Railway tunnel inspections are classified into initial, general, individual and occasional types. The standard maintenance and control procedure for railway tunnels is shown in Figure 1. Among these, general inspections are periodically executed every two years to identify any deformation and the status of its progression by means of visual inspection and hammer testing. Therefore, such inspections are highly resource-intensive in terms of time and effort. However, many railway companies are now facing a high rate of retirement among their skilled engineers and a reduction in the number of staff with sufficient knowledge of tunnel technologies. Accordingly, there is a strong need for a method to perform inspections effectively while also ensuring safety.
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