Cohesive
Cohesive
Time to Make Tracks as Rail Reaches ‘Critical Crossroads’
This article first appeared in the Railway-News magazine, Issue 3 2024.
In 2021, a new body – ‘a single guiding mind’ – was announced with fanfare as part of a reform of Britain’s railways. When, one year later, the establishment of the body, Great British Railways (GBR), was put on hold, the irony was not lost.
Delays – along with strikes, a lack of reliability and poor standards of service – are regarded as common features by rail passengers on Britain’s rail network (the oldest in the world) and something they are resigned to. The Government’s rail factsheet shows that, in 2022-23, the percentage of punctual trains stood at just 67 percent.
As the headlines around GBR (now in transition phase) and its merits continue, the core challenges faced by train operators of ageing infrastructure, falling fare revenue, overcrowded trains and short-term financial windows remain. So how do we get rail back on track?
How Data and Digital Technologies Can Drive Forward Rail
One important contributor to these challenges will be the advancement of the sector’s digital transition. As in other sectors, the benefits to be gained from making use of modern technology and what it has to offer are significant: increased volume of trains, better reliability and improved safety.
But, while examples of successful digitalisation in rail, in the UK and globally, are growing, full digitalisation is some way off.
The benefits to be gained from adopting digital solutions, the blockers and the steps needed to speed up the pace of the transition were comprehensively detailed in a report last year from the Rail Industry Association (RIA) – the UK rail supplier body.
