Alstom, a smart and sustainable mobility specialist, has introduced its largest Digital Experience Centre intended to ensure the development of next-generation signalling solutions in India. The Digital Experience Centre, built with a total investment of €40 million over the last decade, is part of the Signalling Lab infrastructure, making it the hub for signalling technology research and development (R&D) and project deployment for over 120 projects in India and worldwide.
Situated in Bangalore and spanning 5000 sq.ft., the Digital Experience Centre will play a crucial role in executing Urban, Mainline, Freight, and Mining projects. It is equipped to showcase innovations leveraging emerging cloud-based technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, intelligent maintenance (preventive and predictive), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), and Cybersecurity. Additionally, the centre includes a Centre of Excellence for Cybersecurity, reinforcing Alstom’s commitment to advanced safety measures.
The investment in this centre aligns with Alstom’s vision to position India as a global hub for technology and innovation. With a dedicated experience centre supporting more than 7 million hours of engineering work for both Indian and global projects, Alstom aims to drive safety, efficiency, and an improved passenger experience in India’s rapidly modernizing and complex rail network. Alstom’s newly launched Digital Experience Centre in Bangalore is one of the most extensive signalling lab infrastructure in India, covering an expansive 60,000 sq.ft. The dedicated experience centre is poised to contribute substantially, supporting over 7 million hours of engineering work dedicated to both Indian and global projects.
Olivier Loison, Managing Director, Alstom India, emphasized the importance of developing advanced signaling solutions to meet the evolving needs of India’s rail network. Loison stated, “The rail network in India, both urban and mainline is becoming highly modernized and complex, this makes its more important than ever to develop advanced Signalling solutions to drive safety, efficiency, and improved passenger experience. In addition to our excellent manufacturing and engineering capabilities, we are proud to be now leading the charter of rail technology innovation with the launch of this centre in India. As the leaders in sustainable mobility, we look forward to developing modern signalling solutions by harnessing the country’s vast talent pool, moving forward the innovation goalpost in our industry.’’
According to a study by GII, the market for railway signalling systems is expected to witness significant growth, with the global railway signalling systems market projected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 9.5% from 2022 to 2030. Alstom’s signalling lab infrastructure in India already caters to more than 40% of its worldwide R&D needs. This centre facilitates learning, adaptation, experimentation, simulation, and validation of Alstom’s new signalling solutions, incorporating advanced industry hardware and software innovations.
It conducts complete simulations of world-class signalling technologies, including those developed for projects like NaMo Bharat, India’s first semi-high-speed regional train. Leveraging the Internet of Things (IoT) and the Internet of Behaviors (IoB) for Security and Telecom-related domains, GenAI applications based on OpenAI, and blockchain for innovation projects in railway applications. The initiatives are designed to enhance Alstom’s business capabilities, efficiency, and foster a culture of innovation within the organization.
The centre’s extensive infrastructure is expected to expedite the localization of solutions and R&D programs, driving innovation in India and supporting the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. The centre features a centralized demonstration of the Operation Control Centre depicting all train movements in a project. It enables remote system monitoring and troubleshooting for enhanced efficiency. The centre displays safety-critical hardware, trackside equipment, innovation booths, and interactive information on all signalling gears along with complete end-to-end tests for projects and R&D software delivered from India. The centre is built using emerging technologies such as AI, Big Data, intelligent maintenance, LTE, and cybersecurity and it focuses on delivering solutions that are enabled through mobile applications.
