Hitachi Rail has announced its agreement to acquire Omnicom, a digital rail monitoring business owned by Balfour Beatty. The acquisition is a strategic move to enhance Hitachi Rail’s digital asset management portfolio, particularly its recently launched HMAX platform.
Omnicom specializes in advanced software and hardware for inspecting and monitoring rail infrastructure. Its solutions, including the Infrastructure Monitoring System and line visual inspection tools, leverage edge computing and machine learning to provide near real-time anomaly detection on rail tracks. These technologies support efficient maintenance planning and optimize asset lifecycles.
With over 25 years of expertise in rail technology, Omnicom’s monitoring systems process vast amounts of data—trillions of bytes of images daily—to help customers streamline trackside maintenance. This capability will integrate into Hitachi Rail’s HMAX suite, enhancing its global offerings.
HMAX, introduced in September 2024 at the InnoTrans event, is a comprehensive digital asset management solution. It consolidates live data from trains and rail infrastructure, utilizing AI and machine learning to optimize operations, reduce energy consumption, and enable predictive maintenance. By processing data at the edge in real-time, HMAX significantly accelerates the delivery of actionable insights to transport operators, improving efficiency and responsiveness.
“This strategic acquisition plugs Omnicom’s pioneering track monitoring tools into our digital asset management platform, strengthening our ability to optimize rail services and infrastructure. HMAX showcases how AI can elevate railway performance and system efficiency,” Giuseppe Marino, CEO of Hitachi Rail, said.
“Joining Hitachi Rail enhances our capacity to innovate and deliver AI-driven systems that ensure rail safety and efficiency. This partnership aligns with our mission to predict and prevent asset failures, building on our proven data-driven solutions,” Sanjay Razdan, Managing Director of Omnicom, added.
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