PRO-RIM

Precise and Robust GNSS Receiver for Rail Infrastructure Maintenance

PRO-RIM is an EU-funded project led by ANavS, focusing on the development of a precise, robust and trustworthy positioning solution for railway infrastructure maintenance.

The project aims to improve the reliability of positioning data and enable accurate, traceable documentation of maintenance activities on railway tracks. By combining advanced GNSS technologies, sensor fusion and digital railway maps, PRO-RIM will support more efficient and transparent infrastructure maintenance operations.

Building on ANavS’s existing A-ROX mPOM system, the project will further develop a proven railway positioning solution with enhanced accuracy, integrity and operational reliability.

Project Objectives

The main objective of PRO-RIM is to develop and validate an advanced positioning system that reliably determines where railway maintenance machines operate and links their activities to specific tracks and kilometre positions.

The project focuses on four key technological developments:

1. High-Precision GNSS Positioning and Sensor Fusion: PRO-RIM combines GNSS measurements with inertial sensors and odometry to deliver accurate and continuous positioning information. By integrating Galileo’s High Accuracy Service (HAS), the system will support precise positioning even across large geographical areas.

2. Robust and Trustworthy Positioning: An adaptive positioning engine will automatically switch between Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) and Precise Point Positioning (PPP), depending on the availability and quality of correction data. Galileo’s Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA) will support the authentication of navigation messages, while an integrity monitoring module will assess positioning reliability and detect potentially degraded or anomalous measurements.

3. Digital Railway Map Integration: PRO-RIM will integrate digital railway maps into the positioning process to associate maintenance machines with specific railway tracks and kilometre positions. Map matching will improve the interpretation of positioning data and enable maintenance activities to be accurately linked to the relevant railway infrastructure. The system will also accommodate different railway map formats and reference systems used by infrastructure operators across countries.

4. Traceable Maintenance Documentation: Accurate positioning information will be combined with detected machine activities to generate reliable, time-stamped maintenance records. This will help railway operators and maintenance providers document where and when maintenance activities were performed and associate the results with the corresponding infrastructure.

Validation Under Real Operating Conditions

Five PRO-RIM prototypes will be installed and validated on railway maintenance machines under real operating conditions.

The validation activities will assess positioning accuracy, reliability, system integration and the ability to generate traceable maintenance records.

The results will support the further development of ANavS’s A-ROX mPOM technology for railway infrastructure maintenance.

ANavS Technology – A-ROX mPOM

PRO-RIM builds on ANavS’s established A-ROX mPOM system, which combines high-precision GNSS positioning with inertial measurements, odometry and machine activity detection.

The project will extend the existing technology through Galileo HAS and OSNMA integration, enhanced positioning integrity, rail map matching and advanced maintenance reporting capabilities.

Discover more about A-ROX mPOM.