Kyiv, 7 May 2025 — The Conference Non-Destructive Testing in the Railway Industry — 2025 took place, showcasing promising solutions in rail and rolling stock components testing.
Kyiv, 7 May 2025 — The Conference Non-Destructive Testing in the Railway Industry — 2025 took place, showcasing promising solutions in rail and rolling stock components testing. The event brought together specialists from manufacturing companies and railway and metro enterprises in Ukraine, as well as the E.O. Paton Electric Welding Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. The organiser was the OKOndt GROUP, with its member companies Ultracon-Service LLC, Prompylad LLC and PJSC Ukrainian Institute for NDT.
Tetiana Lutsenko, CEO of OKOndt GROUP, opened the conference
Equipment for high-speed rail testing
One of the key topics at the Conference was the use of a high-speed, non-destructive rail testing System — the OKOSCAN 73HS/MS, manufactured by Promprylad LLC. This System effectively detects defects in both rails of a railway track simultaneously. Projects using this System have been successfully implemented on urban rail networks and railways around the world, including in the USA, Turkey, Singapore, Brazil and India.
In his report, Volodymyr Mishchenko (ULTRACON-SERVICE LLC) spoke about the capabilities of the OKOSCAN 73HS/MS System. According to Mishchenko, it conducts ultrasonic testing (UT) of rails at speeds of up to 40 km/h, enabling prompt track inspection without stopping rail traffic. Additionally, the OKOSCAN 73HS System can integrate rail flaw detector trolleys for eddy current testing (ET) and rail geometry testing equipment (TG).
An example of the integration of ultrasonic and rail geometry testing methods in a single System gave an example by Anastasiia Pareniuk (Promprylad LLC): the OKOSCAN 73HS UT+TG. The speaker presented the System's design, emphasising its versatility and its ability to be installed under a wagon or railcar or as a trailer for a road-rail vehicle.
Anastasiia Pareniuk, a technologist at Promprylad LLC, is speaking
Handheld trolleys for non-destructive testing (NDT) of rails
Oleksandr Ivko (Promprylad LLC) introduced Conference participants to the characteristics and capabilities of the Double Rail UDS2-73 and Single Rail UDS2-77 flaw detectors, which are used for ultrasonic rail testing. These devices can detect internal defects across the entire rail profile, excluding the rail foot flanges. Ultrasonic transducer sensors can be installed as sliding blocks or immersion wheels.
Report by Oleksandr Ivko, Technologist at Promprylad LLC
In his report, Illya Kyrylenko (ULTRACON-SERVICE LLC) presented two eddy current flaw detectors: the dual-rail ETS2-73 and the single-rail ETS2-77. These detectors allow for the effective detection of surface cracks in the rail head, as well as the assessment of their depth and, consequently, whether the rail can be repaired.
Risk Management in Rail Inspection
Denis Halanenko (PJSC Ukrainian Institute for NDT) gave a presentation on risk-oriented engineering and a three-stage rail inspection system. This involves:
- Detection of rail defects using an automated high-speed testing System, such as the OKOSCAN 73HS.
- Local inspection of detected defects using a handheld trolley's flaw detector.
- Additional defect monitoring can be carried out using portable devices, such as ultrasonic flaw detector and eddy current flaw detector .
According to Denis Halanenko, this systematic approach enables effective risk management during rail NDT and reduces the likelihood of accidents.
In his speech, Yurii Posypaiko (E.O. Paton Electric Welding Institute) emphasised the need to organise the training and certification of NDT specialists in centres that are fully equipped with the necessary training and certification samples. Examples of such centres include the Ultracon-Service Training Center and the Personnel Certification Body for NDT, based at PJSC Ukrainian Institute for NDT. The formalisation of certificate issuance, a practice adopted by many other centres, has a negative impact on the qualifications of NDT specialists and, consequently, the quality of NDT.
Yurii Posypaiko's speech
Exhibition of NDT equipment
An exhibition of equipment from the OKOndt GROUP manufacturing companies — ULTRACON-SERVICE LLC and Promprylad LLC — was held in the exhibition hall during the Conference. All equipment models presented by the Сonference speakers were on display. Visitors had the opportunity to inspect and test each device independently and receive expert advice from a technologist representing the manufacturing company.
In the OKOndt GROUP exhibition hall
Trolley with ultrasonic wheels of the OKOSCAN 73HS System
Conclusion
The Conference, Non-Destructive Testing in the Railway Industry - 2025, emphasised the leading role of Ukrainian companies in developing innovative non-destructive testing equipment, and also paved the way for their future collaboration with railway and metro enterprises.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the Conference participants and suggest that we continue the tradition of holding such events regularly.
