INNOVATION OF THE RAIL TRANSPORTATION

Rail transportation on the fast track

          Innovation is, and will continue to be, an integral part of the way railways conduct their business. Technological and process innovations help increase system safety, efficiency and reliability. This in turn lowers costs to customers and increases productivity. Railroads have always generated data. And today, with RFID and other technologies, they generate more data than ever before. IBM can use that data to help make railroads more efficient, safer, faster, cleaner, and profitable.

             

 The public and private sectors recognize the need for a better transportation infrastructure. And increasingly, they see the potential of smarter railroads to address that need. But how do we get there? Through the vagaries of history, geography, economics and politics, some continents (such as Europe) are much farther along in optimizing their transportation infrastructure for train passengers, even as others (especially North America) outpace them in the use of rail for freight transportation. Each could learn something from the other. We've reached an historic point—whereby technological advancements now meet the societal, environmental and financial demands for a more efficient and intelligent transportation system.                     

An instrumented, interconnected and intelligent transportation infrastructure—and smarter railroads, in particular—could make the global economy stronger, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, make highways safer and reduce road congestion. A smarter planet, in other words, needs smarter railroads.

Fact about the rail transportation:

v  Each year, rail lines carry 21 billion passengers and 10 billion tons of freight worldwide.

v  Rail carriers 6.25% of all intercity passenger traffic in Europe compared to 0.3% in the United State.

v  Only 18% intercity freight travel by rail in Europe compared to 47% in the US.