Investigation of the RUFRIS method with GNSS and total station for leveling

The establishment of leveling benchmarks for performing geodetic measurements, for instance in construction works, is usually costly and laborious due to a mass of field works in transferring the height from nearby known benchmarks. In this study, a real-time updated free station (RUFRIS) method is investigated to be used as an alternative approach for the traditional leveling. The coordinates of a RUFRIS station are determined by establishing a total station on the point, and performing a free-station by observing some points with both Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) GNSS and total station distance and direction observations. The study is conducted based on data from the East Link project in Sweden, where a 150 km long high-speed railway is to be constructed. The results show a standard deviation of 7 mm between the RUFRIS and leveling heights in this project and imply the feasibility of replacing the traditional leveling methods with RUFRIS in projects with low accessibility to benchmarks.