The Smart Station or Instrumented Station is the vision of the future for the rail industry as it ensures processes are automated and optimised through the use of IoT and allows organisations to obtain a better understanding of the current situation of working environments.
A key enabler of the Smart Station is IoT. The Internet of Things (IoT) is a popular term in recent years that simply describes the connectivity of an object with the internet. The rail industry has introduced IoT to innovate and improve their services, while continuing to enhance the customer experience. Alongside other technologies such as mobile workforce management, wearables, dynamic scheduling and data insights, the technology provides the opportunity to streamline processes, monitor and react accordingly to assets, and enhance passenger experience, while reducing costs.
The rail sector can therefore transform the way services are offered by generating data from every interaction with customers and physical assets to help make informed business decisions in real time.
IoT sensors can detect a range of information including the amount of footfall, occupancy of passengers travelling on a train or using station facilities as well as identifying if facilities are in a suitable state of use, or if they require cleaning or an adjustment to the temperature.