The Transcomp trackside passenger-counting system from Eres Industrie comprises a laser transmitter unit and a counting unit installed on existing signalling or electrification masts facing each other across the track. Programmed with the operating timetable for the route in question and equipped with trackside vibration detectors, the equipment scans passing trains using Class 2 lasers that are harmless to the eye.
The output of photoelectric sensor diodes is processed on the opposite side of the track by the counting unit, which compares it with pre-programmed data on train compositions and the configuration of coach interiors to determine which obstacles encountered by the laser beams are passengers.
Oblique signals are also analysed to determine where passengers are sitting in rows, and historic data on train occupancy is used to assess if areas ’invisible’ to the lasers are likely to be occupied or not. In trials conducted on SNCF, the Transcomp system achieved its best accuracy rating of 84% with a second class Corail coach when this was 60% full. The final passenger count is downloaded to be viewed on a PC using Windows software.
Eres Industrie
Lyon, France
Reader Enquiry Number 140
