Mobile LiDAR Survey – Amtrak Hudson Line

Poughkeepsie, New York

Amtrak, in coordination with the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), contracted Michael Baker to provide continuous Mobile LiDAR surveys on its Hudson Line to support engineering designs and a future Referencing Track System (RTS).

Michael Baker performed Mobile LiDAR data collection along nearly 188 miles of north and southbound tracks for Amtrak’s Hudson Line using one of its four Teledyne-Optech LYNX SG1 Mobile Mapper survey-grade systems mounted to an FRA-certified Hi-Rail truck. Mobile LiDAR collections were performed during two deployments to eliminate impacts from normal rail operations and other ongoing track maintenance programs, while  allowing sufficient lead time for conventional survey crews to establish ground control and check-shots along the corridor. Both collection sessions occurred during daylight hours to enable the additional capture of high-resolution spherical imagery and were completed within Amtrak-allotted timeslots.

Conventionl survey and LiDAR collections were positionally enhanced using NYSDOT’s 0.5 second NYSNET CORS data. The resulting LiDAR point cloud was constrained to a conventionally-surveyed ground control network which consisted of approximately 630 control points.

The Mobile LiDAR survey yielded full topographic mapping and digital terrain models (DTM). Features shown in the mapping included visible utilities, signals, poles, signs, top of tracks, buildings, breaklines, spot elevations, platforms, clearances, drainage ditches, drainage structures, drainage inverts, waters’ edge, rock outcrop, fences, drag detectors, concrete slabs or pads, sidewalks, paved roads and unpaved roads.