Digital rail solutions are more vital than ever

From cybersecurity measures designed to safeguard rail systems against digital threats to services such as data analytics and digital twins for predictive maintenance, cutting-edge digital solutions for the global rail industry are more vital than ever before. Here’s how one system integrator is fulfilling this demand.

The rail sector faces several challenges, including ageing infrastructure, cybersecurity threats targeting critical systems, and pressure to reduce its carbon footprint while adapting to strict environmental regulations. A self-described ‘next-gen technology leader’, Eviden specialises in advanced computing, security, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud and digital platforms for a vast range of industries. Rail is a key sector for the company says Michael Todorovitsch - head of expert sales, transportation and logistics – as he walks me round Eviden’s sizeable booth at Europe’s largest rail show, Innotrans 2024.

“Our main focus is on big data,” he explains. “Of course, if you’re talking about big data then you need to mention analytics, security, and last but not least, AI. Today, we’re showing five different demo corners displaying the selected offerings we have especially for the rail industry, though our complete portfolio is much bigger.”

MISSION-CRITICAL COMMUNICATION

As a system integrator, the company is working to build the bridge towards the Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS) through its MCX, IWF, Dispatcher, Geolocation Server, TOBA and Railway applications.

Newly announced at the show, Luxembourg National Rail Company (CFL) has integrated many of these solutions to modernise its existing GSM-R command and control room network and maximise the safety and operational efficiency of its railway operations. Due to be fully operational by the end of 2026, this is one of the first commercial MCx projects in Europe deployed by a railway company and a first step towards FRCMS, which is regarded as the future international wireless standard for railway communications and applications.

The solution chosen by CFL is based on an innovative, standardised 3GPP solution for railway enhancement. Eviden’s team of experts adapted this technology to CFL’s needs, ensuring that the MCx system interoperates with the PBX, Wi-Fi, 4G/5G MNOs and GSMR. The solution integrates the Lifelink solution which includes the MCx application suite, cyber security, a voice recorder and a dispatching system.

“It’s all about cybersecurity, this is one of our superpowers,” says Todorovitsch. “Worldwide, we are rated in second place for cybersecurity services. Our rail-specific solutions include a network switch developed with Swedish company Westermo to which all the object controllers from digital interlocking systems are connected. In the next five to 10 years, quantum computing will be so advanced that it will break current encryption algorithms. If the algorithms are broken on current devices, the whole switch needs to be replaced, which is very expensive when you consider there are thousands of these on the tracks. So, we developed a crypto-agile switch which has a replaceable SD card with a full encryption algorithm, meaning just the SD card would need replacing if the algorithms were broken in future.”

Also announced at the show was a new tender with long-standing partner RATP to equip the latter’s new MF19 metro trains and TW20 tramways with Eviden’s TETRA radio communication systems between the line’s Centralised Control Station (CCS) and the various rolling stocks. The solution will play a pivotal role in modernising RATP’s existing embedded radio systems, ensuring their long-term viability as they increasingly demand greater computing power for voice/data and safety/security services, while requiring minimal onboard space.

DATA-DRIVEN ANALYTICS

Another key aspect of Eviden’s rail offering on display is its Computer Vision Platform (CVP), designed for real-time and post-event monitoring. Equipped with global technology patents and advanced AI, the CVP can be tailored to suit various use cases, verticals and specific customer needs. The end-to-end AI-powered video analytics solution delivers precise object tracking, robust alarm triggering and tailored object classification to enable enhanced security, safety and operations.

“We have approximately 50 use cases which can be deployed straight off the shelf,” Todorovitsch says. “These range from detecting objects on the track to white line crossing, detecting abandoned luggage to counting people, and of course identifying suspicious behaviour.”

The real-time monitoring and metadata provided by the CVP provides valuable insights for a wide range of applications including traffic management, perimeter protection, operations management and intrusion detection.

DIGITAL TWINS

Eviden’s digital twin platform also has a dedicated spot on the company’s Innotrans booth, which Todorovitsch says “brings huge value to customers.”

The platform simulates real-world systems to enable predictive maintenance by identifying potential issues before they occur. This helps the firm’s customers to reduce downtime and extend the lifespan of their assets. The booth showcased rail-specific use cases for digital twins, including a digital rail switch.

“Railway switches are the most expensive part on a track, with approximately 20% of train outages failing on the switches,” Todorovitsch explains. “It’s very important for rail operators to carry out predictive maintenance on these switches so that they can reduce track outages and increase the part’s lifetime. Using sensors manufactured by one of our partners, we can build a digital twin of the switch to enable our customers to measure really technical details regarding vibration, such as detecting flat spots on the wheels. We then use AI to analyse the data from the digital twin which highlights where and when predictive maintenance needs to be carried out.”

Continuing with Eviden’s AI capabilities, Todorovitsch outlines another rail-specific case study made possible by the company’s unique “white box” approach to AI: “With a ‘black box’ approach to AI, such as ChatGPT, you don’t know where the data comes from. With a ‘white box’ approach, you get an explanation of what rules were taken to arrive at a given conclusion, which is vital for mission- and safety-critical applications. With this AI, we are detecting anomalies on concrete sleepers which can cause huge safety issues. Our trusted AI solution can automatically detect cracks and categorise them according to the rules of Deutsche Bahn, in this example, and then give recommendations for how to act accordingly, such as reducing the speed of trains by a certain amount.”