Although rail travel is a necessity for the lives of many, there are also concerns about how fewer people have been riding on trains in recent times. The National Association of Railroad Passengers finds that Amtrak ridership has been declining in some states over the years. With this in mind, it has become all the more important for rail services to evolve. Smart railway services are starting to grow in popularity as a means of making it easier for people to get on trains and to utilize their services.
Stronger Rail Stations
One part of how railway services are intelligent comes from how upgrades in train stations. Rail stations today use Wi-Fi technology plus communication features where people can get up-to-date information on train locations.
Video surveillance is also used in some rail stations, particularly in the New York subway rail system, to analyze how much traffic is inside those areas. This, in turn, gives train operators ideas on traffic conditions and the demand for services. Depending on the size of rail service, it might get trains to shift from one route to the next as a means of alleviating overcrowding concerns. It could also allow trains to skip certain stations if there is no demand for them at a given time.
Ticketing Efforts
Ticketing is also easy to handle with regard to ensuring that passengers can get the appropriate tickets that they require. Mobile ticketing works as a passenger can order one’s ticket for train service on a mobile app. The IRCTC Connect app in India is particularly popular for how it links people in the country to an online network where they can quickly find, reserve, and pay for rail travel services.
Ticketing kiosks can help people buy the exact types of tickets that they require. An example of this comes from the variety of ticketing kiosks that are available at the Toronto Union Station. People can use individual kiosks to find specific train tickets that will only charge them for travel up to space whether it entails traveling to the airport or going on a long ride on the VIA Rail Canada system.
Technologies Inside Trains
Trains themselves are operating with a variety of efficient and useful technologies to allow them to run to their best potential. The development of Wi-Fi signals on trains is especially intriguing. This works as a Wi-Fi sensor that will be attached to the outside part of a train and will then read signals that are produced by antennae that are attached to the sides of a track. The train can read those signals even as it travels fast.
Additional sensors are also being applied to trains to identify signals inside tracks. These include signals that list a train’s location, thus triggering messages and other signals as needed. Trains can even receive information on when a person might have fallen onto the tracks, thus ensuring that a train can stop before harming someone.
Monitoring
GPS devices are being used in trains as well. Such devices can connect to a wireless network to where real-time information on where trains are moving and how fast they are going can be noted.
An example of this involves what Amtrak does for its trains in the United States. A sensor inside a track at a station will send location data to a GPS device on an Amtrak train. The sensor sends real-time information to Amtrak so information on where trains are located can be listed.
This improves upon how well trains are found and how people can get information on them in real time. It also gives operators and passengers accurate information on how much time it would take for a train to get to a station based on its movement.
Trains Communicating With Each Other
Another key point to look into involves how trains are becoming capable of communicating with one another efficiently. Trains can interact with each other through GPS units that relay information about each other’s location in real time. The data improves upon how trains are available of each other’s surroundings.
Smart rail travel has become very important in recent times. By working with better rail technology, it becomes easier for people to get to where they need to go.
