NEXCOM International Co., Ltd.
Transforming Hong Kong’s Railway Safety with AI-Powered Transportation Management
This article first appeared in the Railway-News Magazine Issue 2 2024.
Background
Hong Kong’s railway system epitomises efficiency and connectivity in urban transit. It serves as the city’s arterial network, efficiently carrying millions of commuters daily. Renowned for its punctuality and reliability, the railway system stands as a model for urban transportation globally.
Connecting diverse districts, blending residential, commercial and cultural landscapes, its importance as an infrastructural backbone is undeniable.
With this tremendous responsibility, ensuring the safety of railway infrastructures and operations is of utmost importance.
Challenge
All types of transportation infrastructure, including highways, railways and subways, have one thing in common: they face critical challenges in operationalising data across safety, maintenance efficiency and always-on security. Maximising safety while minimising maintenance costs is a massive challenge for any transit authority.
In particular, let’s delve into operational safety. Manual inspections can take up to 10 times longer than machine inspections; they are both labour intensive and compromise accuracy.
Inclement weather conditions, such as wind, rain and NEXCOM 62 darkness, can further complicate manual inspections. Extreme precipitation events have become more frequent in Hong Kong. The hourly rainfall record was broken several times in the last few decades. In consequence, the inspections often fail to monitor the safety of operating tracks. For instance, vegetation intrusion or railway track shift can lead to derailments. Hundreds of incidents occur annually due to undetected infrastructure defects, vegetation and landslides. Unplanned disruptions result in an average of 300 hours of operations lost per year across these sectors.
