Railways are harvesting increasing volumes of data on the performance of their assets, but converting raw data into meaningful insights remains a challenge for many organisations in the industry. Keith Barrow reports from Munich on how suppliers, tech companies, train operators and infrastructure managers are harnessing the power of data through advanced asset management systems.

GERMAN Rail (DB), Siemens and the city of Hamburg have signed an agreement to develop a fully automated S-Bahn line in Hamburg by 2021, in time for the World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) in October 2021.

FRENCH infrastructure manager SNCF Network has launched a €1bn innovation partnership called Argos to develop a new generation of computer-controlled interlockings, with Alstom, Ansaldo STS, Siemens and Thales taking part.

SILICON Sensing, Britain, has increased production of its miniature solid-state Pinpoint gyro by 30% to meet growing demand for precision levels of motion sensing.

FRENCH National Railways (SNCF) has begun the fleet rollout of an Internet of Things (IoT)-based solution for monitoring the status of passenger train doors.

Blockchain technology promises to cut out the middle man in financial transactions, improving efficiency for businesses around the world. But how can railways benefit and what challenges does universal acceptance of the digital ledger technology face? Nick Newman investigates.

ACCORDING to the International Association of Public Transport’s (UITP) Observatory of Automated Metros the total length of fully-automated driverless metro lines globally has topped 1000km for the first time. The milestone was reached at the end of March with the opening of the Pujiang Line in Shanghai.

BOMBARDIER has launched a real-time passenger load display on Singapore’s Downtown Line (DTL) using the line’s existing Train Control Monitoring System (TCMS) following the completion of testing by Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA).

The Destination Rail project to provide a decision support tool for infrastructure managers has reached a successful conclusion, with the final conference held at the University of Zagreb on April 26-27. Michael Robson a member of the Destination Rail executive board, outlines the project’s objectives and benefits.

GERMAN Rail (DB) is working with Munich-based Internet of Things (IoT) startup Konux to improve the availability of high-speed turnouts through predictive maintenance.