The savings that will be achieved for rail operators through increased business optimization and efficiency via big data can justify the initial investment, which many operators are hesitant to make.
Needless to say, big data can offer big help for rail operators in many ways, including keeping the rail system safe as well as enhancing management efficiency. However, a lot of operators are still hesitant to make relevant investment due to various factors, the biggest of which is finding the budget to support it. With railway budgets allocated primarily to staffing, upgrades, and repairs of trains and tracks, it’s difficult for operators to find additional money for new technologies.
“The rail industry is typically very slow to adopt new technology when compared to other transport systems, such as aviation. While we see huge opportunities for technology to make rail safer and more secure, we accept that this may not happen for a few years due to purchasing processes in this industry,” said Adlan Hussain, VP of Marketing at CNL Software.
But looking from another perspective, the savings that will be achieved through increased business optimization and efficiency can justify the initial investment. “Cash-strapped railway operators can justify this investment by focusing on the business data that systems like video analytics can provide. By collecting data on when and how staff and customers move through the station, managers can optimize the station’s processes and services. These technologies can deliver significant return on investment by also reducing theft and damages, allowing station security to predict and pre-empt criminal activity before it takes place,” said James Somerville-Smith, Channel Marketing Leader, EMEA, Honeywell Security & Fire.
Indeed, many rail operators have seen their business optimized due to the effective use of data. Trenitalia, Italy’s main rail service provider, for example has used IBM’s solution to perform in-depth analysis of customer data to deliver a more personalized service. “They achieved 67 percent faster time-to-market for new services through automated service configuration capabilities, 5 percent revenue increase through more targeted and appealing offers, and 5 percent cost reduction for application maintenance through lower application development costs,” said Keith W. Dierkx, Global Industry Leader for Rail at IBM.
Maintenance, meanwhile, is another costly and labor-intensive effort. More and more, rail operators rely on data collected from various sensors and devices to save on related cost and manpower.
“For example, in the Netherlands, a Dutch railway company named ProRail is using drones to capture images of the switch point heating systems on its track in order to check if they are operating correctly and avoid sending personnel out,” said Michael Wilson, managing director of Transit and Tolling Services for North America at Accenture. “And in Germany, drones are being used to combat graffiti-spraying gangs in order to avoid graffiti removal, which costs (German rail company) Deutsche Bahn 7.6 million euros a year. In the U.S., the LA Metro uses sensors to monitor for environment issues, such as methane levels in tunnels.”