Track condition monitoring and component assessment is of high importance for the railway system. It forms the basis for maintenance planning and thus enables for guaranteeing a high track quality. A wide variety of technologies are used to describe track condition being continuously improved. The LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) technology is not yet a key part of the applied measurement methods but provides great potential. This paper analyses the boundary conditions and system properties of the LiDAR technology. Based on the findings, a potential analysis of the LiDAR technology for evaluating the condition of the extended track and in particular of ditches is carried out. For this purpose, a methodology is developed describing different factors of the extended track. It is further verified with GPR (ground-penetrating radar) data and in-situ observations. The correlation analysis between the GPR data and the LiDAR assessments shows slight correlations only. The observation of condition development over time for specific track sections shows that the LiDAR assessment method provides reliable and plausible results.