The number of practical applications of the Internet of Things (IoT) has grown exponentially over the past few years. Right now, the Internet of Things pretty much means the ability to interconnect all those objects and devices that didn't previously have a network connection. As a result of bringing these unconnected devices onto the network, we are enabling applications that increase safety and ease of use. Connected Railway projects are an excellent example - applying the Internet of Things to trains has improved safety, operational efficiency, and the passenger experience.
Railroad transport, since the introduction of electric traction was introduced at the beginning of the last century, is now viewed as one of the greenest ways on Earth of moving people and property. It is now experiencing a fantastic boost of expansion, innovation, investments, and popularity.
The heavy use of IT and networking technologies are completely redefining how trains will be run and managed in the next twenty years. Silicon is getting increasingly more relevant every day as the industry begins to understand how the so-called “smart rail” initiatives can deliver million of dollars of savings and, at the same time, save the lives of many people who die each year in railroad-related accidents. (Railroad transportation, however, continues to rank as the safest way to travel.)
Safety has always been a major concern for railroads. Speed and weight can make a train a very dangerous moving object whose braking distance is measured in miles. Therefore, its motion needs to be controlled and predicted as much as possible - last second reactions typically do not avoid accidents. Signaling vendors like Siemens, Alstom, Bombardier, and Ansaldo STS have been developing highly complex and secure systems to remotely control trains and avoid accidents. The level of automation and sophistication in train signaling is extremely high compared to other segments of the transportation industry. For example, almost 100% of the metro lines that have been constructed in the last five years are fully automated and driverless. Moreover, most of the existing trains in Europe have a driver but are able to brake based on remote signaling without any intervention from the driver. Railway companies understand that increasing automation is a necessary step to increasing the safety of their systems. According to the U.S. Federal Railroad Association (FRA), human error accounts for more than 60% of all rail-related accidents. So clearly there is still significant room to increase automation and reduce accidents due to human error.
There are three major systems within railroads where automation and the Internet of Things can bring significant benefits: signaling, interlocking, and level crossing control. Signaling systems control the movement of the train and remotely control train speed and braking. More traditional signaling systems are based on RFID along the train track, but wireless train to ground signaling is getting more and more common both in railroad and metro systems. For example, most of the new European high speed railroads are equipped with ETCS Level 2 - a signaling standard that requires constant radio communication between the train and the group. Based on the ETCS 2 standard, such radio communication is accomplished using the GSM-R technology with BTS installed along the track of the train. Interlocking, on the other hand, avoids those conflicting movements on the tracks at junctions and crossings by using red and green light signals. The interlocking system works in conjunction with the signaling system to prevent a train from getting a signal to proceed if the route is proven to be unsafe. Interlocking today is already implemented as a software-based system with a complex design that ensures that the highest degree of safety and the integrity level of all the vital functions is reached-SIL 4. But, the Internet of Things can further improve the system's level of automation and its integration with the signaling system.
Level crossings control is the third system that impacts safety on railroads. According to the European Railway Agency (ERA), 619 accidents occurred at level crossings in 2010, causing 359 fatalities in the European Union that year. (2009 stats show 831 level crossings-related accidents caused 405 fatalities that year.) Accidents related to level crossings represent 30% of all railway fatalities in the EU. Fluidmesh has been involved in some IoT projects for level crossing safety and it is impressive how technology can significantly improve safety in such an old system like a level crossing. In one project, we've been able to stream live video from cameras controlling a level crossing to the approaching trains, therefore showing to the train driver if somebody is trapped on the level crossing. We have integrated such a video streaming system with a Funkwerk on-board cab radio monitor that is already installed on locomotives equipped with the ETCS standard in Europe. Another interesting level-crossing automation project involved using thermal imagers to automatically detect people along the train track who might be trying to unsafely cross the track. Integration of video, radar sensors, and thermal imagers is an excellent IoT application to save lives at a level crossing.
Beyond safety, the Internet of Things is creating the opportunity to enhance the operational efficiency of railways. For example, the automation of toilets can significantly reduce the cost incurred by the train operator and, at the same time, provide a better service to passengers who will less likely find a toilet out of order. Currently, most train operators are unable to determine the status of the on-board toilets in real time and a significant amount of manual checking is required. Another example of an IoT application to improve operational efficiency is related to the management of the video recordings on board. Many rail operators have to send personnel on board their trains to manually pick up the hard drive when video recordings are requested by a law enforcement agency for investigation of an incident. Fluidmesh has been involved in many Connected Train initiatives to provide live streaming of video or automated off-loading when the train gets to a station or depot. Automating video offloading from the on-board hard drive to a central data center provides a significant saving in the amount of time spent in chasing trains to retrieve recorded video and, at the same time, allows them to keep relevant evidence for longer period of times. Automating a train's restaurant car can also improve efficiency and is another excellent example of how the Internet of Things can improve operations. Food and drinks can be easily refilled at the upcoming station if data is available in real time regarding the items sold. Moreover, temperature can be remotely controlled to avoid issues with refrigerators that might not be working at all times but whose temperature is critical to preserve the food quality over time.
Operational efficiency means moving from scheduled maintenance to predictive and preventive maintenance. Predictive and preventive maintenance can dramatically increase the percentage of times a train is in use rather than sitting in a maintenance or repair shop. It can also improve the passenger experience and their safety. For instance, train wheels need to be controlled and maintained regularly due to wear. Braking, and emergency braking in particular, accelerates wear on tires and therefore the need for maintenance checks. Slips and sliding of a wheel can even require immediate maintenance because the wheel can be seriously affected. Additionally, different sections of the tracks wear the wheels in different ways and times because of peculiarities in the track geometry itself, such as with steep or sharp turns. By tracking exactly the path of a train every day, its braking actions, and the sliding and slips of wheels, a train operator can develop an extremely precise predictive model that will tell the maintenance staff when to check a train and when to send it in for maintenance. Recording and processing the history of interventions of the ABS systems can tell a lot about the condition of the wheel profile and the consumption of the brake pads. The time between maintenance stops wouldn't be based on averages that might be too conservative in certain cases and waste money or, on the other hand, are not conservative enough, putting operation and safety at risk. By leveraging big data analysis techniques and the Internet of Things, railways are able to measure and track real operational data, perform maintenance at the right time, and predict their maintenance needs precisely.
An improved passenger experience and therefore an increase in ridership is another goal of many Internet of Things project for railways. Based on several railways surveys with passengers, connectivity is the major need of passengers on board trains today - they want a better Internet connection on board. The goal of most high-speed trains operators over the next five years is to allow a seamless connectivity experience on board. Passengers should be able to leave their home and jump on a train without affecting their Smartphone connection. Increasingly more passengers bring multiple devices on board with them and want to either work or entertain themselves using their own devices. Train operators now understand that broadband Wi-Fi on-board translates into a significant increase in ridership and are investing tens of millions of dollars to enhance their passengers' experience. Broadband wireless train to ground technology today is able to connect a train delivering up to 100 Mbit/sec, and the industry is already working on designing train to ground wireless solutions that will be able to scale to 1 Gbit/sec in the next five years.
The opportunity for Smart Rail projects and application of the Internet of Things to Railroads is massive. According to a recent press release from Cisco, almost $30B will be spent in the next 15 years on the IoT projects in the railway industry. Despite the significant size of the railway industry already, an average of $2B per year invested in Smart Rail and Connected Train projects will enable a revolution both in the way railroads are managed and in the experience of passengers on board. Silicon will start being a much more relevant element in this 200 years old industry which has for so long been dominated by steel.
Umberto Malesci is the president and co-founder of Fluidmesh Networks.
