CableGuardian Enables Advanced Asset Management – Network Rail Wales & Western Region
April 7, 2026
Network Rail Wales & Western Region partnered with Viper Innovations to transform signalling power supply monitoring across the 650V network using CableGuardian. This collaboration enables teams to monitor, predict, and prevent failures, improving safety, reliability, efficiency, and long-term asset sustainability while reducing maintenance costs and service disruptions.
The Challenge: Modernising Maintenance of Critical Signalling Power Supplies
Signalling power supplies are critical railway assets, with failures causing serious service disruption and safety risks. Traditional maintenance relied on manual, invasive testing every five years, exposing staff to high-voltage work and causing operational delays.
Network Rail aimed to:
- Shift from reactive to proactive, risk-based maintenance
- Reduce service interruptions caused by unexpected signalling power failures
- Enable data-driven asset management to support long-term sustainability
The Viper Solution: CableGuardian for Continuous Monitoring and Early Fault Detection
Network Rail Wales & Western Region implemented CableGuardian to provide real-time visibility across the 650V signalling power network, replacing manual, invasive maintenance practices. The system was deployed in a Tier 2 fixed configuration across key feeders, continually monitoring insulation resistance, capacitance, voltage, and current across dozens of kilometres of cables and switchgear.
To enable rapid fault localization, portable Tier 1 CableGuardian units were available for deployment wherever the Tier 2 data indicated potential issues. This approach allowed engineers to:
- Quickly identify low insulation resistance trends and isolate suspect feeder sections
- Measure insulation resistance from 1 kΩ to 10 MΩ for high-resolution insights
- Pinpoint faults to individual cables, joints, or switchgear, reducing network investigation from entire feeders to precise sections
- Safely collect data without exposing staff to high-voltage work
The combination of Tier 2 fixed monitoring and portable Tier 1 units created a flexible, responsive monitoring system, enabling the local maintenance team, supported by Viper Innovations’ technical experts, to act on data-driven insights in real time.
Future Potential / Strategic Asset Management:
Beyond immediate interventions, CableGuardian provides strategic insights for long-term asset management. Engineers can now predict component lifecycles, plan targeted renewals, and optimize the reliability and sustainability of the 650V network. The system’s high-resolution monitoring allows Network Rail to transition from large-scale reactive maintenance to pinpointed, proactive interventions, reducing cost and operational risk across multiple control periods.
Through this strategic deployment, CableGuardian provides unprecedented operational intelligence, enabling both immediate interventions and long-term planning for asset reliability, safety, and efficiency.
Results & Benefits: Improved Safety, Reliability, and Operational Efficiency
The CableGuardian deployment delivered measurable benefits:
- Early detection and prevention of multiple service-affecting failures
- Tens of thousands of delay minutes avoided
- Operational and maintenance cost savings in hundreds of thousands of pounds
- Reduced risk for staff through non-invasive monitoring of 650V systems
- Improved network reliability and performance, preventing major signalling power failures
- Agile, low-cost fault intervention using Tier 2 + portable Tier 1 approach
- Long-term sustainability enabled by predictive maintenance, strategic asset planning, and targeted component renewal
CableGuardian enables engineers to trend insulation resistance from 1 kΩ to 10 MΩ, providing the data needed for proactive maintenance and early intervention before failure.
Network Rail Commented:
The CableGuardian units we have installed so far are already proving their worth and have helped to proactively identify system issues before they become service affecting. The system’s capability has allowed us to amend our maintenance practices and, in the future, once fully deployed, fundamentally change the way that we manage and renew our 650V lineside power assets.
Phil Stanley, Regional Asset Manager (Fixed Plant)
Intelligence installed in Action
The collaboration between Network Rail Wales & Western Region and Viper Innovations demonstrates how intelligence installed can transform signalling power supply management. By combining CableGuardian’s advanced monitoring capabilities with expert insight, the teams have moved from reactive, high-risk maintenance to proactive, data-driven decision-making. Potential failures are detected and addressed long before they impact operations, reducing service disruptions, improving safety for staff, and saving significant operational and maintenance costs.
Beyond these immediate benefits, CableGuardian provides a foundation for strategic, long-term asset management: the data allows predictive maintenance, accurate component lifecycle planning, and targeted interventions, helping to optimize the reliability, sustainability, and performance of the 650V network for years to come. This partnership ensures operational resilience today while setting a new standard for future-proofing rail infrastructure across the UK, demonstrating the full value of intelligence installed in action.