Digital in-cab signalling is being rolled out across the network and digital solutions are showing their potential in both public facing and behind the scenes applications. Many of these innovations rely on the availability of good quality data, people who understand how to utilise this data, and organisations that enable the use of data and digital technologies. We imagine the railway of the future – digital signalling and control with assets full of smart sensors feeding data towards AI systems, optimising operations and maintenance. This will create a railway which delivers more for its customers and is fully integrated in the wider transport system.
Today there are many initiatives to support our railways entering the Digital Decade. Those include the creation of the Rail Data Marketplace for better data sharing and access. The Rail Technical Strategy offers a future technologies roadmap outlined in the five Functional Priorities, and UKRRIN’s Centre of Excellence for Digital Systems supports cutting-edge research and development in this field, not to mention the plethora of expertise and experience in our supply chain.
All these and many more initiatives align with the wider Government ambitions and strategies around data, Artificial Intelligence and cyber security. RIA’s report – Data & Digital Technologies in Rail, imagines the railway of the future – full of smart sensors feeding information into data lakes for AI systems to optimise maintenance and operations. A railway fit for its users and fully integrated in the wider transport system.