Hitachi Rail, Connected Places Catapult announce AI rail maintenance tech

The collaboration enabled a successful six-month trial of Hitachi’s technology on the East Coast Main Line.

Connected Places Catapult (CPC) and Hitachi Rail have advanced their artificial intelligence (AI) powered rail maintenance technology to the commercial stage.

The digital overhead line monitoring system, demonstrated at Innotrans in Berlin, aims to improve train punctuality and engineer safety.

In 2021, CPC initiated a technical collaboration that brought together Hitachi Rail, LNER, and Network Rail.

The project involved mounting cameras on trains to monitor overhead lines in real-time, with machine learning algorithms identifying potential faults to inform maintenance needs.

The collaboration led to a successful six-month trial on the East Coast Main Line, testing Hitachi’s technology.

CPC played a pivotal role in supporting the partnership, focusing on understanding user needs and fostering new collaborative working models, thus navigating the challenging ‘valley of death’ in technology innovation.

CPC chief executive Erika Lewis said: “The UK is a hotbed of innovation partnerships and the perfect place for companies of all sizes to trial new technology as we seek to make our infrastructure greener, safer and more reliable.

“I’m proud that Connected Places Catapult has been able to play a role by convening the market to support the development of this technology.”

Following the trial, Hitachi Rail has refined the product, integrating it into their HMAX digital asset monitoring platform.

HMAX is a comprehensive suite designed to enhance railway management by consolidating operational data from various assets into a unified system, thereby optimising resource utilisation and advancing railway system development.

Hitachi Rail IM and digital services manager Ben Earle said: “The UK’s railway ecosystem had an important part to play in the development of this technology, which is now available to infrastructure operators worldwide.

“By working with Connected Places Catapult, we were able to collaborate with industry and successfully test this product in a real-world environment.”

Last month, Hitachi Rail acquired Omnicom from Balfour Beatty to strengthen its HMAX digital asset management platform.