Over 60 national and international rail industry representatives got a first glimpse of Northern's Intelligent Trains concept train alongside some of the rail operator's brand-new technology which is leading the way in its innovative programme.
The delegation was made up of professionals from across the rail industry such as Network Rail, Jacobs, Atkins, Porterbrook, Angel and Eversholt and enjoyed a special return journey from Manchester Victoria to Bradford Interchange on Monday the 16th of January.
The special trip took place on a Class 150 train which is fitted with LIDAR horizon scanning cameras which are what NASA used to map the surface of the moon. Further technology onboard includes a radar dome, 180-degree thermal imaging software, acoustic monitors, a G-Shock Bogie and an AI camera.
The Intelligent Trains concept aims to use technology specifically to create safer and more efficient rail journeys. The technology will also allow Northern to monitor its train's performance in real-time whilst giving information to Network Rail regarding track and infrastructure.
Rob Warnes, strategic development director at Northern, said: “We were delighted to bring together such an illustrious group of rail industry representatives for the inaugural trial of our Intelligent Trains ‘concept train'.
“Among the many benefits of this technology is the ability for ‘early diagnoses' of engineering issues on both track and train which can be addressed as part of planned maintenance rather than having to react when things go wrong.”
The innovative programme sees a collaboration with Network Rail, Belvoir Rail, Yellow Rail, DG8 and Modux.
