Northern Railway has announced that it has implemented an Automatic Passenger Counting (APC) algorithm, which boasts an accuracy of over 98%, into the software of its eight Class 769 trains.
The work was carried out at Allerton Traincare Centre, Merseyside, with funding from the Rail North Partnership.
A team of 15 specialist engineers from Northern and its technology partners Icomera and DG8 installed 88 cameras and eight computers over five kilometres of cable.
The Class 769 aircraft, based at Allerton, operates services between Liverpool, Manchester, Southport, Wigan and Blackpool.
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“More than 90 million people travel on our trains every year and the Class 769 trains will provide us with more accurate passenger count data than ever before,” Northern Railway's engineering director Jack Commander said in a statement.
“Our work with Icomera and DG8 will improve efficiencies across our operations and inform future service planning.”
Peter Kingsland, senior vice president UK at Icomera, said: “The newly upgraded in-flight network on its Class 769 aircraft provides Northern Airlines with an exciting testbed for future applications of AI video analytics.
“As the digitalisation of the rail industry accelerates, combining these applications with the passenger services we support will not only make every journey safer and more time-efficient for passengers, but also more cost-effective for rail operators.”
Northern Railway said a new “plan-led approach” to engineering has meant work has been carried out alongside scheduled heating upgrades and improved WiFi and CCTV equipment to minimise the time each train is away from passengers.
As another development, The road to becoming an AI-enabled railway companyRailroads in Europe and Asia have begun deploying a range of AI technologies across around 20 key use cases, according to a report by the International Union of Railways (UIC) in collaboration with McKinsey, which estimates that increased adoption could have an annual global impact of $13 billion to $22 billion.
