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Moving with the times As travel patterns change due to COVID, urban transport systems based on rail are expected to play a major part in easing congestion and meeting environmental targets. Leading the way to greener and smarter mobility worldwide, Alstom develops and markets integrated systems that provide the sustainable foundations for the future of transportation. And much of the way it does this is by resolving the “data challenge” faced by operators, maintainers and transport passengers, using artificial intelligence and visualisation tools. According to Alstom commercial director Todd Garvey, predicting future passenger flows to ease congestion and ensure a healthy fluidity continue to pose a significant issue, particularly during a pandemic which has irrevocably changed the way people commute. “It’s a challenge for authorities and transport operators in urban metropolises around the world, as is meeting the environmental targets necessary to protect a fragile planet,” he said. “The solution to these challenges can be found in a mobility approach that positions rail as the backbone of urban transport systems, interconnected with a diverse range of first- and last-mile solutions. “For this type of multimodal system to be truly effective, operators must work together to both orchestrate and optimise their services through a transparent system of data sharing.” RAIL AS THE LYNCHPIN Garvey said rail alone cannot solve every urban transport problem, and that it was increasingly important to understand how other forms of transport link into the local ecosystem. “While rail may be the beating heart of collective mobility, it must be connected with first- and last-mile solutions, enabling seamless transfers for door-to-door travel,” he said. “For this to happen, operators need the right tools to both anticipate and adapt to demand. “Orchestrating mobility means integrating traditional forms of collective transport, such as trains, metros and tramways, with new means of transport, such as bike and taxi shares.” Garvey said that as citizens move away from private vehicles to more sustainable forms of travel, Alstom is shifting its focus to a global mobility offer, at the centre of which is rail, the greenest and safest mode of transport.
24 | ISSUE 11 - DECEMBER 2021 | RAIL EXPRESS
Alstom recently signed a $470m contract with Victoria’s Department of Transport to locally supply 25 six-car X’trapolis trains for Melbourne’s suburban rail network.
By opting to take collective transport instead of using a personal vehicle, passengers reduce road congestion while actively lowering their carbon footprint. ORCHESTRATING MULTIMODAL MOBILITY Passengers need multimodal mobility services that are consistent and reliable, especially in terms of the time taken to get from one point to another every day. If the length of a commute varies by a large margin each day and is unpredictable, passengers may be reluctant to take collective transport. “One key to reliable transportation is dependable and affordable first- and last-mile transport options, such as scooter and bike shares,” Garvey said. “Another is easy access to accurate information on all the transport options in a passenger’s city. “Currently, operators may provide multimodal information on mobile applications, but it is usually partial, pieced together by third parties from publicly available information, and is not always relevant. “For multimodal mobility to work effectively, commuters need easy access to reliable information on all the transport options in their city. This requires local operators to work together to consolidate and share data.” In other words, to enable truly seamless transport, operators, telecommunications
companies and local authorities must consolidate and share data effectively. Without this cooperation, no single operator can provide passengers with the level of reliability they need to use public transport day to day. A whole range of information, from ticketing, track and train sensors to weather reports, news, social media and CCTV can all power the data-driven analysis that will allow passengers to see the full range of transport options and capacity in real time. OPTIMISING COLLECTIVE TRANSPORT Quality data can help manage the flow of passengers into a system, but only if the system is flexible enough for operators to adjust their services to both demand and external factors. “Accurate, consolidated information is just one part of the battle of ensuring seamless journeys on collective transport,” Garvey said. “For data to be considered reliable by the passenger, it must also be optimised, enabling transport supply to be adjusted to meet demand. “For example, data from bike share operators can help a metro operator predict how many extra passengers may use its service on a rainy day rather than cycle to work (and viceversa). However, if the operator is unable to accommodate a surge in passengers in real time by running more trains, and passengers need to wait to get on trains that are more
