International Rail Summit

Cost competitiveness and cybersecurity were two of the big talking points for senior stakeholders from around the world at the 14th International Rail Summit in London.

Delegates from South Africa to Norway listened to keynote speeches from Andy Lord of TfL and Peter, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill before sharing expertise on military mobility, AI, resilience and energy.

Here are a few of the Magellan colleagues’ highlights from this year’s ‘power of being connected’ event.

If European rail travel is going to be an alternative to short-haul aviation, several things need to fall into place, including:

• seamless cross-continent ticketing that simplifies journeys across operators with the ability to change and connect as part of an integrated offering.
• smarter track access charges and governance to drive competition while protecting local services and ensuring affordability of operational costs which can vary country to country.
• modernisation and harmonisation across the network to improve connectivity through greater electrification, common signalling standards and targeted cross-border investment.

As a strategic asset and a critical part of national and European infrastructure, rail enables people to travel and connects communities as well as underpinning the movement of goods across the continent.
Its importance is magnified during times of disruption. Rail moves fuel, defence equipment, medical supplies, fertilisers and manufacturing inputs. It’s a resilient backbone for critical supply chains when reliability matters most.

The economies of Europe would struggle to function without the movement of vital resources by rail, so the spotlight turns on:

• balancing resilience and interoperability to maintain connected networks while safeguarding critical operational systems.
• making targeted investments to strengthen long-term resilience while addressing immediate infrastructure and operational priorities.
• embedding cyber and physical security to protect critical rail infrastructure through secure-by-design systems and resilient operations.

Magellan’s UK & Ireland Technology Specialist Luke Byrnes joined a panel of engineering and innovation experts to examine the potential of AI in operations management.
The main takeaway from the panel included the need to unlock the value of rail data to enable AI applications that improve maintenance, optimise timetables and better match services to passenger demand.
It also considered the use of AI to enhance the workforce by preserving expertise, supporting training and helping the sector attract and retain skilled people alongside a disciplined approach to AI investment.
Put another way, by focusing on initiatives with a clear path to deployment AI has the power to remove or reduce friction, boost human productivity and increase safety to create better railways for us all.