Why the rail sector needs to get ready for departure on the digital twin journey

Railways offer a “climate smart” way to keep our cities and countries moving. The question now is whether the rail and transit industry is ready to transform how networks will be planned, designed, built and operated in the future using digital twins.

Steve Cockerell is industry marketing director of rail and transit at Bentley Systems

It is important to understand what a digital twin is. For many, the definition is a 3D BIM model of a physical asset, whether it is a length of track, bridge, tunnel or station. However, without a connection between the digital version and its physical counterpart, it is just a digital snapshot of the asset at a given point in time.

In this scenario, not only do users run the risk of versions being out of sync, resulting in delays and increased costs, but they also cannot see the data behind the design, construction schedule, or operational asset, as well as lose insight to improve decisions and business outcomes.

For me, the definition of a digital twin is as a realistic and dynamic digital representation of a physical asset, process, or system in the built or natural environment. Digital twins connect the physical and digital worlds so that the digital dynamically reflects changes in the physical.

The dynamic nature of a digital twin enables improved visualisation, advanced analytics using technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), as well as simulation capabilities. It means that anyone with the right permissions can view, monitor and gather the insight needed to predict and optimise future performance at anytime from anywhere.

In the current economic climate, with tighter budgets and shorter deadlines, firms are looking for new, innovative ways to drive productivity, as well increase the quality of assets.

When you consider the negative effects of climate change, including dealing with the increased frequency of severe weather events that impact railway operation, the need for real change is no longer a future problem.

If there is an urgent need to digitally transform the way we work, what are owner-operators and their supply chains doing with digital twins today?

Every year, Bentley celebrates the accomplishments of our users in our Going Digital Awards in Infrastructure. As the ambassador for our rail and transit category, I have witnessed growing evidence that digital twins are already delivering on their promise of improved future outcomes.

Indeed, all the finalists in Bentley Systems’ 2022 Going Digital Awards for Rail and Transit cited digital twins as a key element of their team’s ability to demonstrate excellence across the lifecycle of their networks and assets.

In the Philippines, Oriental Consultants Global described how their work on phase 1 of the Metro Manila Subway Project included creating a common digital engineering system to provide a single source of truth. Its digital twin approach enabled real-time data sharing, helped optimise collaboration to save 5,000 resource hours within the project’s first six months, and delivered an ROI of over £460,000.

In Jakarta, PT Wijaya Karya (Persero) used digital twin technology on Indonesia’s first integrated high-speed rail line between Jakarta and Bandung. There, digital twins helped streamline workflows to improve design efficiency and quality, shorten the construction schedule by six months, and save £143M in construction costs.

In the UK, Arcadis, as part of an alliance with Network Rail and Babcock, known as Rail Systems Alliance in Scotland, used the technology to create a digital twin of Carstairs railway station. Arcadis’ use of digital twins improved communication among team members, as well as detected and resolved clashes earlier to optimise the design and reduce modelling time by 35%.

Harnessing the huge amount of data and systems that exist within the complexity of the rail industry is not always straightforward. However, if digital twins are to become part of our new normal, organisations need to invest and have a clear strategy for change. As with previous digital disruptors, those who do not are more likely to fail while those that do are more likely to succeed.

As was the case with BIM 20 years ago, we will reach the point where digital twin technology will simply become the norm. So, while we cannot yet say that they have taken centre stage, they are very definitely waiting in the sidings, already helping many of our visionary users work smarter, not harder, as they strive to deliver improved service, safety, and reliability in rail.