The New Era of Intelligent Transport

At a time when transport operators and infrastructure managers are increasingly required to do more with less, there’s a lot of industry talk about intelligent transport.

While the term may conjure up images of a near-future world full of autonomous vehicles, the reality is that we are already living in the age of smart mobility. Transport leaders are moving from reactive decision making to pro-active planning, utilising data-driven rail technology to gain richer insights into how to make their operations more efficient, safer, and more cost-effective.

For example, tap in, tap out ticketing technology is becoming increasingly common on passenger rail networks in the UK as a way to both improve the customer experience and gain valuable journey data for planning and revenue analysis. ‘Pay As You Go’ rail journeys swiftly became the fastest selling rail product when introduced by Transport for Wales (TfW) in South Wales in late 2024; the operator plans to roll out the technology to North Wales this year.

Passengers benefit from easier travel – no more fussing with paper tickets or QR codes – and getting the best value fare for every journey. Rail networks benefit from a digital system that provides a clear view of passenger movements and delivers a constant stream of ticketing data that can be used for actionable operational insights, such as tracking dwell times and understanding how fare changes impact on ridership as well as revenue.

Remote Condition Monitoring (RCM): Tried-and-tested rail technology

Predictive data-driven mobility is also transforming rail maintenance; Remote Condition Monitoring (RCM) technology is enabling infrastructure managers to improve asset performance and reliability. RCM has been used for over 20 years in numerous industries world-wide, including industrial manufacturing, agriculture, and transportation. In rail, RCM involves installing data loggers across power, track and signalling assets to deliver a constant stream of accurate, reliable, and real-time condition data. This data feeds into sophisticated rail software which brings clarity to asset monitoring, enabling engineers to discover and resolve issues before they escalate, reducing the likelihood of malfunctions, and optimising the performance of assets over their lifetime. Tracsis has been working in partnership with rail operators and infrastructure managers to deliver RCM rail technology solutions for more than 15 years. We have monitored 115,000 rail assets, utilising 25,000 data loggers, to record a staggering 132 billion asset events.

Our RCM solutions brings all asset monitoring together into one view from a single software dashboard, so engineering teams can make faster, better informed decisions. The connected ecosystem enables confident decision-making, swifter response times, safer operations, and measurable savings.

Intelligent transport in motion: Dispatch rail technology

Intelligent transport solutions are also having a transformative impact on rail dispatch, an operational sector long plagued with configuration and integration issues.

Enabling safe, efficient rail dispatch while managing infrastructure restrictions and ensuring track worker safety is a delicate juggling act made more challenging by outdated tools and time-consuming manual processes.

As a result, many rail operators lack a comprehensive picture of the vulnerabilities within their dispatch systems. If there is a failure, they have little idea how long it will take to resolve or what the lasting repercussions will be from both a safety and a cost perspective.

Integrated Computer-Aided Dispatch systems are giving dispatchers and rail operators greater real time visibility over their networks while also enforcing consistent rule sets that increase safe train movements. Features such as automated routing, PTC-aligned rule compliance, and conflict detection are making it easier to keep trains running efficiently and to prevent safety incidents.

The Tracsis Dispatch platform, delivered via the Tracsis Domain Operations Controller (DOC) software application, allows for the centralised control of all rail movement activities on CTC, PTC, and dark territory track. The DOC system supports multiple industry standard rule sets and can be configured to support numerous rule sets simultaneously. Customer-specific custom rule sets can also be added.All functions of the Tracsis Dispatch system are initiated from a single user-friendly interface, providing seamless integration with other back-office systems. The system provides secure remote desktop access for authorised personnel from any location with internet connection; and it's possible to restrict control over what actions specific users can perform for additional security.

The system is installed via on-site servers in a rail network’s data centre or as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) hosted solution.

Intelligent transport: a pro-active approach

Recent advancements in automation, the Internet of Things (IoT) and big data, combined with the rise of AI, have accelerated the rate of change. However, despite a significant technological and cultural shift, many rail operators and infrastructure managers continue to struggle with legacy systems which do not support a pro-active approach.

There is no overhead transparency; when something goes wrong, drilling down into the details is a painstaking, lengthy process. This results in disruptions and delays, compliance issues, higher costs, safety risks, and chronic, ongoing inefficiencies.

The time and cost involved to integrate new rail technology into old systems is the challenge discouraging rail operators and infrastructure managers from embracing more connected, pro-active processes. However, standing still is not an option. The airport industry has so far led the way in intelligent transport, replacing outdated legacy systems with connected operations; the global rail industry is now following suit.

We are already moving towards smarter, pro-active rail networks; it’s only a matter of time before mind-sets catch up with rail technology.

Predictive data-driven mobility isn’t the future – it starts today. Discover how your organisation can benefit.