IBM has opened a new Global Rail Innovation Center in Beijing to develop rail systems. The center will be staffed by a network of IBM rail consultants, software professionals, mathematicians and business partners.
The founding members of the new rail center’s advisory board include organisations and representatives from the railroad community. The advisory board will be engaged in defining areas where business and technology applications can solve passenger and freight rail problems.
In addition to collaboration with the advisory board, the new rail center will use assets and expertise from across IBM and around the world.
The new rail center is expected to address the rail industry’s challenges, including: passenger reservations and services; asset utilisation and productivity; surveillance of tracks and infrastructure; scheduling; and integrated fare management.
The company also said that it has developed an optimisation software for the Netherlands Railways to weigh 56,000 variables, including the railroad’s infrastructure and passenger demand, to assemble and schedule more than 5,000 trains per day. This scheduling model could also be applied to similar future projects.
