Hitachi Rail has introduced a new technology for real-time infrastructure monitoring and predictive maintenance, developed through research led in the UK. This marks a step forward in rail infrastructure, the result of collaboration between Hitachi Rail and Connected Places Catapult, a UK-based innovation accelerator focused on cities, transport, and place leadership.
The technology, debuted at the recent InnoTrans event in Berlin, features digital overhead line monitoring systems designed to improve punctuality for passengers and enhance safety for trackside engineers. This solution forms part of Hitachi’s global digital asset monitoring platform, HMAX, which integrates a range of monitoring tools to optimise railway operations.
The development originated in 2021, when Connected Places Catapult facilitated a technical partnership involving Hitachi Rail, LNER, and Network Rail. The initiative employed cameras mounted on trains to monitor overhead lines in real time, with machine learning algorithms automatically detecting potential faults to identify precise maintenance needs and schedules. This collaboration culminated in a successful six-month trial on the East Coast Main Line, where Connected Places Catapult provided tailored support. This included helping partners understand end-user requirements and fostering new collaborative working models, mitigating commercial risks—often referred to as “the valley of death” in technology innovation—and enabling the technology’s progression.
Building on the trial’s insights, Hitachi has further refined the technology, integrating it into the HMAX platform. HMAX, Hitachi Rail’s digital asset management suite, consolidates operational data from railway assets and infrastructure into a unified platform, enhancing system utilisation and resource efficiency. Beyond real-time monitoring, HMAX supports virtual simulations of physical environments, driving the evolution of railway systems worldwide.
Hitachi Rail and Connected Places Catapult continue their partnership, with Hitachi named a strategic partner of the Connected Places Summit, alongside the Department for Transport. At the Summit, scheduled for March, senior Hitachi leaders, including EMEA President Andrew Barr, will lead a session titled “Energy Decarbonisation Transition Challenges and Solutions.”
“The UK’s railway ecosystem had an important part to play in the development of this technology, which is now available to infrastructure operators worldwide. By working with Connected Places Catapult, we were able to collaborate with industry and successfully test this product in a real-world environment,” Ben Earle, IM and Digital Services Manager at Hitachi Rail, said.
“The UK is a hotbed of innovation partnerships and the perfect place for companies of all sizes to trial new technology as we seek to make our infrastructure greener, safer and more reliable. I’m proud that Connected Places Catapult has been able to play a role by convening the market to support the development of this technology. We look forward to welcoming industry leaders to the Connected Places Summit in March and working with Hitachi as strategic partners to put cutting edge innovation at the centre of the conversation,” Erika Lewis, Chief Executive of Connected Places Catapult, added.
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