Irregularities on railway track lead to derailments resulting in significant property damage and risk to human life. Therefore, the railway tracks need to be monitored regularly for presence of any anomaly that may lead to accidents and to ensure stability of rail road transportation. An accurate measurement of the railway track geometry is essential to ensure the quality of railway track at both the construction and maintenance stage. Such monitoring of the railway track include measurement of geometry of railway track to be within a certain range. Some of the geometry parameters include such as, but not limited to, gauge, cross-level, alignment, unevenness and twist.

[003] There are several patents/non-patent literatures that discloses a system and method for monitoring railway track. Some of the conventional method for detecting anomaly in the railway track includes the manual detection of the anomaly wherein the inspector walks along the railway track to detect the presence of the anomaly. In case anomaly is detected, the inspector record the details of the anomaly along with approximate location. Depending on the type of anomaly, the remedial actions are taken or may be recorded for future purpose. However, such method is long and laborious, requiring long hours to inspect the length of the railway track and effort to carry the equipment while moving over the railway track. Furthermore, the method is prone to errors due to manual detection. Further, manual data entry is prone to manipulation and inaccurate inefficient data maintenance. Furthermore, such method requires additional safety measures to be taken while working on the railway track for long hours.

[004] A United States Patent Application US20180273060A1 discloses a track geometry measurement system includes a plurality of wheels, a frame, and an inertial measurement unit. The inertial measurement unit is coupled to the frame and includes at least one gyroscope.

[005] Another United States Patent Application US20180057029A1 discloses a track geometry measurement system includes a plurality of wheels, a frame, an inertial measurement unit, a global positioning system, and a processor. The plurality of wheels are operable to trail over railway track. The frame is coupled to the wheels. The inertial measurement unit (IMU) is coupled to frame. The global positioning system (GPS) is coupled to the frame. The processor is configured to determine a relative position of a portion of the frame based on data from the GPS and data from the IMU.

[006] However, in the above cited prior arts, the measuring devices are mounted on a frame which may be attached to an existing railway track related vehicle. Maintenance of the railway track with such vehicle needs to be planned and scheduled in advance so that the identified railway tracks can be blocked for regular trains. Further, the devices in the prior cited patent application are using mainly multiple IMUs and GPS for the measurement of geometry of railway track. However, IMU has a tendency to drift and requires use of different kind of sensors such as speed determining sensor, distance determining sensor, laser sensors etc. which are not disclosed in the prior arts.

[007] In order to overcome the problems associated with existing prior arts, there is a need for an efficient system and method for monitoring the railway tracks.

OBJECTIVE OF THE INVENTION
[008] The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a trolley based system for monitoring railway track and method of operating thereof.

[009] Yet another objective of the present invention is to detecting anomalies at Points and Crossing provided on railway tracks to facilitate trains to be diverted from one track to another.

[010] Another objective of the present invention is to employ sensors to detect geometry parameters of the railway track such as gauge, twist, alignment, unevenness and cross-level.

[011] Another objective of the present invention is to include a GPS receiver capturing location coordinates that provides exact location of the anomaly on the railway track to provide location and orientation of the railway track which is further used to evaluate the geometry parameters of the railway track.

[012] Another objective of the present invention to overcome drifting problem associated with the inertial measurement unit by using visual sensor.

[013] Another objective of the present invention is to employ laser sensor to overcome low light condition of visual sensor.

[014] Another objective of the present invention is to employ visual and distance measuring sensor additional illumination to overcome location sensor failure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[015] The present invention relates to a trolley based system for monitoring railway tracks and method for operation thereof comprising a trolley positioned on a railway track; a geometry measurement unit configured to measure the geometry of the railway track; a visual inspection unit configured to determine location and type of defects on the railway track; a handle connected on the trolley; a stand connected to the handle; a processing unit placed on stand; a storage device integrated in the processing unit; a display unit is placed on the stand; a server communicably coupled to the system and maintained and monitored by Railway authorities at a railway designated location; a power supply unit connected to one end of the horizontal beam via coupling connector assemblies, and a switch connected to the power supply unit . The geometry measurement unit comprises of a plurality of inertial measurement unit placed over horizontal beam of the trolley; a speed determining sensor positioned over the wheel of the trolley; a distance determining sensor positioned over the wheel of the trolley; a GPS receiver positioned over the vertical beam of the trolley; a gauge measuring sensor placed inside the horizontal beam of the trolley; a vision sensor is placed over the horizontal beam of the trolley; and a laser sensor arranged on antenna bar of the trolley. The visual inspection unit comprises of a plurality of image capturing device connected to a plurality of vision sensors and a GPS receiver. The first unit, second unit, and a third unit are placed facing downward on the front end of the vertical beam to examine the right side of the railway track for missing fasteners, welds, railheads, bolts. The fourth unit is placed facing downward on front side of the horizontal beam to examine the sleepers, etc. The fifth unit, sixth unit, and seventh unit are placed downward facing on the horizontal beam to examine the left side of the railway track.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[016] Figure 1 illustrates arrangement of the components of the system on a trolley;

[017] Figure 2 illustrates a flow chart illustrating method of working of the system;

[018] Figures 3 illustrates a flow chart illustrating a method of working of the geometry tracking unit of the system; and

[019] Figure 4 illustrates a flowchart illustrating a method of working of the visual inspection unit of the system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[020] The following detailed description and embodiments set forth herein below are merely exemplary out of the wide variety and arrangement of instructions which can be employed with the present invention. The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. All the features disclosed in this specification may be replaced by similar other or alternative features performing similar or same or equivalent purposes. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, they all are within the scope of the present invention.

[021] Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness.

[022] The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings but are merely used to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the invention. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention are provided for illustration purposes only and not to limit the invention.

[023] It is to be understood that the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the context dictates otherwise.

[024] It should be emphasized that the term “comprises/comprising” when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.

[025] Accordingly, the present invention relates to a trolley based system for monitoring railway tracks and method of operation thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a trolley based system that includes a geometry measurement and inspection of railway tracks.

[026] In an embodiment, as shown in Figure 1, the present invention relates to a trolley based system for monitoring railway tracks and method for operation thereof. The system includes a trolley (116). The trolley (116) further comprises of a geometry measurement unit configured to measure the geometry of the railway track; a visual inspection unit configured to determine the location and type of defects on the railway track; a handle (112) configured to enable the operator to move the trolley (116); a stand (114)configured to hold the components of the system ; a processing unit (114b) configured to analyse the data; a storage device (114c) configured to store the data processed by the processing unit (114b); a server is configured to receive the report generated by the processing unit (114b) for the railway authorities to take required steps to overcome defects on railway track; a power supply unit configured to supply power to components of the system ; and a switch (108a) configured to turn on/turn off the system . The components of the system are described herein detail:

[027] Trolley (116) - The present invention comprises of a trolley (116) positioned on a railway track configured to detect the condition of the railway track as the trolley (116) moves over the railway track. The trolley (116) comprises of a horizontal beam (111), a vertical beam (110), and an antenna bar (109). The trolley (116) includes locking mechanism to prevent the slippage of the trolley (116) from the railway track. In an exemplary embodiment, the trolley (116) employs spring that enables locking the system so as to avoid slippage as trolley (116) moves along the railway track. The trolley (116) also comprises of a lever that enables the operators for locking and unlocking the system from railway tracks. The trolley (116) further comprises of the following components:

[028] a) Geometry measurement unit- The geometry measurement unit is configured to measure the geometry parameters of the railway track. The geometry measurement unit includes a plurality of sensors (105, 106, 107, 102, 103) and a GPS receiver (104b). The sensors may include such as, but not limited to, a plurality of inertial sensors, a speed determining sensor (106), a distance determining sensor (106), vision sensor, laser sensor (103), gauge measuring sensor (107), or a combination thereof The components of the geometry measurement unit are described herein detail:

[029] i) a plurality of inertial measurement unit (105)- The inertial measuring units (105) are placed over the horizontal beam (111) of the trolley (116). The inertial measurement unit (105) further includes such as, but not limited to, accelerometers, gyroscopes, and magnetometers for measuring the parameters of the railway track such as twist, alignment, attitude angles of the railway track including pitch and roll.

[030] ii) a speed determining sensor (106)- The speed determining sensor (106) is positioned over a wheel of the trolley (116). The speed determining sensor (106) is configured to provide speed of the vehicle relative to the railway track.

[031] iii) a distance determining sensor (106)- The distance determining sector (106) are connected to the speed determining sensor (106) and positioned over the wheel of the trolley (116). The distance determining sensor (106) is configured to provide the data regarding the distance travelled by the trolley (116) from a starting point.

[032] iv) a GPS receiver (104b)- The GPS receiver (104b) is positioned over the vertical beam (110) of the trolley (116). The GPS module (104b) is configured to provide data regarding the position and orientation of the railway track.

[033] v) a gauge measuring sensor (107)- The gauge measuring sensor (107) is placed inside the horizontal beam (111) of the trolley (116). The gauge measuring sensor (107) is configured to provide gauge of the railway track.

[034] vi) a vision sensor (102)- The vision sensor (102) is placed over the horizontal beam (111) of the trolley (116). The vision sensor (102) comprises of a plurality of cameras arranged over the horizontal beam (111) of the trolley (116). The cameras are configured to measure the optical flow which may aid in determining local position of the trolley (116). In an exemplary embodiment, the cameras are arranged back to back in a series over the horizontal beam (111) of the trolley (116) facing forward and backward so as to capture images of the railway track and surroundings.

[035] vii) a laser sensor (103)- The laser sensor (103) is arranged on antenna bar (109) of the trolley (116). The laser sensors (103) emit laser light pulses and measuring the time taken by the reflected light to return to the laser sensor (103), thereby detecting the proximity of the railway track to the laser sensor (103). The laser sensor (103) forms point clouds i.e. set of data points in space representing a 3D shape of the object, thereby providing local position of the railway track.

[036] b) Visual inspection unit- The visual inspection unit is configured to determine the location and type of defects on the railway track. The visual inspection unit comprises of a plurality of image capturing device connected to a plurality of vision sensors, forming a single independent unit (101a-g); and a GPS receiver (104a). The image capturing devices are configured to capture image and/or video of the railway track. In an exemplary embodiment, the image capturing devices may include such as, but not limited to, a camera. The vision sensors analyse the images captured by the image capturing device so as to examine the railway track for the presence of defect.

[037] In an exemplary embodiment, the visual inspection unit comprises of at least seven image capturing devices connected to at least seven vision sensors to form seven independent units (101a-g). The first unit (101a), second unit (101b), and a third unit (101c) are placed facing downward on the front end of the vertical beam (110) to examine the right side of the railway track for missing fasteners, welds, railheads, bolts, etc. Similarly, the fourth unit (101d) is placed facing downward on front side of the horizontal beam (111) to examine the sleepers, etc. The fifth unit (101e), sixth unit (101f), and seventh unit (101g) are placed downward facing on the horizontal beam (111) to examine the left side of the railway track. The GPS receiver (104a) is positioned over the horizontal beam (111) of the trolley (116). The GPS receiver (104a) is configured to determine the location of the defects and/or anomaly detected by the visual inspection unit.

[038] c) Handle (112) - The handle (112) is connected to the trolley (116) that enables the operator to move the trolley (116).

[039] d) Stand (114) - The stand (114) is connected to the handle (112) to hold the components of the system .

[040] e) Processing Unit (114b) -The processing unit (114b) is placed on the stand (114). The processing unit (114b) is configured to analyse the data received data received from the geometry measurement unit and the visual inspection unit for measurement of geometry of railway track and detection of anomaly. . In an exemplary embodiment, the processing unit (114b) may be an embedded board.

[041] f) Storage device (114c) - The storage device (114c) is integrated inside the processing unit (114b). The storage device (114c) is configured to store the data processed by the processing unit (114b). In an exemplary embodiment, the storage device (114c) may be such as, but not limited to, a removable SD card.

[042] g) Display unit (114a) - The display unit (114a) is placed on the stand (114). The display unit (114a) is configured to display the information such as, but not limited to, the speed of the trolley (116), distance travelled by the trolley (116), the approaching kilometre (km) post and defects on the railway track. The display unit (114a) may be a touch screen, or may be connected to an input device such as but not limited to keyboard, or a combination thereof, thereby enabling the operator to manually enter information regarding the presence of the defects at a particular location of the railway track. In an exemplary embodiment, the display unit (114a) may include such as, but not limited to, LCD display.

[043] h) Server - The server is communicably coupled to the system to receive the report generated by the processing unit (114b). The server is maintained and monitored by Railway authorities at a railway designated location. The data in the report enables the railway authorities to take required steps in order to overcome the defects as mentioned in the report.

[044] i) Power supply unit (108)-The power supply (108) is connected to one end of the horizontal beam (111) via coupling connector assemblies, enabling integration, removal, and changing of the components. The power supply unit (108) is configured to supply power to the processing unit (114b), sensors of the geometry tracking unit and visual inspection unit, and other electrically powered components of the system . In an exemplary embodiment, the power supply may include a plurality of such as, but not limited to, batteries, fuel cells, solar cells, or a combination thereof placed inside the horizontal beam (111) of the trolley (116).

[045] j) Switch (108a) – The switch (108a) connected to the power supply unit (108). The switch (108a) is configured to turn on/off the system.

[046] In an embodiment, the laser sensors (103) and vision sensor (102) of the geometry measurement unit may be used in combination, providing enhanced accuracy in determining geometry of the railway track.

[047] In an embodiment, the processing unit (114b) is configured to evaluate geometry parameters such as, but not limited to, gauge, curvature, alignment variation, super elevation, cross level and cross level variation, top surface (left and right rail) and twist/warp.

[048] In another embodiment, the processing unit (114b) automatically detects the defects with trained artificial intelligence algorithms. Such algorithms are trained by training data for detection of the defects such as, but not limited to, vertical wear, rail head loss, missing rail fitting, rail fracture, weld fracture, missing elastic rail clip, etc.

[049] In another embodiment, as shown in Figure 2, the present invention relates to a method of operation of a trolley based system for monitoring railway tracks. The method comprises of the following steps:

a. turning on the system by an operator through a switch (108a) connected to a power supply unit (108);
b. moving of a trolley (116) over a railway track;
c. detecting geometry, position and orientation of the railway track by the geometry measurement unit of the system and detecting location and type of defects on the railway track by a visual inspection unit of the system ;

d. processing the data captured by the geometry measurement unit to evaluate geometry parameters and processing the data captured by visual inspection unit for detection of defects on the railway track;
e. comparing the data evaluated by the processing unit (114b) with the standard value of railway track parameters provided by the management authority to detect the deviations in geometry parameters of the railway track;
f. creating a report by the processing unit (114b) in the presence of deviations and defects on the railway track;
g. storing the processed data and report prepared by the processing unit (114b) in the storage device (114c);
h. displaying the data on the display unit (114a) of the system ;
i. sending the report to a server maintained by the railway authorities, thereby enabling the authorities to take required steps to overcome the defects mentioned the report.

[050] In an embodiment, the trolley (116) moves over the railway track manually with the help of the handle (112) connected to the trolley (116), enabling the users to push the trolley (116).

[051] In an embodiment, the geometry of the railway track is detected by the sensors of the geometry measurement unit. The sensors may include such as, but not limited to, a plurality of inertial measuring sensors, a speed determining sensor (106), a distance determining sensor (106), a vision sensor (102), a laser sensor (103), a gauge measuring sensor (107), or a combination thereof.

[052] In another embodiment, the position and orientation of the railway track is determined by the GPS receiver (104b) of the geometry measurement unit.

[053] In another embodiment, the laser sensors (103) and vision sensor (102) of the geometry measurement unit may be used in combination to provide enhanced accuracy in determining geometry of the railway track.

[054] In an embodiment, the defect is detected by a plurality of image capturing device connected to a plurality of vision sensors of the visual inspection unit, forming a single independent unit (101a-g). In an exemplary embodiment, the visual inspection unit comprises of at least seven image capturing devices connected to at least seven vision sensors, forming seven independent units (101a-g).

[055] In another embodiment, the location of the defect is detected by the GPS receiver (104a) of the visual inspection unit positioned over the horizontal beam (111) of the trolley (116).

[056] In another embodiment, the processing unit (114b) is configured to evaluate geometry parameters such as, but not limited to, gauge, curvature, alignment variation, super elevation, cross level and cross level variation, top surface (left and right rail) and twist/warp.

[057] In another embodiment, the processing unit (114b) automatically detects the defects with trained artificial intelligence algorithms. Such algorithms are trained by training data for detection of the defects such as, but not limited to, vertical wear, rail head loss, missing rail fitting, rail fracture, weld fracture, missing elastic rail clip, etc.

[058] In an embodiment, report includes data regarding the presence of deviations and defects along with the location of the defects, thereby enabling the authorities to identify the type and location of the defect and take requisite measures in order to overcome the defects.

[059] In an embodiment, the storage device (114c) is integrated in the processing unit (114b). The storage unit may be such as, but not limited to, a removable SD card.

[060] In an embodiment, the display unit (114a) is configured to display the data such as, but not limited to, the speed of the trolley (116), distance travelled by the trolley (116), the approaching km post and defects on the railway track. The display may be a touch screen, or may be connected to an input device such as but not limited to keyboard, enabling the operator to manually enter information regarding the presence of the defects at a particular location of the railway track, or a combination thereof. In an exemplary embodiment, the display unit (114a) may include such as, but not limited to, LCD display.

[061] In an embodiment, the trolley based system may be insulated, enabling the system to work in electrified sections.

[062] In another embodiment, the power supply unit (108) is configured to supply power to the processing units (114b), sensors of the geometry tracking unit and visual inspection unit, and other electrically powered components of the trolley (116). The power supply unit (108) may include a plurality of such as, but not limited to, batteries, fuel cells, solar cells, or a combination thereof.

[063] In an embodiment, as shown in Figure 3, the working of the geometry measurement unit involves calibrating sensors such as, but not limited to, location sensor, inertial sensor, speed and distance measuring sensor, visual unit, laser sensor (103) and gauge sensor. The sensors provide data regarding the geometry of the railway track and the location sensor capturing location coordinates which is further fed to the processing unit (114b) for evaluating data regarding geometry parameters of the railway tracks. The evaluated data is compared with the standard value of parameters of the railway track provided by the management authority fed to the processing unit (114b) to detect the deviations in geometry parameters of the railway track. The data processed by the processing unit (114b) and a report regarding deviation in geometry parameters of railway track is stored on the storage device (114c).

[064] In an embodiment, as shown in Figure 4, the working of visual inspection unit involves calibrating the image capturing module to capture the image and/or video of the railway track followed by turning on the location sensor configured to capture location coordinates that provides exact location of the anomaly on the railway track. The vision sensor of the visual Inspection unit generates point clouds i.e. set of data points in space representing a 3D shape of the object. The identification of the defects may be done by using artificial intelligence technology. The captured images and the point cloud is stored in the data set for training the system to get the more accuracy. The processing unit (114b) then analyse the captured image with previously stored images data sets, thereby determining the anomaly on the railway track. The data is then stored in the storing unit regarding the anomaly along with its location. In case of low severity of anomaly, the processing unit (114b) records the data along with the GPS coordinates. In case of severe anomaly, the processing unit (114b) sends an alert to the server and the system operator based on the data received from the visual Inspection unit.

[065] The present invention includes following advantages:

• The system of the present invention is compact, robust and capable of working continuously during the severe atmospheric and climatic conditions.
• The system of the present invention is water resistant and dust proof, enabling the detection of anomaly in harsh environment of dust, vibration, shock, rain, wind and fog, which are normally encountered on railways.
• The present invention is involves easy removal and installation of the trolley from the railway track by one or two people.
• The trolley used in the present invention is compact, light weighted frame structure that may easy be carried by one or two people.
, Claims:WE CLAIM:
1. A trolley-based system for monitoring railway tracks and method for operation thereof, comprising:
a trolley (116) positioned on a railway track, comprising a horizontal beam (111), a vertical beam (110), and an antenna bar (109);
a geometry measurement unit configured to measure the geometry of the railway track, comprising:
a plurality of inertial measurement unit (105) placed over horizontal beam (111) of the trolley (116);
a speed determining sensor (106) positioned over a wheel of the trolley (116); a distance determining sensor (106) connected to the speed determining sensor (106) is positioned over the wheel of the trolley (116);
a GPS receiver (104b) positioned over the vertical beam (110) of the trolley (116);
a gauge measuring sensor (107) placed inside the horizontal beam (111) of the trolley (116);
a vision sensor (102) is placed over the horizontal beam (111) of the trolley (116);
a laser sensor (103) arranged on the antenna bar (109) of the trolley (116);
a visual inspection unit configured determine location and type of defects on the railway track, comprising a plurality of image capturing device connected to a plurality of vision sensors, forming a single independent unit (101a-g) and a GPS receiver (104a);
a handle (112) connected to the trolley (116), said handle (112) enables the operator to move the trolley (116);
a stand(114) connected to the handle (112), said stand (114) is configured to hold the components of the system ;
a processing unit (114b) placed on stand (114), said processing unit (114b) is configured to analyse the data received from the geometry measurement unit and the visual inspection unit for measurement of geometry of railway track and detection of anomalies and prepare report in case of any anomaly on the railway track;
a storage device (114c) integrated inside the processing unit (114b), said storage device (114c) is configured to the data processed by the processing unit (114b).
a display unit (114a) is placed on the stand (114), said display unit (114a) is configured to display information;
a server communicably coupled to the system and maintained by Railway authorities at a railway designated location, said server is configured to receive the report generated by the processing unit (114b) so as to enable railway authorities to take required steps in order to overcome the defects mentioned in the report;
a power supply unit (108) connected to one end of the horizontal beam (111) via coupling connector assemblies, said power supply unit (108) is configured to the processing unit (114b), sensors of the geometry tracking unit and visual inspection unit, and other electrically powered components of the system ; and
a switch (108a) connected to the power supply unit (108), said switch (108a) is configured to turn on/off the system .
2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inertial measurement unit (105) includes such as, but not limited to, accelerometers, gyroscopes, and magnetometers for measuring the parameters of railway track such as twist, alignment, track attitude angles including pitch and roll.
3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the visual inspection unit comprises of at least seven image capturing devices connected to at least seven vision sensors, forming seven independent units (101a-g) wherein the first unit (101a), second unit (101b), and a third unit (101c) are placed facing downward on the front end of the vertical beam (110) to examine the right side of the railway track for missing fasteners, welds, railheads, bolts; fourth unit (101d) is placed facing downward on front side of the horizontal beam (111) to examine the sleepers, etc.; and fifth unit (101e), sixth unit (101f), and seventh unit (101g) are placed downward facing on the horizontal beam (111) to examine the left side of the railway track.
4. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing unit (114b) is an embedded board.
5. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the storage device (114c) is a removable SD card.
6. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the display unit (114a) is configured to display the information such as, but not limited to, the speed of the trolley (116), distance travelled by the trolley (116), the approaching kilometre (km) post and defects on the railway track.
7. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing unit (114b) is configured to evaluate geometry parameters such as, but not limited to, gauge, curvature, alignment variation, super elevation, cross level and cross level variation, top surface (left and right rail) and twist/warp.
8. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing unit (114b) automatically detects the defects with artificial intelligence algorithms trained by training data including such as, but not limited to, vertical wear, rail head loss, missing rail fitting, rail fracture, weld fracture, missing elastic rail clip, etc.
9. A method for operation of trolley based system for monitoring railway tracks, comprising the steps:
a. turning on the system by an operator via a switch (108a) connected to a power supply unit (108);
b. moving of a trolley (116) over a railway track;
c. detecting geometry, position and orientation of the railway track by the geometry measurement unit of the system and detecting location and type of defects on the railway track by a visual inspection unit of the system ;
d. processing the data captured by the geometry measurement unit to evaluate geometry parameters and processing the data captured by visual inspection unit for detection of defects on the railway track;
e. comparing the data evaluated by the processing unit (114b) with the standard value of railway track parameters provided by the management authority to detect the deviations in geometry parameters of the railway track;
f. creating a report by the processing unit (114b) in the presence of deviations and defects on the railway track;
g. storing the processed data and report prepared by the processing unit (114b) in the storage device (114c);
h. displaying the data on the display unit (114a) of the system ;
i. sending the report to a server maintained by the railway authorities, thereby enabling the authorities to take required steps to overcome the defects mentioned the report.

10. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the geometry measurement unit detects the geometry of the railway track by sensors including such as, but not limited to, a plurality of inertial measuring sensors, a speed determining sensor (106), a distance determining sensor (106), a vision sensor (102), a laser sensor (103), a gauge measuring sensor (107), or a combination thereof.

11. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the geometry measurement unit detects position and orientation of the railway track by a GPS receiver (104b).

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the visual inspection unit detects the defect by a plurality of image capturing device connected to a plurality of vision sensors of the visual inspection unit, forming a single independent unit.

13. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the visual inspection unit detects location of the defect by a GPS receiver (104a).

14. The method as claimed in claim 11, the report includes data regarding the presence of deviations and defects along with the location of the defects, thereby enabling the authorities to identify the type and location of the defect and take requisite measures in order to overcome the defects.

15. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the display unit is configured to display the data such as, but not limited to, the speed of the trolley (116), distance travelled by the trolley (116), the approaching kilometre (km) post and defects on the railway track.