New Alliance to Drive Digital End-to-End Rail Infrastructure Solutions
15 best-in-class companies launching novel Alliance at IAF Münster to increase the safety, efficiency and capacity of railway infrastructure globally. Leveraging digitalisation, innovation and collaboration to create complete, sustainable, cost-effective and convenient solutions.
Today at the IAF (Internationale Ausstellung für Fahrwerktechnik) in Münster, Germany, 15 leading European railway track technology pioneers announced the formation of the newly formed Digital Railway Solutions Alliance (DRS Alliance), an open innovation ecosystem to increase the safety, efficiency and capacity of the world’s railway networks.
“Our new Alliance brings together best-in-class, technology driven companies, each with a determined focus on optimising railway networks utilising the latest advances in digital innovation, automatisation and data processing,” said Florian Auer, Director of Global Technology and Innovation, Plasser & Theurer. The DRS Alliance aims to bundle expert knowledge, develop and leverage new technologies and create overarching synergies for railway infrastructure and rail operators alike. “We believe in the power of collaboration across our open innovation ecosystem. Together, our combined expertise and complementary technologies will serve to tailor optimal solutions for each individual customer.”
A new Alliance is born
The idea for effective collaboration to drive digital solutions was conceived in October 2021, when selected providers of highly innovative services and products convened to address the #1 priority of the rail infrastructure industry: increased safety, efficiency and capacity. “As one of the participating companies in the two-day workshop, we identified key issues to solve, created a shared vision and how to collaborate to drive digital, end-to-end solutions jointly”, said Ilka May, CEO of LocLab and former co-Chair of the EU BIM Task Group. “With that, the ‘DRS Alliance’ was brought to life.” Since then, in a series of deep-dive meetings, details of the new alliance were shaped and the vision advanced to an innovation platform driving seamless next-generation railway infrastructure solutions.
“Following IAF, the DRS Alliance will immediately focus on strengthening end-to-end solutions for critical railway infrastructure in Europe,” explains Jan Mys, Technical Lead of the DRS Alliance and Managing Director Global Rail Consulting. “Starting in 2023 and beyond, we’re planning to expand further afield to help reshape rail mobility across the globe.”
Five domains to advance end-to-end digital railway infrastructure solutions
The founding DRS Alliance members are initially focused on five priority domains to leverage the full value of digitalisation and new technologies for railway infrastructure management:
- Integrated Sensor Technology Solutions – A holistic portfolio of superior, seamlessly connected, state-of-the-art sensor technology solutions for all railway domains
- 3D+ Infrastructure Data Solutions – An interactive 3D+ interface to monitor, access and maintain track assets by means of a digital twin, based on the combined expertise and sensor solutions of DRS Alliance Partners
- End-2-End Asset Data Management – Effective integration and utilisation of newly generated, digital asset data with historical data from paper and other archives
- AI-Based Predictive Infrastructure Management – Modular solutions to optimise track and turnout management from assessment to execution
- Automated Services for Trackside Safety – Automated track maintenance services communicating with the network’s train control system to schedule maintenance slots efficiently while keeping track workers safe
Open ecosystem for railway-dedicated digital solutions
The DRS Alliance offers an open innovation ecosystem to tailor railway infrastructure solutions to the needs of the industry and individual companies. The commitment to increasing the share of rail in the transport and mobility split is significant in all parts of the world, making the trifecta of safety, efficiency and capacity key to accommodating soaring network demands.
Founding members of the DRS Alliance
- 3B Infra
- ASC – German Sensor Engineering
- DGNSS Sensors
- DMA
- DRUM – Dynamic Rail Utilities Monitoring
- Dual Inventive
- Ground Control Geophysics Consulting GmbH
- IVE GmbH
- LocLab Consulting
- Obermeyer Infrastruktur GmbH & Co. KG
- Plasser & Theurer
- ProVI GmbH
- RailRestore
- tmc – Track Machines Connected
- Vogel & Plötscher
www.digitalrailwaysolutions-alliance.com
