Modern rail transportation spans over a century and created milestones that triggered the utilization of people and things in different ways, never before imagined.

As a result of the continuous innovation and improvements in the rail revolution, industries were transformed and then evolved into a rail platform for exponential human expansion. Today, rail innovation continues to change the change. The industry is striving to stay competitive by meeting the need for a paperless, fast, transnational, environmentally friendly and efficient mode of transportation for people and freight.

The Quest

The quest to find the holy (g)rail has produced rail technology, which is once again innovating through the transformation to digital and autonomous automation. Travelers and freight customers are demanding door-to-door intermodal travel as compared to the traditional modality solutions. The need to stay competitive and provide instant gratification to rail customers is driving rail to use new technologies for the next generation of rail innovation.

Overcoming the obstacles and tackling these new rail industry challenges starts with different thinking. Some stakeholders in the rail industry have initiated pilot projects that have already left the station. Driverless trains, hydrogen trains, autonomous electric pod underground freight shuttles, and high-speed magnetic levitation trains promise to deliver the maximum utilization of passengers and freight throughout the rail journey.

However, the stakes are high. Any disruption in the journey can create a chain of unintended events that will change the business paradigm, increase cost, impact rail safety and lose rail system capacity.

To prevent or mitigate this disruption, a cloud-based service execution platform is needed to manage worker activities as they deliver maintenance, oversight and then return the asset to service. The digital service execution platform will help to maintain the integrity of the rail system so that safety, compliance and service efficiencies can be maximized.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

The light at the end of the tunnel shouldn’t be a locomotive on the same track coming in the opposite direction. What’s needed is a service execution management platform like ServiceMax.

Learn more about the ServiceMax Service Execution platform, or visit us at the Railway Interchange in Minneapolis (booth #4645) to learn more about our Service Execution Management for Positive Train Control.