09.25.2014
Since before the Civil War, America’s railroads have served a critical transportation need, proving to be one of the most important developments of the Industrial Revolution. Now, with the rise of the Internet and its data-rich applications, the 21st-century rail system has entered a new age — focused on improving the commuter experience, enhancing safety and minimizing costs.
The recent launch of Cisco's Connected Rail is one example of how innovative Internet technologies are transforming the nation’s transportation ecosystem. According to eWeek, this initiative draws upon the company’s expertise in the Internet of Things (IoT) to modernize America’s aging railroads utlizing a broad range of key components, from networking switches and routers, to video surveillance cameras, digital signage, video storage and software. And, at a time when railways are dealing with a range of challenges — from environmental situations to new federal safety requirements — Connected Rail is helping to monitor traffic patterns and delays, respond more efficiently to safety issues and better serve the need of passengers.
By employing a holistic approach, Connected Rail offers a reliable on-board WiFi network that provides reliable and fast connectivity, while allowing commuters to track scheduled train arrival and departure times, access alerts on delays and share real-time travel updates with others over mobile devices. It also provides train information through interactive signs on the station platforms that are fed real-time data coming directly from commuter movement and operational conditions. In addition, Cisco’s Positive Train Control technology creates a communications system designed to reduce rail accidents by tracking the speed and location of trains, with the added ability to slow or stop them if necessary. Along similar lines, Connected Trackside offers sensor-based networks that can help railway operators identify potential issues based on a computing system that culls through data and spots irregularities that warrant attention.
Cisco’s new platform builds on other recently developed technologies that have become commercially available. The Rail Collision Avoidance System (RCAS), for instance, leverages GPS data to track trains’ movements, and takes other measurements to gauge how locomotives are moving down the track. This information is then communicated to other nearby trains via Terrestrial Trunked Radio. Several railway operators around the world are piloting RCAS, which last year won the European Rail Award for Excellence in Safety and Security.
As former United States Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta notes in this MarketWatch article on Cisco's new transportation solution, “We are just starting to see the advantages of a connected rail system, with positive impacts for both operators and travelers becoming more evident. Innovative positive train control (PTC) technologies … are key to ensure these advancements continue."
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