By Martin Vallance, Director of Digital Asset Management, Egis UK
In recent months, reports have emerged that rail operators in the UK are looking to implement plans to close ‘most’ station ticket offices. It is claimed that the move comes in response to the adoption of digital ticketing with official data revealing that just 12 per cent of passengers still use a ticket office. Clearly technology is playing a transformative role at the customer interface – but what of the modernisation in understanding performance, uniting services, and upgrading assets?
Debate on the role of Artificial intelligence across industries continues to grow, and it undoubtedly has a very important role to play in the management, operations and maintenance of assets within rail. At Egis, we have been experimenting and using digital twins for many years, but the digitisation and evolution of our systems are set to only increase alongside the sector at large.
A marvel of the Victorian age, railways are not so frequently associated with cutting-edge data modelling and Artificial Intelligence. However, putting digital asset management front and centre of a long-term approach and ensuring there is a comprehensive digital asset management strategy in place can help address the big challenges the industry is facing.
We must utilise intelligent data and systems to make better, more informed decisions about the rail network in its entirety. Timetabling and ticketing may have been changed by waves of digitalisation but there is a less visible side of a vibrant rail network that can be reshaped by the benefits of more digitalisation and data.
In practice, this means future proofing assets by increasing the amount of critical data that is gathered across all parts of the rail network. This is vital to track trends, support more efficient future planning, and find cost savings that will help safeguard and improve the long-term performance of infrastructure.
There is also an important sustainability dimension to improved digital asset management. By more effectively developing the collection of data on carbon emissions and streamlining data sets, the journey to net zero will be more measurable and achievable, all whilst customers experience a more reliable and efficient service.
Businesses including Egis are experienced at delivering not just in the UK but across the globe in this area. By using expertise in Rail Infrastructure engineering, Rail data and Digital Transformation Programs in a multitude of countries, we have played a part in confronting major modernisation challenges in rail. In August, Egis was awarded a pivotal four-year project to support Irish Rail in vastly modernising the existing Signalling, Electrical, and Telecommunications (SET) systems in Cork. This landmark initiative is set to greatly improve the railway network in the region, helping facilitate a modal shift from car to rail travel.
Yet, in seeing more widespread adoption of modernisation technologies, strengthening the future of railways, one of the most challenging elements of delivery continues to relate to organisational structures and budgetary constraints.
Great British Railways, first touted in 2021 by former Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, promised to revolutionise the UK’s rail network with a less-fragmented approach to infrastructure delivery and management. The ambition was to deliver a longer-term approach to rail delivery and bring the
many divergent components of the sector such as track, trains, stations and importantly, technology, all under one roof.
Two years on and work on Great British Railway’s long-term strategy for rail continues. Increasing productivity, creating long-term growth across regions and decarbonising transportation all hinge upon the viability and efficiency of rail infrastructure.
The possibilities delivered by digital asset management are significant and the positives are clear to see. It is through this technology that the country can deliver infrastructure through a means that is efficient and lasts for generations. But the sector must be empowered to make these longer-term investment decisions to deliver the technology needed to support digital asset management.
Seizing the opportunities that digital asset management offers the future of rail will be essential in the coming years. And the UK has the requisite skills, talent and technology to realise its potential. The work of companies such as ours, our peers, the Government and the industry at large must embrace the role of technology and go ‘full steam ahead’.
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