Cisco announce new Connected Rail Transportation Solutions to better Customer Experience

Cisco announce new Connected Rail Transportation Solutions to better Customer Experience

Cisco’s solution to help Modi’s ‘India Vision for 100 Smart Cities’

Bangalore (SBC):  Enterprise IT vendor Cisco announced new Connected Transportation Solutions, as part of the Internet of Everything (IoE) initiative, to better customer experience.

The solution addresses challenges including uncertainty about route schedules and the condition of the railways and sporadic Internet connectivity during their commutes.

Cisco solution allows connected rail commuters to track scheduled train arrival and departure times, access alerts on delays, and share real-time travel updates with others over mobile devices.

Train commuters can also access train information through interactive signs on the station platforms that are fed real-time information coming from the movement of passengers and the status of the infrastructure around them.

Cisco says its positive train control (PTC) system can determine the train’s location and speed, and enhance the safety measures set by the train operator or engineer.

If warnings are ignored or cannot be performed, PTC will automatically apply the brakes to slow down or stop the train.

Cisco Connected Station integrates multiple in-station networks and retail communication systems into a standards-based IP network.

Retailers and advertisers can work directly with the station to provide traveler information, creating new business models and opening up new revenue opportunities.

Precise location with combined network and GPS data brings faster alerts to changes in a train’s schedule and help commuters accurately plan their trips.

This apart, video surveillance cameras and video surveillance manager on the platforms will let operations managers monitor control length at each stop, ensure optimal passenger boarding, and proactively address any issues related to the safety.

Cisco Connected Trackside, an IP infrastructure platform to support operational services, lower costs of network operations, and reduce complexity of older, proprietary networks.

Through a sensor network with computing power at the edge, Cisco fog computing, a rail operator can take analytics to aggregate data generated by the sensors and make informed decisions to avoid incidents.

Fog computing systems offer the possibility to analyze and decide, in real time, what data should be transmitted back to the cloud and what can be discarded or stored.

Operators are alerted when sensor data diverges from the norm, increasing reaction speed, saving network bandwidth, and providing enhanced visibility and control.

The network supports video surveillance, with a dedicated video surveillance media server on each car to store video archives from the onboard IP cameras, and a system to integrate all video feeds in a central location at the request of the operator.

Cisco PTC integrates onboard, trackside, wayside, signaling, and back-office systems. Though PTC mandates apply only to U.S. rail operators, rail transport is subject to strict safety regulations on a global basis. Railways outside of the U.S. can use this same technology to ensure that they comply with their country’s safety requirements.

Wim Elfrink, chief globalization officer and executive vice president, Industry Solutions, Cisco said: “The rail industry stands to gain $27 billion of economic value over the next 15 years from disruptive solutions now made possible by the Internet of Everything.”

Distributed computing and data processing challenges that have to be solved in order to release the full potential and value from the Internet of Things, and how Cisco is addressing these challenges by enabling a Fog computing model via Cisco IOx. Let’s now review some real world scenarios where benefits from the application enablement capabilities.

SAFER TRANSPORTATION

Whether it’s a passenger train in a bustling city or a freight train slithering through the mountainside, news of derailment is a tragic story. You may have heard about the fatal train accident in New York City’s Bronxor the recent incident in Philadelphia where a train hauling crude oil was dangling over a river. The US federal government has seen more oil spilled in rail incidents in 2013than was spilled in the nearly four decades since it began collecting data. The demand for preventative measures is greater than ever.

Train derailment is typically due to equipment failure, specifically in the ball bearings of a wheel. Today, train operators have routine schedules to swap out wheels and engines without fully knowing if the equipment is used beyond repair. Or in worse case scenarios, damaged equipment is not replaced in time to prevent failure and accidents. In addition to performance, train operators face fierce competition from alternative transportation providers and must find ways to offer better amenities and services to retain and attract new passengers.

With Cisco IOx, an 819 router sitting on a freight train can monitor the ball-bearings and monitor the utility of bearing to let you know if its overheating or has worn down to a lower-threshold of useful material. An alert can be sent to the train operator notifying him to pull over at the next available station or to stop and repair the wheel.

SMART CITY DEVELOPMENT

Take for example today’s city infrastructure and its design for public health and safety. When an ambulance is dispatched to respond to a crisis, it relies on GPS and a little bit of luck to get to the patient as quickly as possible. In crowded cities, congestion often delays the emergency vehicle from reaching its destination. Even though established laws would allow a vehicle from entering a busy intersection to make room for an ambulance—and in we all know that in those situations every minute can be the difference between life or death – the drivers may not be able to do it because they are stuck in place behind other drivers or confused about where to move to to make room for the emergency vehicle.

A connected smart city can ensure timely response to a crisis. IOx-enabled cameras detecting emergency vehicle lights can trigger traffic signals connected and move congestion out of the way and allow the ambulance or fire truck to safely and quickly reach its destination. Connected street lights and parking meters connected via IOx-enabled routers also offer a way for cities to improve energy consumption and collect fines from parking violators; this will reduce costs to power the city and bring in more revenue.